String lights decorating ideas have become an increasingly popular trend. Not too many years ago, string lights came in two styles: little and big bulbs. The little bulbs for inside on the tree, the big bulbs for outside on the house. Not anymore!
You can find various shapes, sizes, and colors; powered by LED, incandescent, or the newest lighting technology. You’ll find the cord or wire in a multitude of colors and lengths, and in a huge variety of materials: wire, glass, metal, plastic. You can find battery powered, solar powered, and of course the old school 120-volt string lights. The variety of selection can be so overwhelming!
Enhance Your Living Spaces: 33 Ways You Can Decorate with String Lights
The style you choose will depend on your decorating ideas. Maybe you have the desire to decorate with string lights but are not sure what to do with them. You could simply hang them from corner to corner in your room. While it would be acceptable, that simple arrangement just doesn’t make a statement. Don’t worry, here are 33 bright ideas that will help you decide.
1. Say What You Mean with Lights
No matter the message you want to convey, string lights can make your thoughts shine. A few nails at key points bring shape to the word you want to highlight. With the nails in place, all you need to do is put the string of lights in place. Live. Love. Dance. Laugh. Pray. Say anything you want with lights.
2. Brighten Up Your Vanity with Delicate Lacy Light
Give your vanity a lovely glow with the help of soft white string lights and some white netting. The lights arch over this silver mirror, with both ends pooling on the vanity top below. White netting bows placed between each light soften the look of the lights, adding a romantic touch to the entire vignette.
3. Put a Little Sparkle in Your Bedroom
Frosted white panels and soft white lights give starlight to this romantic headboard. A white 9×9 grid provides the base of this stunning piece. Each panel in the grid gets a unique star map of its own, with a string of lights dancing behind the hazy panel in front. It’s modern, yet classically romantic.
4. A Stunning Eye-catching Chandelier
String lights make a stunning light fixture in this classic dining room. Several strings wrap around a circular frame which hangs from the ceiling by chains. It offers an old-world touch to a classic room, while still working for an industrial space as well. Perfect for the Holiday season or any time of year.
5. Remember the Lava Lamp? This is Better
Multiple colors dancing in a frosted vase give off a vibrancy perfect for any room in your house. A string of multi-colored lights fills this vase, running off the battery pack to the side. Place it in a dark corner and let the lights fill up the night. It’s definitely better than a lava lamp and even better in front of a mirror.
6. Contrast Driftwood with Crystal for This Chandelier
Looking for an organic chandelier? This driftwood light fixture features crystal string lights hanging all along its length. The random placement of the lights, paired with the gnarls and twists of the wood, offers a casual romantic look that works well anywhere in your living space. You can make it as big or as small as you want for the perfect fit.
7. Add Romance and Glamour to Your Bed
A soft glow brings romance and relaxation to this beach-inspired bedroom. A platform bed, made from rough wood, is the perfect spot to nestle string lights under the mattress. Add as many strings as you want to create the perfect amount of light in your bedroom. When it’s time to turn off the lights, turn on the glow for romance and fun.
8. Displaying Photos is a Breeze with String Lights Design Ideas Like This
This corner display doubles as a lighting feature as well as the place to see the latest vacation photos. Zig-zagging from one wall to the next, this light string runs from the ceiling down. Each zig or zag offers one or two spots for precious photos to hang, with the help of a clothespin.
9. Tiny Bulbs Under the Glass: are Those Pixies?
Glass cloches filled with microscopic fiberglass lights bring a magical touch anywhere they are displayed. Hundreds of lights fill each dome in a wild array. Each dome has its own character, depending on the spray of lights inside. Grouping these domes and their interior delights creates a land perfect for fairies and humans alike.
10. Stars in the Nursery
Bring the night sky inside with this faux ceiling panel, filled with string lights. Foam board forms the panel that fills this ceiling. The lights peek through the foam board, creating the soft illumination of the night sky. It’s perfect for the baby’s room, but there is no need to keep it in there. It’s perfect for kids of all ages and adults too.
11. Shimmering Metallic Lights
Mirror squares on a garland, a metal curtain rod, and string lights behind create this dazzling wall display. The string of mirror squares brings the bling, hanging at varying heights from the rod that secures everything to the wall. Light bounces around the mirror squares, giving a beautiful glow to the entire room, especially in the evening shadows.
12. Create a Looking Glass that Alice Would Envy
An ornate mirror propped up against a wall gets a romantic makeover with the simple addition of a string of soft white lights. Spilling onto the floor, this string of lights brings a beautiful shimmer to the wall behind and to the person standing in front. Approaching this mirror gives the illusion that you could step into its depths and explore Wonderland.
13. A Panel Screen Doesn’t Have to Block the Light: It Can be the Light
Want a way to separate spaces without blocking the light? This three-panel light fixture is the answer. A folding screen gets a complete makeover, with branches cross-crossing each panel frame. String lights intertwine with the branches, creating a multi-purpose piece perfect for defining a space without blocking it off.
14. Monogram Much? Brightene it Up with String Lights Décor
String lights and ping pong balls are the perfect way to bring a bit of bling and nostalgia into your home. Marquee lights lit the stages of old Hollywood and Broadway. Bringing this look into your home offers vintage glamour, perfect for a tight budget. Each light sits inside of a ping pong ball, held in place on a paper mache frame.
15. Bring the Forest Indoors with this Great Idea
A tangle of string lights combine to create an illuminates tree, perfect for the bedroom or playroom. The wires on the lights give a grain detail to the trunk and branches of this strong tree. Each point of light acts as a leaf or blossom, filling out the natural beauty of the tree. With so many ways to go, create a tree unique to your space.
16. Patterns of Geometry: Lighted Headboard
Geometric lines, highlighted with string lines, makes for a unique headboard. Transform your bedroom with this geometric masterpiece. Lights march in straight lines to and fro throughout this simple, illuminated wall display. A few fasteners placed at strategic spots create the anchors on which the lights begin their straight-line journey.
17. Create a Safe Play Space for a Little One
Private places are made extra special with the soft glow of lights surrounding them. Little ones love to have special play spaces where they can go to be alone or share with a special friend. This simple teepee offers a comfortable spot to sit, behind the privacy of a lace front. A string of lights illuminates the space, making it a great spot for reading or napping.
18. Still Have that Bag of Shells the Kids Picked Up at The Beach?
Beaches are one of those special places for vacations and memories. Being able to bring those special memories home with you is extra special. Combining your children’s seashell collection with a string of lights is one way to do that. You can go with a matched set of shells or mix them up, for the perfect beachy touch that brings back special remembrances.
19. Make a Statement with Lights
Sweeping curves and dazzling lights allow you to express your hopes and dreams on any wall of your home. A child’s nursery is a perfect place for string lights, as they offer a soft glow perfect for sleeping without complete darkness. And adding your personal wish for your baby creates a message of hope to take your child into dreamland every night.
20. Soft Lights Spell Romance
Snowy white linens and a canopy bed get an extra romantic touch with a drape of string lights at the head. Soft white curtains enclose the head of this bed, providing a touch of privacy for its occupants. The soft lights dangling behind the curtain allow dreamers to dream and lovers to see the glow of their partner’s eyes.
21. An Illusion of Canopy Bed
Not everyone has the room or space for a full canopy bed. Combining string lights and columns of soft, transparent fabric, draped from ceiling rings, gives the illusion of a canopy bed in this attic bedroom. When the occupants of the bed wake up, they see these illuminated drapes providing a bit of privacy and a lot of romance.
22. Use Antique Tools to Illuminate a Dark Corner
Do you have one of those odd corners that you aren’t sure what to do with? Take an old ladder and drape some lights around it. Stand it in that odd corner and light it up. You get a unique light fixture and an art piece all in one shot. You’ve eliminated the dark corner and added a beautiful focal piece for guests to admire.
23. Subtle Lighting for that Narrow Hall
Narrow hallways always come with no light fixture or a simple dull bulb that does little to illuminate the space. Give your narrow hallway a makeover with strings of white lights falling from the ceiling. Each small light gives off only a tiny glow. When you combine hundreds of them, you get a space that won’t trip you up even on the darkest nights.
24. Flowers for a Party or a Pretty Girl
Flowers are just plain fun. When you combine paper flowers and a string of lights, you can transform your plain room into a fun space. The multiple colors of the flowers spread across the wall like a wild garden. The soft lights at the center of each blossom bring them to life. This display is perfect for a dorm room or a teen bedroom.
25. Enhance the Threshold with a Sparkling Welcome
The delight is in the details you bring to your living space. Adding lines of lights around the doors of your home is one way to bring that special delight. It is a practical idea, offering light during the night. It is also a whimsical idea, with a splash of fairy light dancing around the portals of your home.
26. Create a Friendly Storm Mobile
Storm clouds on the horizon bring sparkling lights raining down. These lovely mobiles bring a natural, yet fanciful, element into any child’s bedroom. Clouds of cotton or wool hang from the ceiling, with strings of light falling below. It’s a great way to bring soft lighting that is non-obtrusive for sleep, yet illuminating enough to keep nightmares away.
27. Multi-colored Party Lights: a Better Use for Ping-pong Balls
Night lights help kids get a good night’s sleep. Plus, it offers a soft illumination so parents can do a bedtime check without turning on the lights. Drapes of colored lights, each covered with a ping pong ball, offer a unique nightlight idea that works for boys and girls. The wall is awash with color, no matter when you turn those string lights on.
28. Recreate Nature with String Lights Decorations
Nature comes in many colors and textures. When you combine two different colors of lights, some branches, peacock feathers, and natural sponges, you bring life to an art piece ablaze with natural beauty. The branches and feathers spring out of the sponge base. Green and blue lights alternate to illuminate this natural display.
29. White on White Fireworks
Fireworks offer a celebration year round. In a white-on-white room, white lights on a white background bring the burst of light without the bright colors. The form of the fireworks starts with a pattern of holes on a firm base. Lights go into each hole, creating the illusion of a sky display.
30. Be More Beautiful Under Soft Arch of Light
Give your bedroom an illuminated makeover with this arch of light. The soft luminescence of the lights offers the illusion of a solid headboard while bringing romantic radiance to the bed’s occupants. You will be beautiful in its glow. Hundreds of individual lights spring randomly throughout the display, offering organized chaos in a loving manner.
31. Floral Wreath of White With Light
A wreath of lace and light brings a feminine touch to any room of your home. Each flower-shaped bit of lace sits in front of a light, giving the look of a garden of blossoms. The traditional wreath shape, combined with the white-on-white display, makes it a great choice for any room in the home and even the front door.
32. Mirror Draped with Subtle Lighting
Gazing in the mirror is much easier when you have soft light to illuminate the face. This drape of light and fabric brings a romantic illumination to this ornate mirror and the vanity below it. Anyone gazing in the mirror will see their face transformed by the soft luminescence from the surrounding light. Perfect for a guest bath or bedroom.
33. Eclectic Conversation Piece String Art
Simple wooden frames and strings of light create an eclectic piece of functional art. Add this illuminated display to your entertaining area and you will have the perfect conversation starter. The art piece acts as a light fixture, especially in dark corners or odd spaces. The simple shape works well in a farmhouse or modern loft.