We may argue about the right name for the string lights but we all agree on one thing- they are a universal power for an affordable, romantic and quick indoor and outdoor decor makeover.
They are a preferred decor piece for a number of decor ideas- for dressing up a closet, enhancing the inviting vibe of an entryway, improving the privacy and the romantic vibe of a bedroom, giving the nursery a source of smooth and customized light and many more.
Fairy lights come in all shapes, sizes, colors and ornaments so you can easily find the right model for your weekend project.
Get ready to add a whimsy charm to your space with our fantastic 35 Best String Lights Decorating Ideas! You will surely find your inspiration to spruce up the decor and feel special in the comfort of your own kingdom.
1. Add Mood Lighting to a Pallet Bed Frame
Your handmade pallet bed support will embrace the warm light of strings of yellow fairy lights. Inserted in the gaps formed by the stacked pallets, they create a casual romantic ambiance inviting you for sweet nights.
Place the battery controllers of the lights close to the bed to turn them on and off as you may need.
2. Glowing Bedposts Have Soft Look
If the architecture or the space of the bedroom don’t allow a full canopy set, you can improvise to create a similar privacy feature with a more compact size.
Two hardware rings are screwed to the ceiling to hold linen drapery at both sides of the bed. Strings of yellow lights are added over the fabric to give it a romantic glow that enhances the privacyl and coziness.
3. DIY Screen Panels Have Glowing Blooms
The easiest way to make the outdoors of your home look more festive for the holidays is with fairy lights. This idea is an elegant representation of the standard Christmas decor featuring three branches decorated with strings of yellow bulb light.
The branches are placed at the back of a screen made from upcycled materials. The foldable panel screen completely transforms with the added seasonal decor making it an interesting piece of the decor during the day and a glowing focal point at night.
You can always bring the screen indoors next to the fireplace to enhance the holiday atmosphere.
via Kolla Bora
4. Create Rustic Chandelier From String Lights
The vintage light fixtures can be given a modern twist with strings of lights. Wrap them around the frame leaving the loops loose or weave them tightly over the support.
This decor idea is great for enhanced festiveness during the holiday season or for an improved light amount all year long.
via Pitch Pets
5. Build Dreamy Headboard Using Fairy Lights
This arch of fairy lights mimics a curved headboard. The illuminating wall art works as a source of light and as a romantic piece of decor enhancing the coziness of the bedroom.
The string of lights used in this decor idea is a curtain-type Christmas light featuring one main light string and a number of shorter strings draping out of it.
6. Soft Lights Add Romance to Vanity Mirror
You can easily customize the string of LED lights with fabric pieces. Added ribbons of lace next to the bulbs give the decor piece an elegant touch.
The upgraded design of the fairy lights is perfect for added lighting around the mirror of the vanity, above the bed headboard or for inscribing a favorite word on a bedroom wall.
7. Glowing Tree Branches Feature Wall
The greatest thing about the art with strings of light is how flexible they are. You can practically draw any image with them but instead of colors, enjoy their glow.
This bedroom wall decor idea symbolizes the value of life represented by a tree. The wires of the lights are dark to detail the trunk and the branches of the tree. Once they are powered, the bulbs start illuminating at spots reminding the leaf positions.
8. Build Driftwood and Crystal Chandelier
Need an idea for a chandelier combining farmhouse, coastal and modern? No need to look any further as this DIY driftwood chandelier is your dream come true.
The driftwood piece is decorated with plastic crystals. You can take them in a pack of separate pieces or in a garland finish to weave around the chosen surface. The light from the added thin string of LEDs reflects on the crystals and lets them feel so realistic.
This craft idea can also inspire a wall piece of art made from the same materials. It works well as a decoration adding romance and elegance in the living room or in the bedroom.
9. Clouds & Lightning Mobile Using Cotton & Lights
When you are expecting a child you pay attention to every detail of the nursery room. We have a great idea for a handmade mobile that will develop the sight skills of your baby and easily relax the child for a sweet nap.
The mobile is inspired by the softness of the clouds and represents cotton stormy clouds suspended on cords. Instead of raindrops, they pour a number of thin LED strings.
You can leave the lights on all night long to make sure that there is non-obtrusive light in the room to easily see how the baby is.
10. Fairy Lights Added to Vintage Floor Mirror
The ornate mirrors are fabulous on their own, especially in a rustic interior. Their impact can be enhanced with a string of light dangling from the top down around the frame.
This simple addition gives the mirror a romantic touch and shimmer that can help a bedroom or a closet become more welcoming.
11. Create an Enchanting Sleep Space
Do you want to make a fun and festive tent for your kids? Use white string lights which will give their private area a magical look.
If the tent is a teepee type, you can fix the strings to the top of the dowels and stretch them down around the entrance.
If the tent is a canopy type, weave the strings around the metal supports at the top and let them dangle down.
Regardless of the tent type, the upgraded look with fairy lights will excite your kids and will turn it into whimsy and a special place for them.
12. Fairy Light Photo Display for Dorm Room
Make your bedroom distinctly cozy and personalized with room decor with lights and hanging photos. The light strings can be stretched vertically on a wall or cover a corner in a zig-zag pattern.
Use clothespins or clips to attach the photos to the strings. This type of room decor is perfect for an outgoing type of teenager with plenty of friends or for a couple’s bedroom wanting to put valuable shared memories on display.
13. Cubist Style Art Piece
This idea works perfectly both as an inspiration for the next holiday decor upgrade or for an all-year-long living room focal point.
The artistic pieces are made from reclaimed slats assembled in full dimensional cubbies. A string light wraps each cubby around to give the geometric shape a point of interest and a function as a light fixture. Stacking two cubbies on top of the other enhances the interior impact and marks the art as an interesting conversation decor piece.
14. Add Warmth to an Entryway
Highlight the front door of your home with fairy lights to give your guests a warm welcome. This idea is very practical as it also enhances the outdoor light.
The idea can be easily adapted to every door inside your home as a means to add a light source in the hallways and a whimsy piece of decor that unites the design of all portals.
15. Make an Elegant Wreath With Lace and Light
Make a fantastic customized wreath for your farmhouse entryway! The wreath consists of a number of lace flowers backed up by the warm illumination of string lights.
The fairy lights let each bloom stand out individually. When the finished wreath is finally hung on the wall, you will enjoy an atmosphere full of warmth and feminine delicacy.
16. DIY Flower Party Lights
The simpler fairy lights can be easily upgraded with ornaments to match a party theme or add a desired color or element to the interior in general.
The seashell fairy lights are perfect for a living room with coastal elements. For a teenage girl’s room or for a spring season decor of the living room, you can do a quick makeover of the Christmas lights to become cheerful and spring festive!
For this idea, you can use faux flowers, paper flowers or cupcake liners to form the wild garden elements. The bulbs of the fairy lights act as the stamens of the flower letting the colorful petals stand out.
17. Budget Friendly Neon Sign Alternative
Rope lights are perfect for wall word art. You can express your personal mantra on the wall easily- prepare a hammer, a pile of nails, a rope light, an embroidery thread and ties.
First, place the nails in their places and recreate the word with the embroidery thread. If you are happy with the result, apply the rope light. Where the rope is doubled because of the letter shape, use a tie to keep it tight.
18. Sheer Fabric and Lights Romanticize Any Space
Having a mirror with incorporated light bulbs is very practical and quite trendy. Most of the time this design is offered for vanity or bathroom mirrors.
Inspired by the comfort provided by the added light, you can upgrade any mirror with fairy lights to take advantage of the soft light.
This great decor idea proves that even the most antique mirror can offer modern functionality. Two draping linen curtains surround it at both sides. The strings of lights covered by the fabric bring a romantic illumination and let you easily see the reflection in the mirror.
19. Easy Monogram Light Project
If you like the glow monogram signs but are struggling to find the letter you need, why not make it yourself?
This craft is easy, budget-friendly and quite fun to make. String lights and ping pong balls are plugged into a paper mache letter. The outer surface of the letter is preliminarily sprayed with metallic gold paint that gives it a vintage glamour.
The hand-made Marquee Light looks amazingly part of the decor of a bedroom, a living room or an entryway where the personal touches are needed to make the atmosphere more homely.
via Twelve O Eight
20. Get Brighter String Lights With Ping-Pong Balls
This string lights decor idea is perfect for parties and for all-year-long toddler or teenager’s room decoration. A long string with multicolored bulbs is modified by adding ping pong balls on each bulb to smoothen the light and to offer a unique look.
The string can be wrapped around an existing decor feature or simply stretched on a wall above the bed to illuminate the room at night without affecting sleep.
via Say Yes
21. Lights Become Retro String Art Headboard
Whether for a daybed decor or for a romantic touch to the bedroom interior, this geometric figure with string lights makes a unique impact.
The LED lights are stretched in straight lines outlining a triangle and then filling it with smaller triangles to complete the illuminating wall art. Use small nails to keep the lights straight and in place.
22. Build a Glowing Window Frame Headboard
Give your bedroom a romantic touch with a DIY headboard with LEDs. This craft is perfect to both upgrade the simple bed frame and makes the interior more personalized.
The headboard is built from 2x4s and crossbeams. The tops of the panels are covered with polycarbonate sheets. Added strings of lights behind the tops create a star map anchoring an elegant and romantic feel to the room’s ambiance.
via Shelterness
23. String Lights Brighten 3D Art Piece
Your nature-inspired plaque can be highlighted with string light to become more appealing and unique.
The artistic representation of a forest includes branches, moss, feathers and hay. All of them belong to the earthy color palette and giving the art piece some light brings life to it and lets it stand out against the wall.
24. Colorful Fairy Lights in a Bottle
Create a glowing festive decor for the holiday season with multiple color strings of lights. Placed inside a glass jar, vase or a simple bottle, they create a whimsical flow effect in the dark.
Frosted glass is also great for this idea as it refracts the light and enlarges the bulb lights. Put the string light decor in an empty corner of the mantel or on a shelf to let it fill up the night.
25. Add Light of Love to Any Room
The thinner string of LED lights is so flexible that you can write a thought on the wall with it and let it shine.
Similar to any string craft, you need to hammer a few nails to the wall that will outline the letters’ shapes. Simply weave the string around the nails and enjoy your sparkling inspiring sign. The words you can inscribe with the LED light string are live, love, dance, pray, together, laugh, stay, me and you, always, relax, hello, etc.
26. Small Mirrors Double the Glow of String Lights
When you first see this sparkling wall art, you would think that the mirrors illuminate light! Well, this illusion comes from the string of light stretched around the garlands.
Thanks to the reflecting surface of the mirrors the whole wall decor glows. The mirror wall panel is made from mirror squares threaded on cord pieces cut at different lengths. Each is tied to a metal curtain rod and the whole piece stays securely on the wall thanks to two screw hooks.
27. Hang String Lights Behind Curtain on Four Poster Bed
The privacy of this bed is ensured by a canopy extended with snowy white linen draperies. A string of lights at the head enhances the romance of this space and adds a warming touch for you to enjoy at night.
The lights can be attached directly to the canopy frame or hung on the wall above the bed with nails.
28. Add Soft Starlight to a Nursery
You may be surprised but this starry ceiling is made with string lights. Holes are drilled in a secondary ceiling panel made from styrofoam, drywall or any faux material.
The strings are stretched over the surface and fixed with tape or sealant to keep them in the right place. Once they are turned on, the ceiling becomes a realistic illumination of the night sky. This inspiring idea is great for bedrooms when a smoother and not that intense light source is needed at night.
29. Light up Your Seashell Collection
Whether for a mermaid party or simply for a coastal touch to the bedroom interior, this shell string of lights is delightful.
The seashell lights idea requires a handful of scallop or clamshells, a string of Christmas lights and super glue. As you wait for the glue to dry, think if you want to leave the shells in their original surface texture or give them a new color.
The ocean-themed fairy lights can be stretched on the mantel, placed in a transparent glass container or woven around a log to give the interior a twinkling beach accent.
30. Simple Hallway Ambient Lighting
Spruce up the boring narrow hallway with a wall drapery with string lights. This idea is not only very decor effective but also quite practical since most of the time the hallways are missing a light fixture or sufficient illumination.
Put nails at the top edge of the wall and drape the strings down. If the doors to the adjacent rooms consist of glass panels, you can trace their frames with fairy lights, too.
31. Add Fairy Lights to Bell Jars
What an easy way to make the living room decor more exciting and festive! The idea repurposes glass cloches into closed galaxies thanks to the inserted microscopic fiberglass lights!
The magic of the domes is enhanced by grouping them together and watching the yellow light when the night comes.
This idea can be performed with other types of clear glass containers as well.
32. Add Lights to Dark Accessories
A helpful idea for an easy-to-make piece of decor for a bare wall or corner- repurpose the rustic ladder into a light fixture. Simply drape the string of lights around the ladder parts and lean against the blank surface.
This idea can be adapted to a bookshelf or a rack that remains in the dark and need a way to become more vivid. The decorated ladder creates a unique look and virtually replaces the need for a lamp.
33. Create a Panel of Sparklers
Looking for elegant holiday decor to make the entryway festive and welcoming? This fireworks painting idea reflects all of these, plus it can be displayed all year long.
To make it, you need a white panel- that can be a plywood piece, a wooden board piece, a styrofoam panel or a plain canvas with a hidden frame. Make holes in three groups in the pattern of a firework explosion. The strings of lights are taped at the back of the panel making sure that bulbs coincide with the holes made.
via Hashtag Decor
