Decorating Fence With Christmas Lights

A fence provides an amazing slate for holiday decor, and doing it right is dependent on your style and budget. Whether you are creating something spectacular for a commercial property or whether you are attempting to make your neighborhood sparkle, you can put some important principles together to make your display dazzling.

Type of Fence

The fence you are working with will play a major part in your decorative efforts. Chain link provides different challenges and benefits than a wooden fence offers. As you work with a more solid fencing material, you have the benefit of a basic color in the background. You can use color contrasts to create visibility in your display. Chain link fencing, meanwhile, produces a more transparent background, allowing your decorative elements to blend with the landscape. You'll need bulkier decorating material to achieve good visibility and contrast.

Weather Concerns

Your fence decor can be impacted quickly by winter weather events. A huge windstorm can remove garland in an instant. Excessive snow can interfere with illumination. Use reliable mounting materials to keep your decorative elements in place. Find water-resistant materials to use in creating garlands or pictorial displays. Make sure that your lighting components are able to withstand rain and snow.

Decorative Approaches

Garland is a popular option for basic fence decor. While most professionals are looking for something distinguished to please their customers, it's good to start with the basics. As you expand, you can make the look unique for each client. As you decide on the right garland for accenting a fence, consider whether the decor will stand alone or whether it will coordinate with additional yard decor.

Greenery is always appropriate, and when it's used for a fence, thicker material will stand out. Artificial greens tend to be better for long-term use as you don't have to worry about the materials drying out and losing needles. Accents for the greens can include pinecones, bows, bulbs or lights. This type of garland is excellent for any type of fence, but make sure that you use more bulk on a chain link fence. You can also consider tinsel garland or lush ribbon as an alternative, but make sure that the bulk is enough to stand out and that the material will stand up to the weather trends of the season.

Draping Your Garland

Draped garlands tend to create more drama and appeal in your work. It's essential that you aim for consistency as you hang garland. Imprecise placement can look sloppy and unprofessional. Plan before you actually order your materials so that you can place them without running short. Take time to carefully test a length of material to evaluate how it hangs. Measure for midpoints between posts, making light marks to ensure that you are able to precisely place each section. Use wiring, zip ties or twist ties to hold the pieces in place at critical points. Use decorative enhancements at the posts and throughout the garland strands to add lighting and color. You can opt for colorful choices or more natural materials. Just make sure that you are consistent in your placement so that you achieve an attractive display.

Lighting Your Fence

Novelty lights can provide lots of enjoyment in your fence decor. However, sloppy hanging is a big mistake. Take time to be sure that your strands are sufficient for your plans. It's helpful to work with DIY products to make your own custom strands so that you are sure that your lengths and bulb placements are just right.

Characters and Symbols

Whether you love reindeer or snowmen, you can add some fun accents to your fence decor on a small or large scale. Find character yard stakes that can be placed along the fence to display penguins, Christmas bulbs or a nativity scene. Add specialty lights to create fun effects. A red bulb is the perfect Rudolph's nose. A light-up Christmas star works well with a nativity. Find a holographic decorative set like a Christmas train to outline the fence. Metal and wooden figures are great for expanding or developing your decorative theme. Find themed fence toppers to add characters to wooden fence decor.

Use the Entire Fence

Don't miss the important area at the base of your fence. Most fence decor for the holidays focuses on the placement of materials at the top. However, you can use the base to place giant candy canes, oversized bulbs or additional garland. Mount items closely to the fence to avoid their loss in winds. Weave tinsel through chain link sections. Use fun and active items like pinwheels to add motion to the scene.

A fence doesn't have to be overdone to be beautifully decorated. You can aim for simple elegance. You can also opt for kid-friendly themes and lots of glitz and glamour. It's important to decide on a theme that will complement additional display decor behind the fence so that each component works together to achieve an exceptional overall effect.