Bring a soft, inviting glow to your backyard, porch or patio by hanging string lights outside. If you like cafe-style candles or light fixtures, you can have these twinkling right above your home. Hang a string of lights outside to quickly give your outdoor area the right atmosphere. In the evening, the soft overhead glow can transform an ordinary balcony into a party space for entertaining friends or brighten a dark walkway with an inviting luminescence.
Instructions and tips for hanging the fairy lights
Hanging outdoor fairy lights can be a breeze if you do soperfectly positioned treesor have a wall. However, if you don't have such taller outdoor objects, all you need is some time and some other supplies. To set up a suitable place in the garden for this, you can hang a string of lights outside your roof terrace as decoration. The tools and materials you need for hanging are the following:
- Fairy lights of your choice (Led fairy lights, solar lights or light bulbs)
- Outdoor extension cord if you don't have a power outlet outside
- Tape measure
- Pencil and hook
- Drill and ladder
If you are stringing a string of lights outside over a large area, you will need a wire rope and hangers such as turnbuckles, snap hooks, iron brackets, etc. For yards without trees or other tall supports, you can use long wooden slats or metal rods, as well as metal electrical hoses.
All of these supplies are available at most hardware stores if you were to ask. You will also need a hammer, nails or screws if you are attaching the fairy lights to the outside of a fence. Sturdy planters or heavy buckets and cable ties can also be useful.
What should you pay attention to?
First, choose the location where you want to position your outdoor lights by finding a place to hang your string lights outside. It is also good to identify a suitable power source for this purpose. If you don't have a power outlet in the garden, make sure you have an extension cord on hand.
First measure the length and roughly imagine the arrangement of the lights. Before purchasing string lights, run a tape measure along the distance where you plan to hang the lights. This can be a pretty rough estimate so you can just get a feel for the length of the string of lights outside. Avoid the cheap light garlands and invest in commercial quality ones. Buy lights for the terrace that are designed for this purpose. Additionally, these should generally be durable and waterproof so that you can use them outdoors continuously or year after year.
Standard fairy lightsoften come with the cord and bulbs, which are also sold separately. You can choose between different voltage levels and standard lengths for the cable. Each strand indicates which lamps are compatible with the sockets. Plus, choose between LED bulbs or traditional incandescent bulbs that have a warmer glow. If you're hanging the string lights outside, purchase a few extra replacement bulbs so you're prepared for unexpected situations.
Most patio lights have a socket, and the manufacturer is supposed to specify how many strands you can connect. Usually there are up to three for longer strands and up to five for shorter strands.
How do you hang a string of lights outside?
First, lay out the string lights along the floor in your chosen configuration. Mark an X with the pencil or place a piece of tape where you need support to hold them. Trees, fences, canopies, pergola roofs or the eaves of your home are the perfect existing supports if they are in the right place. In this case, mark the place where you need to install brackets. However, if you don't have natural supports, you can read below how to hang fairy lights outside without them.
Assemble the parts yourself using a wire rope for this. There are two ways to attach string lights: alone or on a sturdy wire as part of a lightweight suspension. Mounting on a wire is not necessary, but it can help maintain tension if you hang the string lights outside over a larger area. It also provides more support if your garden is permeable to wind. To hang patio lights without wire, screw a hook into the wall, fence, pergola or tree trunk to use as a bracket. You may need to drill a hole first before inserting the screw.
Connect correctly
Once you've installed your brackets and strung the wire, you're ready to light the lights. Connect the fairy lights directly to a socket or an outdoor cable on the outside and position the first lamp next to the mounting accessories. After checking this distance, unplug the lights to hang the rest of the chain. Work your way around the garden to stabilize the lights between the brackets. Follow the patterns that you previously imagined and planned. Most commercial patio lights come with clips attached to the top of the lamp holder or to the wire above the bulb. If you are using a wire, attach the fairy lights to the outside of it first.
Along a wooden fence
If you don't have walls or trees in the right place in the garden to hang the fairy lights outside, you will have to put in a little extra effort and creativity. If your wooden fence in the backyard is not high enough, you can attach wooden slats to the top to adjust the height of the lights. Place the supports along the fence posts about 2 meters apart. Attach the posts by bias nailing, or use a power drill to secure them into the fence with screws.
On a porch or patio with a concrete floor
If you don't have natural supports in your outdoor space, a common solution is to place posts with hooks on the top in sturdy planters filled with gravel or buckets filled with concrete and a PVC pipe. Position the planters around the perimeter of the patio and string fairy lights between them. The disadvantage of this method is that you have to work with heavy objects. If the lights are strung over a larger porch, they may exert significant pull on the supports, which could cause them to tip over.
String fairy lights across a meadow
If you're installing lights over a lawn or anywhere outdoors where you can run a stake into the ground, an easier method is to use long metal tubing. Position the stakes where they are needed and drive the half stake into the ground with a hammer. A simple, inexpensive way to secure the fairy lights on the outside of the metal rods is with cable ties. It would be easiest to have someone hold the lights for you while you work your way across the yard attaching the cable ties. If the metal posts have a hole at the end, thread a cable tie through the hole and then pull it to form a loose loop around the lights' string. In principle, you should not pull the cable tie too tightly against the cable of the light chain on the outside, as this can lead to a short circuit.
