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Planning and designing lighting for events can be both a difficult and fun process, I’m here today to remove the difficulty so you can focus on the fun. Indoor or outdoor, fixed or temporary, this guide will be the only thing you need when deciding how to brighten up your function.
Many of the lighting options within this guide are suitable for:
- Weddings
- Birthday
- Work functions
- Evening drinks
- Gatherings
You can find all of the following items in our Party Lighting collection.
Outdoors
Festoon Lighting
Festoon Lighting is often considered the penultimate outdoor lighting solution for parties, weddings, functions, and just about any other event. There are endless possibilities in how you can hang and style them with all of them looking dazzling. Festoon lights are a great way to provide that PERFECT amount of light over an area that’s not too bright or dim. Better yet, if you use festoon lights that are rated for outdoor usage such as these 10 Metre Festoon LED Outdoor String Lights, you can leave them up without having to worry too much.
Outdoor String Lights
A festive classic, string lights are typically singular LED diodes with either coloured or uncoloured bulbs across a length of wire. These lights are unparalleled for the visuals they can provide due to their striking colours and ease of use. These lights can look stunning lined on eaves, used as a backdrop for a wall or coiled around trees.
It is important to keep in mind the season or the colour of the string lights at your event as the multi-colour, single bulb string lights (e.g. red, green, blue) are typically reserved for Christmas. Additionally, make sure your string lights are actually rated for outside.
Outdoor LED Strip Lighting
In recent years, we’ve seen a sharp increase in usage of LED strip lighting both inside and outside due to their low power consumption and functionality as both aesthetic and task lighting. Outdoor LED strip lighting can be a great way to illuminate areas such as stairs, decks, and recessed surfaces. An example of this could be placing strip lighting in an outdoor stair or walkway that leads to a key area such as a veranda or courtyard.
LED strip lighting can be a great application of lighting design for outdoor areas as you can provide functional lighting (safety and task) while keeping an intimate, low-light setting.
Garden Lights
Garden lights are most commonly seen in the form of spike, bollard, or spotlights. These lights are typically used to highlight low-height garden beds or a feature such as a tree. Garden spot lights such as the Stockholm Spike Spotlight are an excellent way to create a focal point while bollards/posts like the Luc Post Light are better suited providing aesthetic lighting to the surrounding greenery.
Indoors
LED String Lights
I promise I’m not repeating myself, LED string lights are a fantastic addition to indoor spaces however there are some key differences from its outdoor counterpart. Indoor LED string lights are typically much simpler in design and can be used in various ways. The most popular type of indoor led string lights are made of a thin metal wire and led diodes, often referred to as fairy lights or led fairy string lights. This style of light looks beautiful when enshrined within intimate settings such as jars on tables, drinks tables, and flower arrangements.
The great thing about these lights is they’re relatively inexpensive, can be battery operated, and provide a surprising amount of illumination.
Indoor LED RGB Strip Lighting
There’s not a huge difference between the indoor or outdoor usage of this lighting solution but it can be overall great for providing light to the entire indoor area. One notable difference is that the usage of RGB LED Strip Lighting will be able to transform the mood of the whole event just through colour.
Dimmable Lighting
After a few (or a lot) of drinks, bright lighting can be overly dazzling and crush the mood of the event, especially later on in the night. Having dimmable lighting can be a godsend for setting the ambience of your event, and if you pair it with smart dimmable lighting you’ll be able to create different zones of lighting.
Colour Changing Bulbs/LED Lights
Much like the RGB LED Strip Lighting mentioned earlier, having colour changing bulbs or downlights lets you have finer control over the warmth and tone of your room. Once again, if you have smart-enabled lighting you can even sync the lighting to music.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re a seasoned event planner or a budding party animal, lighting can have a huge impact on how well your function is received (nobody likes a party that’s excessively bright or pitch black).
The lamp shade is perhaps the most overlooked part of a decorative lighting fixture. I'm sure many of us have drooping, curly, or discoloured shades on our hanging light fixtures without necessarily noticing it. The good news is there are several beautiful lamp shades that can give you a fresh look at your fixture for a relatively inexpensive cost. If you're ready to replace that old, drab shade, follow these simple steps (including what to do if you run into any problems).
Step 1:
It's important to assess what you don't like about your current lamp shade. Is it dirty? Old? The wrong colour? Or is it the wrong shape or size? If the lamp shade is the wrong shape or size, then be sure to measure your current lamp shade so you're able to compare it to a replacement shade. Alternatively, you can bring it in-store for either visual comparison or assistance from staff members.
Step 2:
First, ensure that your lighting fixture is turned off and if there is a light bulb attached, make sure that it's not hot from recent use.
Begin removing your lamp shade, some are attached to the bulb itself, if so remove the light bulb first, then proceed to remove the shade.
Alternatively, if your lampshade is attached via a decorative tip or 'finial' on top, then you'll need to unscrew that first in order to lift it off the base.
Step 3:
The easiest, and most fun step! Choose a brand-new lamp shade that suits your needs in terms of functionality and decorative style. Most lamp shades can be defined by their shape/style which include:
Most lamp shades come with a standard fitting however depending on the origin of the lamp or age, you may need a lamp shade washer, or a custom fitting which you are able to order from here.
Step 4:
Gently put the lampshade into place followed by tightening any screws/decorative tips. Turn the lamp or lighting fixture on to test it and ensure that the shade fitting is appropriate.
