Pubs are open, garden gatherings and barbecues of six are underway, having the perfect setting is essential to hosting your guests. So why not invest in the biggest trending outdoor product of 2020 and 2021, Festoon Lighting!
In this blog post we will explore the different types of festoon lighting, where to hang them, IP ratings, what colours are right for you as well as other possibilities.
To start things off, if you are reading this post because you love the look of festoons, remember these can be used for indoor or outdoors creating a glamorous glow. They can be used as a designer trend inside your home during winter months for a warm glow, or to hang around an event such as a wedding, bbq or party. So as festoons can be used for any occasion and give a n ambient light to a setting, our festoon lighting that we supply at The LED Specialist are heavy duty and should last a lifetime!
Now we are in spring and summer is just around the corner, you may already have your own festoons, so this post will help you decide where to hang them. No more letting those festoons fester in a box in the loft. Get them down, dust them off, and try our ideas out.
1.) Where should you hang your festoon lights? 
Provided you have an indoor or outdoor plug available, hang them anywhere you like! Our festoons are fully waterproof and weatherproof, unlike Chinese brands on the market we provide products that are built to last year on year, so you are not having to replace them due to water damage or an electrical fault. Hanging them along the roof edge of your garden roof, or along a fence is a great way to add light initially to your garden. Alternatively you may want to make your garden shed look jazzy to give it a decorative feel. Hanging from a tree that you may sit under or around to give some ambience as you sit out at night. Or even create a path of light down you garden!
2.) IP ratings?
This is the most important thing to look at when investing in festoons, anything that is not IP65 or IP67 may be susceptible to harsh weather. With the great British weather constantly changing and even snowing in April! We would not want to bank on some cheap Chinese IP20 or less festoons.
So what is an IP (or Ingress Protections) rating, and why is it important? IP shows how effective an item is at blocking out foreign objects and particles. They are used on lots of different commodities where water resistance may be important and are very common on lighting. A typical rating will have a two-digit number (e.g. IP65) and are split into solid (dust) and liquid (water) ratings. In general, the higher the two numbers, the more protection, so for outdoor lighting, you need to look for ratings of at least IP65, especially if you are looking to leave them for a long time over different seasons.
If you need more information on IP ratings, for other installations such as lighting in bathrooms and kitchens, call us on 0118 950 7125, or use our contact form via our website, and our specialists will be happy to help.
3.) What colour should you go for?
Luckily for you, our festoons allow the bulb to be changed whenever and to whatever you want! Providing the bulb replacement is an Edison Screw base then you are good to go.
So to start with, we will go through the colours of white, creating a warm atmosphere is a must have for an ambient look. So going for a warm white bulb is the best starting point (our festoons already come with warm white bulbs included). Make sure that they have enough lumen output (brightness) to make a difference in light for you garden. However if you would like the light to be more crisp and cooler, then a cool white bulb will be a better option, this will offer more of a hard light but may add more of a sparkle than ambience.
You can also look at adding coloured lights to your festoons, whether this is red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, green or blue, the list of colours and designs is endless. These are great for parties, as well as adding some special colours to seasonal events. Playing around with colours is all down to your personal preference, but if there is a colour you cannot find call us on 0118 950 7125.
4.) Where should I hang them indoors?
Think about where festoon lighting would have the most impact. They are a great way to add indirect lighting to a room.
Why not try hanging them over beds headboards or mirrors? You could even hang them up in the corner of a room to make a pillar of lights to help spread the light further or create the appearance of a standing light with them. Other options can be hanging them around a staircase or if you are doing some indoor camping / den making use these to create the ultimate movie night for your children.
5.) What other bulbs can go in festoons?
Any shape, any size, whether you want to put in a large Globes, ST64, candles or GLS. The choice is yours, you can even mix them up and have various shapes, colours and filament designs within your festoon kits. These bulbs would come at an extra cost, but would definitely add a unique factor your kit. You can find a wide range of decorative bulbs here via our website.
6.) Halogen or LED bulbs?
Our festoon kits come with LED’s included for reliability and energy efficiency. However if you are replacing any bulbs we do recommend LED lights. Halogen and incandescent lights may not be the most energy efficient and will not last half as long, meaning you will be constantly replacing them throughout the year.