Do's & Don'ts of Outdoor Holiday Lighting

Driving through neighborhoods, admiring the bedazzled roof lines and ridges, it's easy to spot the eyesore that ruins it for the entire block.

It's the house with 10,000 blinking, multicolored lights set to Yuletide carols with a giant inflatable Rudolph in the front yard.

There will always be the "bigger is better" crowd when it comes to holiday decorating. They want wattage. Lots of eyeball assaulting, bright lights. But resist the urge to make it a National Lampoon's Christmas.

"I've always been a firm believer that less is more," said Bill Hughes, the manager for the lighting department at Amini's Home, Rugs and Game Room in Chesterfield. "Tasteful never goes out of style."

We consulted with some of the area's outdoor lighting experts for their tips on how to get the most bang for the least amount of money and effort.

More consumers are switching to LED lights for decorating outdoors, according to several local installers.

The upfront price is about twice as much as conventional incandescent lights. But the energy-efficient LED lights use less power and require far fewer repair and service calls, installers say. Over time, they can be a better investment.

Plus, the technology has improved, so the LED color, which used to cast a bluish hue, is truer to white.

"Within the last year, the color temperature and color rendering of the LEDs has improved," said Mark Sullivan, owner of Sully's Landscape Lighting and Design in Kirkwood. "People don't like that cool blue look."

For DIYers, he suggests choosing LED lights marked "warm light" rather than "cool light." The color rendering index should be above 80, he said.

Michael Rottler, president of Rottler Pest and Lawn Solutions, says he won't mix LEDs with incandescent lights because his wife can spot the difference.

"My wife notices little details," he said.

Sullivan says the advantage of wrapping tree branches in conventional lights is that they can be cut and thrown away at the end of the season, with much lower labor costs for those hiring professional installers.

But the trick is to put some time into planning and thinking about the design before bringing out the ladder and boxes of decorations. They don't have to be hung the same way every single year.

Here are the experts dos and don'ts of outdoor lighting to make sure your display spreads holiday cheer not eye strain headaches.

Dos

• Use more light if your house sits farther back from the street to enhance its curb appeal.

• Leave at least a foot between the edge of the driveway and staked lights when lining your driveway. If a driver backs out too close to the edge, he shouldn't take out a row of lights.

• Create a flow of light that moves the eye from one area to the next. Avoid "hot spots" of lights bunched in one area.

• Illuminate more than just the facade of your home to create depth.

• Use special lighting effects sparingly, such as a red or green gel pack that can filter the color of a white light.

• Incorporate seasonal lighting with your outdoor landscape lighting. Consider how the pre-existing lights can be used to enhance or complement the holiday lighting.

• Carry the design style from within your house to the outside.

• Add pre-lighted wreathes and garlands to doors and columns. Pre-lighted candles in windows are a classic look.

• Highlight architectural features such as roof lines, chimneys, peaks, windows and ridges.

• Get your spouse's input before installing. There's no quicker way to lose the holiday spirit than getting back on a ladder to redo the lights.

Don'ts

• Don't mix LED and conventional lighting, especially on the same structure. If you choose to do your house in LEDs, and wrap the trees or drape bushes with conventional lights, the difference in hue may not be as jarring.

• Don't stick with all green or red lights, which can look commercial rather than homey.

• Don't try to make hanging icicles work on a modern home. They look best on a bungalow-style house.

• Don't use as many lights if decorating with LEDs as opposed to traditional halogen lights. The lights are brighter, requiring fewer in number.

• Don't light everything.

Courtesy of STLToday, Aisha Sultan.