7 Ways to Use Color Changing Rope Lights to Create an Outdoor Wonderland

Americans love their backyards. 

And when it comes to enjoying that tiny piece of the American dream, they also love to decorate those yards. 

From adding BBQs and brick pizza ovens to decorating for Christmas with lights and plastic or inflatable figures, we spend a lot of money brightening our grassy spaces. 

If you want to enjoy those spaces after dark, lights are an important part of that decoration. From floodlights to stakes, there is an endless number of options for lighting up your yard. One popular choice is rope lights.

Rope lights are a fun, flexible way to light any part of your yard. In fact, they have a nearly endless list of uses. When you add in color changing rope lights, these options become even more numerous.

Keep reading to learn 7 awesome ways to start using color changing rope lights in your backyard. 

1. Highlight a Walkway

One of the most common ways to use rope lighting in your yard is to light a walkway.

Rope lights are more low-key and easy to integrate than stake lights. When properly installed, you won’t have to worry about kids tripping over them while playing in your yard.

Lining a walkway will make it easy to navigate your yard in the dark, which means fewer falls and accidents if you’re using your backyard after sundown.

Rope lights on walkways lend a magical look to your yard. The San Antonio Botanical Garden even utilizes rope lights for an ethereal maze that’s popular among families.

2. Line Your Porch

When it comes to utilizing LED rope lights to increase safety and add a fun touch to your outdoor space, line your porch in addition to your walkways.

Running rope lights along the hand rails and down the stairs of your porch will help the light the way. It will also help allow you to use your porch more after dark. Keep your summer BBQs going all night long with some well-placed rope lights!

You can also choose from bright lights to illuminate your space, or a dimmer pick to create ambient lighting. This is great for softening your space, adding a romantic touch to your backyard.

Many families already line porches at Christmas time for a fun, bright touch. Adding rope lights means you can leave the lights up all year long. Plus, who doesn’t want a little less work decorating for the holidays! 

Just as rope lights should be properly installed along walkways, failure to do so on your porch or steps could lead to a dangerous fall.

3. Wrap Trees

Lights lining porches aren’t the only festive lights that shouldn’t just be reserved for the holidays.

Whether your yard features palm trees or pine trees, wrapping them in rope lights adds a fun, ethereal touch to any yard. This is also a great spot to mix up your lights and add some color.

Mix and match strings of different colored lights, or wrap your rope lights in interesting patterns for a fun touch.

4. Edge Your Landscaping

Homeowners spend an average of $3,000 when they choose to add professional landscaping.

If you want the polished look without the high cost, you can fake it with rope lighting.

Start with clean flower beds dispersed with simple plants laid out in a grid or other pattern. Then, line the edges of your flower beds with rope lights. 

The lights will draw attention to clean lines and simplicity of your flower beds. No one will guess that you didn’t bring in a pro for the job! 

5. Nurture Your Seedlings

Another expensive landscaping tool is heating mats. If you live in a region that experiences cool nights even after spring has begun, trying to plant seedlings at the start of a growing season can be a challenge.  

You may go through hours of work and lots of money invested in your plants, only to have them die off when the temp drops one night. 

Heating mats solve this problem. Unfortunately, they also come with a high price tag. And you may need to buy several to cover all of your seedlings and plants.

Luckily, you can make your own DIY heating mat. All you’ll need are some rope lights and a few other supplies!

6. Create Light Spheres

Another great DIY project you can make with outdoor rope lights are light spheres. 

Using just a string of lights and some zip ties, you can create fun bundles of lights in all different sizes. These are perfect for hanging from trees and porches to create a fun, festive touch. 

Colored LED lights are a great choice for this project. 

7. Make Shapes of Your Choosing

Flexible rope lights are easy to mold into any shape. With a few strings of lights and a wall or fence, you can create any number of shapes or even write out words.

Spell out your favorite sports team, create Christmas or other holiday-themed shapes, or just create patterns to decorate a large, empty space.

You can mix in any colors you choose to create these patterns and shapes and achieve your desired look. 

Utilizing Color Changing Rope Lights

Any of these fun projects is a great way to utilize rope lights in your own backyard. But if you want to take your designs and projects up a notch, you need some color changing rope lights. 

Color changing lights can help bring your space to life. Use them to make your porch more festive, bring your DIY light shapes to life, or to brighten up your trees to create a fun holiday display. 

Now that you have a few ideas for how to use LED rope lights at your home, it’s time to learn how to properly install them.  Otherwise, you could be putting yourself, your family, and any guests at risk, especially if you’re using rope lights along walkways or on porches. 

Click here to learn everything you need to know to properly install rope lights anywhere you’re thinking of using them.