LED bulbs, range of colors, newfangled icicles hot this year
By AMY STUMPFL
For Brentwood Home Page Christmas light displays are one of America’s favorite holiday traditions. But they can also be one of the season’s biggest headaches. With the right equipment and a little help from the pros, however, you too can create a dazzling holiday display.
“The key is to look for balance,” says Pat Long, owner of Red Nose Lighting, a full-service Christmas lighting company based in Nashville. “You don’t have to light everything. Choose a few focal points and keep it simple and elegant.
“The holidays are all about family and friends,” she adds. “So start by creating a warm and welcoming entrance – a wreath and topiaries on the front porch are always nice.”
In terms of the lights themselves, Long says you can find just about any shape or size imaginable. She expects energy-efficient LED lights will continue to be “the wave of the future,” as homeowners trade in incandescent bulbs in an effort to save energy and money.
But don’t feel you must limit your color scheme to traditional red and green.
“Silver and green – that frosted look – is really in right now,” Long says. “We’re also still seeing a lot of lime green and red from last year. And more recently, I’ve been seeing teal and pink – which is actually very striking, and offers a more contemporary look.”
Long says she begins receiving calls as early as August and September to consult with both homeowners and businesses. Customers range from those planning a special holiday party or event to those who simply are too busy to tackle a lighting project or may not be comfortable getting up on a ladder.
Red Nose Lighting offers free estimates, and a professionally trained crew installs, maintains and removes the display. And because customers are buying a service – as opposed to the actual decorations – they are free to change designs each year.
“I love my relationship with my customers. I love the design part – sitting down together to get their ideas and give mine. They really become like family, and I look forward to hearing from them each year. Every house is a unique challenge, and we try to give each one a personal touch.”
It was this personal attention that attracted Brentwood residents Pat and Doug Ralls to Red Nose Lighting.
“I had gotten an estimate from another company, and there were all these contingencies,” Pat Ralls says. “You had to commit to a three-year contract, and I just didn’t like that at all. I called Red Nose Lighting, and Pat Long was just so nice. I loved her approach. She was willing to work within a budget and had great ideas on how to get the most for your money.”
Ralls says they settled on a large wreath atop the home’s two-story entry, along with white lights on two large trees.
“It’s very simple, but pretty,” Ralls says. “I like the pure white – to me it signifies the light of Christ. The large tree out front is probably 50 feet tall, so there’s no way we could handle that on our own. We really need someone who knows what they’re doing. And Pat is just so genuine – I think she realizes that this service is a real gift for people.”
For some homeowners, however, the holidays wouldn’t be complete without heading outside to decorate on their own. But even these die-hard do-it-yourselfers occasionally need a little advice, says Bryan Lusebrink, assistant store manager at the Brentwood Home Depot.
“To approach an exterior lighting design, first choose a color scheme,” Lusebrink says. “Determine how much of your house you are doing – just the front or the whole house?
Then measure and determine how many lights you will need and the amount of extension cords that will be required.”
Lusebrink says that most customers are going with a solid color scheme these days in traditional red, green and blue. And don’t think you’ve seen the last of those icicles.
“The new lighting trend this year is the LED ‘light show’ icicle lights – they look like actual icicles,” he says. “The lights can be synchronized to make them blink from top to bottom to give them the effect that they are melting. You are able to connect 17 12-foot strands together, and the bulb life is 20,000 hours.”
Lusebrink agrees that LEDs are far superior to the old incandescent lights.
“With LEDs, you are able to hook up anywhere from 26-90 sets of lights to one outlet, compared to the incandescent’s three to seven sets. Also, LEDs stay cool when lit and consume 80 percent less energy than normal incandescent lights. And LEDs have a 20,000-25,000 hour bulb life, compared to 1,000 hours on incandescents.”
Lusebrink says that he gets a lot of questions from customers this time of year – ranging from safety tips and energy efficiency to the most practical way to install lights on a tree (start at the top and work your way down). He notes that some of the most common mistakes made by homeowners involve electricity.
“Make sure you read the box and instructions, and only plug the recommended amount of lights together,” he says.
“The most common mistake is using an indoor extension cord outside. Use only outdoor extension cords and timers, and do not overload your outlets. Do not use extension cords on anything you might keep lit for longer than 24 hours, and be aware of your surroundings. In other words, do not plug into outlets near open water sources.”
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