photography by Devon Michelle Photography

Summer nights are some of my favorites. The air is still warm and as the sun goes down it makes an evening under our Outdoor Lights with dinner and friends gathered at the table feel like pure magic. I've decided that outdoor lighting is a whole lot like Christmas Lights - they draw people in and make them want to stay. Whether you'd like them in your garden, over your deck, or in your yard, here are all of our secrets on how to add lights to your outdoor spaces!

First let’s start with our full Outdoor Entertaining List : Click Here for the Full List. We filled it with everything you’ll need to hang lights, run a timer, fill vases with flowers and welcome your friends in. Now for our secrets…

#1 : stick to one kind :

I know it's tempting to start digging through all of the boxes of old Christmas lights and lights you used for that one birthday party and then add in a few other strands you picked up to fill in... but believe me you'll be happier if you keep it clean and for this part, not eclectic. I'm the queen of all the things eclectic, just not with the lights. These are our favorite LED Globe lights. They’re warm in color, use almost NO electricity, the strand is light weight so it can hang on anything and they’re durable!

#2 : map out your space :

Help yourself out a little bit and walk the area you'd like to hang the lights. Where will you be attaching them? Do you need to add poles or posts to hang them on? Will they be hanging from trees, your house, deck posts. Now decide what 'pattern' they'll be hanging in. Will they be criss-crossing back and forth over the space, or hanging around the perimeter?

#3 : walk it out :

Now that you have a general idea of the map of where they'll be hanging, do a little measureing. You don't need a hard fast number, but you will want to know an estimate of how many feet you'll be covering. Don't forget to take into account extra feet for the lights to drape - they look much more inviting if they are not pulled tight. Side note - the light strands will stretch a bit once they are hung so when you install them hang them a bit higher/tighter than you are hoping for. The cords relax and stretch out a bit after they are hanging up.

#4 : make an investment :

There are lots and lots of lights on the market. You don't need to spend a fortune, the key is to get all the same kind. I prefer globe lights because there are more lights per strand, they come in all sorts of lengths, the bulbs are easy to source for replacements and the strands do not weigh too much which makes them easier to hang on branches and posts. We connect 3 LED Strands end to end to fill our orchard with light. If you are not using LED Globe lights you’ll only be able to connect 2 at most before they start tripping the fuses. For this reason, I suggest that you purchase the longer 100 foot LED strands. Here are the ones we use: 100 foot strands! They are plastic lightbulbs so they’re easy to work with. One disclaimer, we have found that if you pull on the bulb or are too rough with them the plastic bulb cover does pop off. If you treat them gentle like a glass bulb you won’t have any issues. We typically put them up in the end of May and leave them up through all of the spring rains, summer heat and cooler fall nights until we take them down in October. Our strands have lasted years, only needing a few bulbs replaced.

Now You’re Ready Entertain, Check Out Our Book Dinner Changes Everything

#5 : extension cords, fuses and zip ties :

Here is another reason I suggest going with the long 100 bulb strands...you won't need to run as many extension cords. There is nothing worse than extra cords hanging everywhere! Plus, give yourself a little extra gift and buy extensions cords that will blend into the area. We have super long green extension cords that hide in the tree and greenery as they run back to the house. Now, if you plug the strands in and they aren't working...don't panic, it's probably the fuse. The strands come with extra fuses stored in the plug head so keep those handy - you will most definitely need them at some point during the life of the bulbs. The fuses blow occasionally so we like to have some on back up. Plus we never hang lights without zip ties and our snips. Zip ties make it possible to hang the lights anywhere, no wrapping or hooking required. Here’s the link to all of the gear we suggest.

#6 : get a buddy :

It is way easier to hang these lights with a friend. Since the bulbs love to get tangled on the longer strands, you'll be glad to have someone helping you! I like to have the strands hanging at various heights, some draping lower in areas where you do not need to walk under and higher in the higher traffic areas. It’s so much easier to have someone standing back saying if the lights are too high or too low.

Now fill your space and enjoy an evening under the lights - you're going to want to stay out there until the first day of winter, so bring refreshments, a mosquito lantern (i put our favorites in the list! ) and possibly a blanket too ;)

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