Lights Around Windows - Newbie Question

[Bucsfan15 18]

I always liked the clean lines of lights around windows.  How do you get the perfect number of lights around windows without extra lights exposed or too little lights to fit around the window? 

[Lee_N_the_NorthWest 10]

That depends on the type of lights you use. I use LED lights and I cover the extra lights with something black.

 

or you could use something like these.  http://www.christmas-light-source.com/Mini-Light-Black-Out-Caps_c_222.html

[vkjohnson 7]

I use several strands of minis around my windows.  Ends up going around the window 3-4 times.  You can't tell when one side of the window has 3 layers of lights and the other has 4.  Makes 'em bright too. 

 

The other way is to use c7 or c9 sockets with normal bulbs or LED retro fits.  Those are in a parallel circuit so you can cut to length without hassle.

[Bucsfan15 18]

Thanks for the feedback guys I'm going to see what works best but I'm definitely doing it this year. Thanks Again.

[BaldEagleChristmas 24]

I used mini lights around windows for a few years and they bugged the heck out of me because they were always loose and crooked.  Then I switched to C9s that I could  keep perfectly straight and cut to length held in place with wires through eye hooks.  Then we got new windows and my wife said that I was NOT drilling those.  So I currently use frames from I think Frame My World with C9s and they work well. I have them situated so that they are visible from the inside and the outside and they are actually among my favorite lights  because they are so festive from the inside!

[Scott 0]

I frame my windows with C-6 Led's.  No window is exactly the length of a string.  So, I must "double wrap" (go past my starting point on the window, and retrace the first layer of string).

 

As my house is 120' from the road, you can barely tell I did this.  And there is so much going on, I think I'm the only one that notices.

 

Another thought, but more labor intensive, black electrical tape.  Tape over the extra bulbs.  No one (even you) can tell there are extra.  Downside, that string MUST be marked solely for THAT window for next year.  More labor.

 

One of my windows, 1 string leaves me 5' short of a full square.  I just throw another string on and go around again.  Now I have a square, and no one has ever complained to me about this!

[ErnieHorning 2]

I don’t frame my windows but I do frame my shutters.  The same idea would work for both.  I used 100 mini’s on the large shutter and cut them in half and only used 50 on the smaller ones.  The lights are kept straight by lots of wire ties attached to PVC pipe.

[LangfordDave 5]

I built frames out of J channel 

I measured the window circumference, then divided by the number of lights on your string (70 in my case) to get a rough idea of light spacing (eg 200 inches / 70 lights = ~3 (well, 2.85) inch spacing).  I didn't want lights right in the corner of the fame so I tweaked it a bit to have them line up nicely but ended up with 2 extra lights.  I wrapped them in black electrical tape to hide from sight.

Edited October 28, 2013 by LangfordDave

[CrossroadsToNowhere 0]

Ernie, thats amazing brother. The amount of time I would have spent laying in bed at night thinking of something like that would be ridiculous. I am already thinking of doing a type of 2" wooden frame with holes in it for the lights to neatly sit in. My windows are all set inside the wall rather than the flushmount types most people have. Thanks for the idea.....