Strands of lights liven up more than Christmas trees

Advertiser Staff and News Services

People are using these novelty lights year-round in their homes.

It used to be that these lights were pegged to a holiday — shamrock lights for St. Patrick's Day and jack-o'-lantern lights for Halloween. But now people are using novelty lights year-round in their homes.

Customers are attracted to the mood novelty lights create. Given the variety of designs and colors, that can range from romantic or relaxing to fun and energetic.

"Light is one of the most important elements of a room. It can totally change the atmosphere," says Penny K. Bartlow, an interior designer in Owego, N.Y.

"If you do softer lighting, lower voltage, it has a softer effect. It's not that harsh, overhead lighting."

While you can go online to find novelty lights (noveltylights.com, for example, has a sizeable selection), locally, many stores carry the light strands seasonally.

For an inspired local selection, check out Party City in Waikele for alternating flamingo and palm trees, or tropical fish, tiki lights, suns, parrots and palm trees and rope lights in red, purple and green. They range in price from $9.99 to $14.99.

Ryan Feliciano, manager at Party City, said he scored hibiscus lights before supplies sold out, and they 0brighten up his patio during parties.

The Hawaiian-themed ones are particular popular, Feliciano said.

Pier 1 near Ward Warehouse also has an interesting selection, though the supplies of all but the bamboo-themed ones have sold out.

If done properly, novelty lights can help balance light in a room. Having only one central lighting fixture in a room can leave shadows in the corners. But stringing a set of lights on a corner plant can brighten up that crevice. Balancing light is especially a problem in college dorms saturated in fluorescent lighting.

But novelty lights can add a look of warmth to the room, Bartlow says.

The options of how to use the lights are unlimited, she says. Use them as a valance around windows. If you live in a college dorm, wrap lights around bed posts if the bed is lofted, or hang them around a door frame.

Bartlow advises against using novelty lights as part of a home's everyday decor.

As with any new home decorating trend, it's likely that one will go crazy with the decorating and overdecorate a room. When that happens, novelty lights cross over from classy to tacky.

"Obviously, you don't want to put something like chili-pepper lights in a formal living room," she said.

Determine whether the lights will add to or detract from the room's design concept. If the design concept is fun and whimsical, then chili-pepper lights may be appropriate. Thus, Bartlow's rule No. 2: Don't detract from the design concept.

Aside from their affordable price and the atmosphere they create, Bartlow says novelty lights' popularity is also due to "a trend in general of the home becoming more casual, more relaxed."

Although people of all generations are buying the lights, Bartlow says they're particularly attractive to younger people who "want to do something different from their parent's home."

"It's something that's different," Bartlow says. "I think it's fun."