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Awesome Ways to Use Rope Lighting Outdoors

Rutuja Jathar
Rope lights, as we all know, are tiny bulbs evenly placed in a plastic tube that can be used for the purpose of outdoor and indoor lighting. Be it festive or everyday lighting, LED rope lights can give your house the perfect outdoor makeover.
Rope lighting simply lights up the mood and look of any kind of environment. If you are planning a small outdoor get-together in the evening, then LED rope lighting will help you create a warm and cozy ambiance.
Even a little accent lighting in the right places can give you the perfect party atmosphere. These rope lights are used on various occasions, and are set in various patterns to add to the festive look. Many types of rope lights are used, particularly for outdoor lighting, including LED rope lights.

Rope Lights

Rope lights are made by evenly setting a series of 1/2 watt mini bulbs in a small tube. The tubes may be fully transparent or translucent. The life of these tubular lights is usually an average of 25,000 hours of usage.
Rope lights are generally available in a small kit with a 50-feet light coil, power cord, power connector, and pins to fix the rope to the desired location. As most of the rope lights come in a PVC resin tube, they normally don't burn or singe. This specific quality makes them ideal for outdoor lighting.
They can be bent in almost any shape that you desire, which helps you create designs befitting any occasion. When placed on bushes and shrubs or even simply coiled around the trunks of trees, they give an extremely attractive look to the surrounding landscape. Rope lights come in varied colors.
As mentioned earlier, you can choose the blinking pattern or steadily lit rope lights to enhance the look of your garden.

LED Rope Lights

LED (Light-emitting Diode), a Russian invention, became polpular in the US during the year 1960. During that year, they emitted only red color; but with the advacned technology, they are now available in various colors, patterns and wavelengths.
LED rope lights are extremely environment-friendly, efficient, durable, and virtually unbreakable. They require very low voltage as compared to ordinary lights, and are also waterproof.

Ideas for Outdoor Rope Lighting
Start by taking a walk around your garden. Try to visualize what element of your landscape you want to highlight. If possible, make a sketch of your yard. Remember to make good use of the trees and shrubs.
✦ Rope lights can be used to highlight the sides of pavements. You can use the solar-powered ones to put between the pavers.

✦ Highlight the stairs by placing rope lights along their risers. Make sure to fit them properly or people might end up tripping on them.
✦ Wrap two different colored-lights on the tree trunks and branches. Winding a single strand of rope lights on gnarly branches of trees will give your yard a festive look.
✦ To give an instant lift to a poorly-lit patio, line the sides or railings with blue or purple rope lights. These colors are soothing and look classy.

✦ If you live near the waterfront, you can highlight the docks and ramps with warm and soothing lights. If you have a swimming pool in the yard, illuminate its borders by outlining it with rope lighting.
✦ This idea will work better in the winters when it is snowing. Take some rods and bend them in shapes of flowers with long stems. Line the rope lights and secure them to these rods. Place them in a cylindrical pot or vase, and fill the vase with snow to keep the lights in place. Keep these vases on the porch or the patio.
✦ For the festive season, make illuminated wreaths, snowflakes, reindeer or stars. Just use sturdy wires to make the frame and line the lights around it. Place them in your garden or the patio for an opulent look.
✦ Make little bundles of rope lights to resemble a sphere and hang them from branches of trees.

✦ Make your kid's dream come true by decorating the garden with fairies, pixies and other magical characters. Use metal frames to get the desired shape. Attach the lights with the pins, and watch your child light up with joy.
✦ Give your shop an instant makeover. Outline the contours of the building or just the display windows to draw attention to them. Try outlining them in a spiral pattern.
Now that you know there are various ways to beautify the outdoors, you can let your imagination go wild. However, the basic and most important thing is choosing the colors and the patterns of rope lighting as per the style of your house.
For instance, antique designs go well with Victorian-style houses. Rope lighting ideas are plenty, and they can differ based on the personal choice of the individual using and implementing them. So, take a look at your surrounding landscape, make a checklist of the requirements, and brighten the mood of your house as well as your visitors!