String Lights: Not Just for Parties

We are all familiar with festoon lighting - strings of lights used around the holidays. They illuminate open air venues, like circuses, and restaurant patios and gatherings under tents. They are low cost, and practical.

Strings of lights came to mind as permanent lighting for the screened porch in the house we were building. They would be a good fit with this informal, industrial style house. String lights are not the same thing as low voltage cable lights, which are not suitable for outdoors, and can cost more than ten times as much.

String lights are simple to install: During the electrical wiring stage, three outlets were installed high on the wall at intervals across the room. The outlets were connected to a switch, so the lights could be turned on easily. During the finishing stage, ordinary wire was attached to eye screws in the walls. At one end, the eye screws were next to the outlets, so that the light string could be plugged in. Three strands of medium gage wire were attached to the eye screws and pulled tight across the room.

We first tried a package of little mini lights on one of the wires, but did not like the twisted green electric wire that came with lights. It was too noticeable. So we took those back and got three boxes of medium bulb Christmas lights. These came with simpler electric wire and larger bulbs. They were called C-7's. You can get C-9's if you want bigger bulbs. There are lots of bulb shapes and sizes to choose from, all the way up to regular sized bulbs.

Each bulb has a little clip so that it can be hung on the wire. We spaced the lights out, and then pulled the strand tight. This brand of light strand can be cut off, so there was not excess at the end. When the strand is cut, you will need some black electrician's tape to seal the end.

When the light strings were turned on we had a nice surprise. The lighting was beautifully diffused throughout the room. It was so soft and diffused that it seemed like moonlight. Strings of small lights have a special ambience - they remind us of parties and festive times. It was fun to re-interpret this familiar lighting style for everyday use.