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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Outdoor Lighting Perspectives

From everyone here at Outdoor Lighting Perspectives we wanted to wish you a safe, happy and bright holiday. The holidays are our favorite time of year. As we work with our clients to make their homes more festive for the season, we can’t help but enjoy ourselves.

Here are just some of our holiday outdoor lighting displays that put a smile on our faces:

holiday lighting birmingham

This outdoor holiday lighting display in Birmingham is absolutely stunning, yet understated. The subtle white lights on the roof-line and in trees are gorgeous

This is a classic home at the holidays. The white snowflake lights frame the home nicely and the wreaths on the windows are a great finishing detail

 

I love the garland, lights and bows on this stately home. The outdoor holiday lighting truly makes the home pop in the night

C9 lights are a popular way to highlight a home's roof line.

Last put not least, our office in Nashville was lucky enough to light the capital Christmas tree. It's so full and gorgeous with over 5,000 lights!

Make sure you SHINE ON this holiday season

The passing of Thanksgiving brings the beginning of the outdoor holiday decorating season. I must say that driving home after stuffing myself with turkey and fixings became much more enjoyable as I passed homes with lights on the roofline, in the bushes and windows and on the front yard. This is the time of year, I love going on walks and driving through neighborhoods to see the lighting displays.

Make sure you plan out your holiday lighting before stepping on that ladder to minimize time.

Installing outdoor holiday lights can, however, be dangerous or cause damage when done incorrectly. At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we’ve come up with the SHINE ON acronym to give hints on how to create a beautiful display without incident.

Sketch: Develop a plan. For our clients, we take before pictures of the property and sketch out a plan before tackling an install. Without a plan, more time is spent on ladders and roofs were injuries can occur (and more money is spent on decorations). We also suggest taking an after picture so your planning process is shorter next year.

Hang: Make time. If you are hanging lights, give yourself several hours of daylight to install it. Doing this after work when it’s getting or is dark isn’t safe. It will take longer than you expect if you are doing it for the first time, so don’t rush yourself.

Investigate: Test and retest. Test each string of holiday lights before attempting to hang them. I actually made this mistake last night, but luckily it was just on my Christmas tree and I wasn’t on a roof.

No Shortcuts: Use the right stuff. Make sure that all of the outdoor holiday décor you are displaying is made for the outdoors (also check the extension cords you are using). It should say right on the box if it’s OK to use outside and in the winter elements. Also, make sure not to string all the lights together. Most boxes will tell you how many you can string together before the performance is an issue. If you link too many, you may blow bulbs or fuses (apparently no one told Clark Griswold about this).

Encase: tape it up. Winter brings some harsh elements. Tape up connections with electrical tape so everything stays put.

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas minus the snow? Outdoor Lighting Perspectives can create one for you with our professional holiday lighting displays.

Another mesmerizing holiday lighting display by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives

Only use clips. Too many homeowners use staples or nails to hang their outdoor Christmas lights. Not only will clips hold everything in place more securely, but nails and staples can cause damage to your home’s exterior.

Never go solo. Not unlike any other time you are going up a ladder or on a roof, use the buddy system when installing holiday lights. One person should be on the ground making sure the ladder is steady.

And when in doubt, call in the experts. Professional holiday lighting installers will handle all parts of your design, install, take down and storage. They call also get to those hard to reach places like high peaks. If you have questions regarding holiday lighting, contact your local Outdoor Lighting Perspectives offic

Christmas Lighting Crafts Anyone Can Do

If you have read this blog or know Outdoor Lighting Perspectives well, you know we take outdoor holiday lighting seriously. At my house, we are officially a week away until my holiday décor is all around the house, both indoors and out.

Light is a key component of the holidays. Fires in the fireplace, candles, string lights, they all add to the cozy warmth of the season. Growing up, my mother always did something different in our house for the holidays. She was always looking for new ways to provide the same festive feeling to the house. For those readers like my mother, here are some great holiday lighting crafts that are easy to do.

Tomato Cage Tree. Your tomatoes are probably done growing for the season, but hopefully you’ve saved the cage they grow around. What does that cage remind you of? A tree maybe? That’s right, if you flip the cage over with the widest part at the bottom, you have a great skeleton for a tree. There are two ways to finish it. The easiest route is to wrap string lights around the cage and plug it in. It will bring a bright spot to a room or to your front porch if you are looking for that perfect finishing touch. If you want it a little fuller, wrap garland around it first, then add lights.

Christmas Lighting Craft

Christmas Jars from Better Homes and Gardens

Christmas Jars. I LOVE this idea from Better Homes and Gardens. Take a clear mason jar or vase and put some greenery in it. I have a big holly bush on the side of my home that would work perfectly for this Christmas craft. Once you have an amount you like, throw in a handful or two of cranberries and fill with water until the berries are floating at the top. Place a white floating candle on top and it’s the perfect start to any holiday table. Isn’t the light with the shine of green and red beautiful?

Hanging Wishes. Think about the words of the season (joy, peace, cheer) and pick your favorite. Take cans or jars that you can paint (clear will work best). Paint the jar except for the letters of the word. So, if I was doing “joy” I would have three jars. One would have a J, the next O and the last one Y. Place string lights inside so the letters glow. If you are using cans, you may have to hammer out the letters.

Old Bulbs, New Display. Don’t throw out your old Christmas lights, especially if they are colored c9 bulbs. Put them in a bowl, vase, cup and they are an instant decoration.

Placing objects of the season at the base of a candle will instantly make it more festive

Candles and Greenery. Decorating around the base of candles is an easy way to create a Christmas display. My first thought is to get some greenery (again, holly would be great) and pinecones for a natural look, but you could also place Christmas ornaments, ribbon or bells and still have a great result.

If you have questions regarding holiday lighting, please contact your local Outdoor Lighting Perspectives office.

Outdoor Holiday Lighting Makes Your Property More Appealing

My favorite part of the holiday season is the outdoor holiday décor. The trees, lights, bows, I love it all. It’s not uncommon to find me walking around the outdoor malls that have gorgeous holiday displays in the winter months. And according to Downtown Decorations, that’s the point.

In a recent article, Downtown Decorations explains that by decorating and keeping the outside of your commercial property looking good, you can increase your bottom line. As the customer’s first impression of a store is really the outside of it, it’s important to entice the visitor to want to come in, walk around and see what’s inside. And word of mouth can grow from there too. If someone is wowed by your holiday lighting, they may tell others to go and see it. And hopefully they’ll want to come in and explore the store too.

At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we work with a lot of commercial properties on their holiday decorations and each one is different. Some clients want a more traditional Christmas look while others want something a little more playful and different. We want to make the properties we decorate to be festive when we walk away. The holidays are a fun, but sometimes stressful, time of year. Outdoor decorations make people want to linger longer and enjoy the cheerful décor.

Check out some of these commercial holiday projects:

This giant ornament and reindeer make quite a statement welcoming shoppers to an outdoor mall.

For a more traditional reindeer display, some commercial properties use vine reindeer wrapped with string lights for their outdoor holiday display. These are noticed both day and night.

This space not only wanted a decorated Christmas tree, but also wrapped the palm trees in the back.

Real versus Artificial Christmas Trees

I was born and raised in Portland, ME. Every season, after Thanksgiving, my mom, brothers and I would go to the local Christmas tree lot and pick out our family’s Christmas tree. It was always real and I loved it. I loved having the house smell like pine and I told myself I would never get an artificial Christmas tree. Of course, then I became old enough where my mom had me help take down the Christmas tree. That was the beginning of the end of our love affair.

I helped my mother remove the string lights from the tree which inevitably were balled up and tangled in a pile along with our ornaments (we should have just thrown them out because neither my mother or I am patient enough to untangle lights). I didn’t think that was too bad until I actually had to take down the tree. The amount of pine needles that fell from the tree and onto our floor was ridiculous. Our nice wooden floors were covered (and I mean covered) with green pine needles that needed to be picked up.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives has a wide variety of pre-lit Christmas trees for the inside and outside of your home

When I moved to Virginia after college I begrudgingly bought an artificial tree. I was living alone and couldn’t handle the putting up and taking down process by myself so I decided to get a tree that would be easy for me to handle. My first worry was that it would look fake, but the variety of styles was vast and that wasn’t an issue (my brother even yelled at me for leaving my lights on all the time because he thought it was real and I’d burn my apartment down). And I have no issues stringing my Christmas tree lights anymore, because it’s done for me. All I was missing was the smell, and a Yankee Candle fixed that.

Six years later, me and my tree have been to three different homes and are still going strong.

At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we not only do outdoor holiday lighting, but we also provide our clients with a wide variety of options for the inside of their homes, including pre-lit Christmas trees. From our classic tree design to our

Town Christmas Tree with Ornaments, Tags and a Custom Base

Winter Spruces and Mountain Pines, we can help you pick a tree that will fit your home perfect while providing the “real” look you hope for. Our indoor artificial Christmas trees are available in several heights going up to twelve feet.

Our commercial-grade Christmas trees are absolutely gorgeous and can be ordered up to 60 feet tall. They’re great for venues like malls and in community areas. Like our Christmas wreaths and foliage, they are pre-lit and custom ornaments can be added to fit your holiday décor perfectly.

For those customers that want a more contemporary look, we have options like these spiral trees to the right. They are so fun looking and the outdoor holiday lighting really pops against the dark background. Instead of decorating with ornaments for the day, these trees are all about the lights (you know we like that!).

And the best part to me is still the lack of needles to sweep, vacuum and pick up!

If you are interested in learning more about your outdoor holiday lighting options, please contact your local Outdoor Lighting Perspectives office.

Your Christmas Wreath, Your Way

Have you ever gone into a home décor store with a clear idea of what you want just to find out that they have nothing like it? That, my friends, is one of my pet peeves, especially around the holidays. Decorating for the holidays is one of my favorites things to do (yes, the weekend after Thanksgiving and my house is a cheery place if I do say so myself), so I get disappointed when I can’t find just the right piece.

At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we’ve erased this disappointed when it comes to pre lit holiday wreaths. With our customizable options, our clients get their wreaths, their way, and the possibilities are endless.

Pre lit holiday wreathThe first step is for the client has to do is pick the type of wreath they want. This includes different foliage types (maybe you prefer a pine wreath as opposed to mixed foliage), sizes and lights. Our wreaths come pre lit so you don’t have to worry about stringing wreaths year after year.

Wreath with BowNext, you decide what color bow you want on the wreath (if you want one). There are a ton of color and pattern options and finishes.

Classic WreathThe last step is to decide what type of ornaments or decorations you want added to your wreath. Some of our clients like to decorate their outdoor wreaths with a traditional style with red and gold bulbs, while others like a punchier look with candy cane colors and poinsettias.

No matter your personal taste, our goal is to provide you with the wreath that you want. Here are some different wreath designs to spur your thinking:

Candy cane wreath

 

 

This candy cane themed wreath is one of my favorites. The red and white striped bow is so full and fun it just makes me smile. Opaque and shiny red and silver bulbs of various sizes are spread throughout the foliage along with white-tipped pine cones and white finishes adding to the festive feel.

 

 

Poinsettia Wreath

 

 

My mother LOVES poinsettias, so I’m sure she would love this wreath. The large flowers are spread amongst bulbs of various shapes and sizes. I really like the purple bulbs as they add an unexpected color to the wreath.

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe traditional wreaths are more your style. The burgundy and gold colors on this wreath remind me of the traditional holiday look. The gold pine cones and leaves look great spread through the project.

 

 

 

 

Or maybe the typical green foliage wreath isn’t your thing all together. There are still options. These mesh wreaths are available in a variety of sizes and colors too.

If you are interested in learning more about holiday wreaths or other outdoor holiday décor, please contact your local Outdoor Lighting Perspectives office.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives gets decked out for the holidays

This deck built by Archadeck of Greater Atlanta gets decked out for the holidays

This deck built by Archadeck of Greater Atlanta gets decked out for the holidays and shows how holiday outdoor lighting designed for well-loved areas of the landscape can create magic.

What could be more uplifting for the spirit or the soul this holiday season than entertaining friends and family on your own Christmas deck? That’s right, a Christmas deck. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives recognizes that many locations across the country experience mild to moderate temperatures during the winter and for many homeowners decks become an extension of their living space all year through. With this in mind we are able to create a magical spot of festive folly with the use of holiday outdoor lighting in spots like a deck, a porch or even a gazebo.

lighted gazebo on the beach - I want to go there

Even Santa dreams of a tropical getaway. This beach-side gazebo has been illuminated with ethereal holiday lights in anticipation of his arrival.

Even if your climatic conditions won’t allow for entertaining within your deck or other outdoor structure during the cooler months, can you imagine the feeling of looking out the back windows of your home and seeing a beautiful holiday lighting display? Being able to take in this merriment on a nightly basis can be your prescription for joy this Christmas. In the same manner front yard holiday lighting designs are planned to inspire awe and childlike whimsy for all.

We try to think outside the box in terms of holiday lighting designs for our customers. We offer traditional and classic holiday lighting designs that are timeless in their beauty and elegance. We also offer the bold, intriguing and unique holiday lighting that you only usually see in magazines that inspire daydreams and wishes. These unique holiday lighting designs are usually the result of creativity and looking at a landscape as an artist’s canvas hungry and open to imagination. We look at each landscape and residence we design as its own canvas. With our staff of experienced and talented lighting designers, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives can fulfill your desires of having an outdoor holiday lighting design that makes you take a second look, and leaves your guests taking photos of your holiday lighting for inspiration for their holiday lighting for next season. Remember, imitation is the best form of flattery and we can create a design for you that is truly unforgettable.

OLP holiday lighting 005

This gazebo is lit for the holiday and would make an unforgettable spot for your holiday party.

If you are ready to make your holiday lighting fantasies a reality this holiday season, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives to look at your deck, pergola, porch or other outdoor structure in a new “holiday” light. To locate an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives in your area visit our locations list located on our website.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday from Outdoor Lighting Perspectives!

See more stirring images of outdoor holiday lighting by visiting our holiday lighting photo galleries located on our website.

 

 

Make it an unforgettably sweet Christmas with unique candy cane lighting by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives

These unusual candy cane icicle lights aren't something you see in your typical, mediocre holiday lighting display.

These unusual candy cane roof-line lights aren't something you see in your typical, mediocre holiday lighting display.

Do you remember the era of the old fashioned candy shop where you could belly up to the bar and get a real homemade root beer float? Or maybe you remember those delectable sugary creations from the many large lidded jars that were proudly displayed on the counters? These are the images that come to mind when we think of the candy canes. The origins of the candy cane go back for over 350 years. From the candy cane’s humble beginnings, adding stripes  to the otherwise pure white confections that were seen in 1900, and flavors like peppermint and wintergreen have made the candy cane itself an icon of the holidays and a symbol of sweetness all over the world. Along with the mouth-watering temptation associated with the candy cane, it’s shape and characteristics have become a fun part of  holiday decorating as well. The candy cane is one of the most easily identifiable symbols associated with the Christmas holiday.

3D Lighted Candy Canes on Base (3)-frontpage

These lighted 3D candy canes can calm your sweet spot for unique holiday lighting

In a world filled with mundane outdoor holiday lighting designs, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives rises to the top with unique holiday lighting designs that entail the stuff dreams are made of. Our holiday lighting designs include timeless and traditional as well as specialty style lighting that you only see in the most beautiful outdoor holiday lighting displays. One of our most popular holiday lighting themes is the candy cane. Using lighted candy canes as part of your outdoor holiday decorating brings to mind sugarplums and images of a winter wonderland seen from the eyes of a child. Candy canes bring whimsy to life within your holiday lighting display. As part two of our outdoor holiday lighting design series on unique holiday lighting, we focus on the many ways this beloved symbol can make your own Christmas lighting design magical.

Candy cane LED lighted yard displays and candy cane roofline lighting

Our candy cane themed lighting can be used together to create a sweet treat for your Christmas lighting design

It takes design savvy and thinking outside the box to create an unforgettable Christmas lighting panorama. Our line of lighted candy canes provide the base for your holiday fantasies with roof-line candy cane lighting that can be used to define your roof-line and architectural details. Along with the candy cane roof-line lights, we also offer lighted candy cane stake lights that provide a perfect candy land effect when used to border walkways, paths and even your driveway. Our unique selection of lighted yard displays feature this cute confections as well, to give you the ultimate answer to that sweet tooth!

Candy Cane Lightlinks, 3D Candy Cane

Close up of our 3-D lighted candy cane yard display

To learn more about our unique outdoor holiday lighting designs including the candy cane, among other beautiful Christmas lighting options and styles, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives today. Find an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives close to home by visiting our locations list located on our website.

Happy Holidays from Outdoor Lighting Perspectives!

Be the star of the show with unique star inspired holiday lighting designs from Outdoor Lighting Perspectives

3d lighted LED Star Wreath

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives offers homeowners a myriad of different style star to use in your outdoor holiday lighting display.

For most of us, the image of the star has played a role of great significance in our lives. From “wishing on a star” as a child, to fond memories of reciting “twinkle, twinkle little star” with our preschool friends. The symbol of the star can mean many things including a love for nature, power, light and healing. For many people the star serves as a symbol of their religious beliefs, including the star of David and the star of Bethlehem. For whatever reason the star holds a special place in your heart, the star itself is a beloved icon of the holidays and is a common theme in outdoor holiday lights. In this story we focus on using the shape and significance of the star in holiday outdoor lighting design. This is part one of a two part series on unique holiday lighting design choices that are sure to turn heads.

large lighted LED starbursts

These lighted starbursts are used to light the way to holiday bliss

Up until just the last decade or so, Christmas lighting was basic in it’s design limitations. In essence you had two choices, plain strings of lights in white or clear, or multi-color plain strings lights. This is certainly not the case nowadays. Today’s outdoor holiday lighting includes all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes to choose from.

As for the star theme, our star lighting elements include lighted wreaths designed in the shape of a star. These can be used singularly or in multiples across your homes facade or another prime location of interest as part of your Christmas lighting display.  Star shaped roofline lighting can add whimsy and charm to your home’s distinct curves and lines, along with other unique holiday lighting elements that serve as the “haute couture” in outdoor holiday lighting designs.

single Starburst LED holiday light

This unique single starburst LED lighted holiday stake is stunning and unique twist to the star shape, when used alone, or in multiples.

One of these unique pieces is our LED lighted starburst stakes. These lighted startbursts offer you a new take on the traditional star. Adding one of these unique lighted stakes can make a statement, and when used in multiples to line a walkway or path they are simply breathtaking. We also have a wide array of stand up one-dimensional and three-dimensional lighted yard displays that also feature the star as the center of the theme.

OLP holiday lighting 032

Twinkle, twinkle lighted star

If you are in search of the unique, and unusual as part of your outdoor holiday lighting design this year, contact your local Outdoor Lighting Perspectives to see how we can create a holiday lighting display that will make your holiday decorating shine like a star in the night sky.

To find an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives location near you visit our locations list available on our website.

 

 

 

LED holiday lighting from here to eternity, a new realm of lighting

Holiday outdoor lights Chrismas outdoor lights LED

This magnificent outdoor holiday lighting display was achieved through the use of LED lights.

When you drive by a beautifully illuminated outdoor holiday lighting display and it brings a smile to your face and a warm feeling in your soul do you ever think about what elements went into creating such an inspirational display? Most folks don’t bother with learning the logistics of what goes into a well designed and executed Christmas light display, but many of the lights we use in our holiday lighting displays may play a role in making our planet a better place to live.

Some history on holiday lights

Festivities practiced by ancient civilizations used lights as part of their celebration practices. This ancient tradition of associating the use of light that signified a special occasion is believed to have set the groundwork for our modern-day use of lighting our homes, our landscape and our trees as part of celebrating the holidays.

Vintage Holiday lighting advertisement for GE Christmas lights

This vintage advertisement for GE holiday lights is circa. 1949

The first signs of celebratory lights were candles, tallow lights and nutshells which were filled with oil and lit. Our modern electric lights made for Christmas were introduced by Thomas Alva Edison in 1882, just three years after his invention of the first light bulb in 1879. Since their debut in 1882, holiday lights have seen many changes over the years. Today’s modern Christmas lights offer many benefits that our forefathers would’ve never deemed possible within the small but complicated workings that make up a light bulb.

Much of the holiday lighting we see nowadays is made up of energy efficient LED ( light emitting diode) lighting. LED light bulbs use modern technological advances to create a light that uses less energy to light, has a longer bulb life, responds faster to switching, exudes more robust and clearer illumination, and is more gentle on the environment than it’s predecessors.

led

Up close and personal with the LED.

If half the world’s lighting needs could be met by conversion to LED by the year 2025, researchers predict  this would reduce the world’s power usage by at least 120 gigawatts. This reduction in power usage would reflect a savings in energy costs worldwide of over 100 billion dollars per year, and would also reduce carbon dioxide emissions brought on by power plants by 350 megatons each year. So when you think in terms of a small, LED light, look at it as a little light that packs a lot of punch in terms of the  positive effects the LED’s “green” technology could have on our entire planet.

LED light is said to  have first been  invented by a group of four independent research groups in the United States  in 1962, but much speculation has been made over a Russian genius by the name of Oleg Losev who is said to have discovered the LED forty years prior to that. Believe it or not nearly 100 years ago Henry Round at Marconi Labs noted the emission of light from a semiconductor diode, but published only a very short note on his findings and made no further investigations on the subject at the time which left the door open for Losev to hold the title as the first to discover the LED.

C9 Holiday outdoor lights by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives created this stunning holiday lighting display by using the charming C9 LED lights.

Every good design is all about the details…

Now let’s talk about the “playful” part of the LED lighting. When I refer to this aspect of the LED light as playful, I am referring to the myriad of beautiful and mesmerizing components that are used in creating an LED outdoor holiday lighting display. Our LED displays incorporate LED roofline lights, such as the C9 that promote a charming and elegant feel into your display. We also use holiday wreaths, garlands and foliage that are lit using LED technology. The use of these classic and inspirational pieces can be used in multiples to heighten the beauty of your outdoor holiday lighting display. Even the use of a single lighted wreath adorning your front door can make a huge impact on your Christmas display and will welcome visitors and guests for the holidays in a manner nothing else comes close to. Many of our customers also lean towards using the more unique LED components we offer, such as the LightLinks roofline lighting that comes in a host of merry holiday shapes such as candy canes and snowflakes, just for starters. The LightLinks line of holiday lighting also offers large, lighted stand-up 3-dimensional yard displays that come in a variety of cherished holiday icons.

lighted palm tree by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives

Lighted palm tree by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives can design a unique LED holiday lighting display for you using LED. We can design a custom Christmas lighting display for you, from sugarplum fantasies to a traditional display that mimic the old world beauty and charm of a” Currier and Ives “holiday postcard. To learn more about our professional outdoor holiday lighting, including the energy efficient LED’s, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives today.

To locate an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives close to you, visit our locations list located on our website.

Yearning for images of inspirational holiday lighting? Then visit our outdoor holiday lighting photo gallery, also located on our website.