Every year a new batch of Christmas lighting trends shows up on social feeds and in big box store aisles. Some of them make a house look better. Some look good for one season and dated by the next. We have been hanging lights in Nashville since 2006, so we have watched a lot of these come and go. Here is our honest take on which christmas lighting trends are worth following and which ones to skip.
Trends worth following
Warm white over cool white
Cool white LEDs had their moment when LEDs first replaced incandescent strands. The early ones had a blue cast that made houses look like a pharmacy parking lot. Warm white has won that argument, and for good reason. It sits well against brick, stone and painted siding. It looks like the glow people remember from older incandescent bulbs.
If you only change one thing this year, pick a color temperature and stick to it across the whole house. Mixing a bright white roofline with a yellow wreath is the most common reason a display looks off, even when nobody can say why.
A clean roofline, done precisely
The roofline outline is not new, but the standard for it has gone up. People now notice when a strand stops a foot short of the corner, or when extra bulbs are bunched up and zip tied at the end of a run. A good roofline follows every edge, turns every corner and ends where the roof ends.
That is why we use custom cut commercial grade LED strands. Each run is cut to the length of that section of roof, so there is no leftover wire coiled in a gutter. The bulbs are held by clips sized to the roof edge or gutter lip, so they sit in a straight, even line.
Lighting fewer things, better
The strongest trend of the last few years is restraint. A well lit roofline, the front entry and one or two trees will look better from the street than a yard where every shrub, post and railing has a different kind of light on it. Your eye needs somewhere to land.
If your budget is fixed, put it into the parts of the house people see first from the road. On most homes that is the front roofline and the entry. On a long ranch house it might be the eave line alone. On a two story home with a steep gable, the gable often carries the whole look.
Wrapped tree trunks and canopies
A mature tree with its trunk and main limbs wrapped tightly reads as deliberate and calm. It is a good choice for older neighborhoods with big hardwoods, like you see around Belle Meade and Sylvan Park. The key is tight, even spacing. Loose spirals with big gaps look rushed.
Handing off the whole job
More homeowners are deciding they do not want to own lights at all. They do not want boxes of tangled strands in the garage, or a dead section they have to hunt down in December. Every install we do includes design, the lights, installation by insured crews, maintenance during the season, takedown after the holidays and off season storage. We store the lights, not you. You can see the full process on our how it works page.
Trends to skip
Laser and image projectors
Projectors are cheap and quick, which is why they are everywhere. They also wash the whole front of the house in moving dots or snowflakes that blur the lines of the building. Up close they look fine. From the street they look like a screensaver. They spill onto the neighbors’ houses and into passing cars. If you like one, aim it at a small area like a garage door, not the whole facade.
Fast chase and flash modes
Many color changing strands come with a dozen modes. Most of them are a mistake outdoors. Fast chasing, strobing and random flashing are tiring to look at and make a house feel like a storefront. If you want motion, a slow fade between two or three colors is about as far as it should go on a home. Steady light ages better.
Inflatables as the main event
One inflatable on a kid’s request is fine. A yard full of them is a trend that does not hold up. They lean in the wind, collect rain, and spend every daylight hour lying flat on the lawn. Nothing about that reads as festive at two in the afternoon.
Icicle lights on every edge
Icicle strands can look good along a single straight eave. Hung on every edge of a complicated roof, with dormers and gables, they turn into a fringe that hides the shape of the house. The roofline is usually the best feature you have. Outline it instead of covering it.
Mixing old strands with new ones
This one is less a trend than a habit. Each year a few new strands get added to the old ones. Different brands, different bulb sizes, different shades of white. By year four the house has five whites on it. If your strands no longer match, it is better to replace a full section than to patch it.
Staples and nails into the trim
Plenty of how to videos still show strands stapled to fascia or nailed into trim. Every one of those holes is a place for water to get in, and they add up over the years. We never use staples, nails or screws in fascia, trim or shingles. Clips do the job and come off clean.
What about permanent track lighting?
Permanent color changing track lighting gets pushed hard as the future of holiday lights. It is a different product with a different purpose. It stays fixed to the house all year and is built around being used for many holidays and occasions. If you want that, it can make sense. If what you want is a great looking house in December and a clean house in February, seasonal lighting is the simpler answer. Do not let anyone talk you into a year round install when you only care about Christmas.
When DIY is fine
Not every part of a display needs a crew. A lit wreath on the front door, a few net lights over low shrubs, or a string along a porch railing are all easy jobs you can do from the ground in an afternoon. Go for it.
Where hiring makes sense is anything that needs a ladder on a roof: rooflines, high gables, second story eaves and tall trees. That is also where most of the visual payoff is. Splitting the job this way is completely reasonable.
Getting a quote
You do not have to wait for anyone to come out to get a price. Call us at (615) 595-9686, describe your home and what you want lit, and we can quote it on the phone. If your property is large or unusual, or you would rather we see it in person, a site visit is available. There are no contracts and no long term commitments, and every install comes with our 24 hour service guarantee during the season.
You can also request a quote online, or read more about our residential installation service. We work across Nashville, including Franklin, Brentwood, Green Hills and the surrounding areas.
Want your home to look like this?
Red Nose Lites designs, installs, maintains and takes down custom Christmas lighting across Nashville and Middle Tennessee. No ladders, no tangled strands, no storage.
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