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We recently had an excellent conversation with one of the businesses in our network, Treasure Valley Lighting & Display. It was about a timely topic—Christmas lights! An expert in the field with years of experience will always have the best advice. They shared some insider tips with us on how to get a clean, beautiful Christmas light display, and now our yards are going to look better than ever this holiday season.
We’d love to pass on some of this information to you, in case you’d like a little extra sparkle in your landscape too.
Design
Boise Landscaping Network: The first thing we asked about was layout. What are the most important parts of the house to light for that classic, gingerbread-house design?
Treasure Valley Lighting and Display: Generally, homeowners will begin with lighting their roof lines. On most houses, covering the roof lines on just the front of the house is sufficient. However, if your house is on a corner lot or is otherwise visible from multiple sides, you may consider covering more of the house.
After the roof lights are handled, the 2nd best part of your property to light will be trees and bushes. Pick your favorite tree in the front yard, or perhaps multiple trees and bushes. Try to balance out the yard by not having too many lights in one area of the yard and try to "frame" your house with lighted trees. Additionally, think about how your lights can help visually guide friends and family to your front door when they come for a visit.
Often, lights in the front yard are not visible from inside the home. You will enjoy them as you drive home at night, but your neighbors will probably get to enjoy them more than you! So, if there is a tree in your backyard that is visible from inside the house, we recommend lighting up that as well. When you're enjoying the warmth of your home during a cold winter night, it definitely adds to the ambiance to have lights just outside your windows.
Other objects to light might include:
Porch pillars
Pergolas
Driveway perimeters
Yard decor or any special features on your property
Products
Boise Landscaping Network: For our next question, we wanted to dig into the details. What are some of the best products and brands to use?
Treasure Valley Lighting and Display: When it comes to product selection, I recommend C-9 socket wire and bulbs for the roof lines (C-7's are smaller but can also work just as well), and 5MM mini lights for trees and bushes. We use commercial-grade LED lights and clips, but these aren't available at your big box /warehouse store. You can sometimes find commercial-grade materials from a local distributor (Silver Creek Supply, Evergreen Sprinkler Supply, SiteOne, etc.), or online as well.
We like to use Minleon and S4 brand lights for most of what we do. The lights that you'll find in retail stores won't last as long and usually cannot be cut to custom lengths. And the clips they offer might last a season or two before they start breaking on you.
Color
Boise Landscaping Network: How does color selection affect the overall result? Is there an art to it?
Treasure Valley Lighting and Display: Choosing colors for your lights is a very subjective matter. What kind of architecture does your home have? What's your neighborhood like? What is your personal taste/personality?
By far, the most popular choice from our customers is a classic warm white. LED Christmas lights still don't match the color temperature of old school incandescent lights that we all grew up with, but they are much better than they used to be. We use Minleon's "sun warm white".
The next most popular choice is multi-colored (red, green, orange, blue, yellow pattern), followed by either red & white (candy cane look) or red, white, and green, which are very classic Christmas colors. Some customers actually prefer a cool white, or a pure white, especially when mixing with other colors.
Chords
Boise Landscaping Network: Whatever color we pick, we of course want the lights to be the focus, not the chords. What are some tips for a clean look?
Treasure Valley Lighting and Display: Christmas lights are all about aesthetics, and you don't want wires hanging loose or bright orange extension cords running across your yard. We recommend using landscape extension cords because they are dark green and they hide among bushes and trees, even in the daylight. Try to utilize your gutters and downspouts to hide your extension cords and lead wires. Plus, keeping everything tight and neat will help the chords fade into the background.
Savvy Shopping
Boise Landscaping Network. Before we go, is there any other generalized advice we haven’t covered yet?
Treasure Valley Lighting and Display: Most of what I've shared is really for the DIY homeowner who enjoys lighting their own home. But, if you'd rather not climb a ladder or are uncomfortable dealing with electricity, call a local professional installer. We are currently booked for this year, but there are other great companies out there. Make sure they are insured and have the proper knowledge and experience. Ask them what brand of lights they use and to see samples. Some companies sell you the lights as part of the price of the first year, making subsequent years less expensive. Other companies simply provide the lights every year as part of the service (leasing model). Both have pros and cons, just make sure it's clear whether you own the lights or not.
Boise Landscaping Network: Thanks so much to Treasure Valley Lighting and Display! And Merry Christmas to all our readers, our amazing clients, and the talented and professional companies that are represented in the Boise Landscaping Network. Thank you for all that you do!
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