Creative ways to display string lights in your home and bedroom after Christmas

Create your own twinkle town by displaying fairy lights all year round.

String lights aren’t just for Christmas. Used in the right way, they can provide decorative lighting through your home without looking overtly festive or childish. Lots of fun ways to illuminate kitchens, hallways and even grown-up living rooms.

1. Fake a real fire

Clusters of fairy lights can give the feel of glowing embers, without the risk or mess.

2. Create Kitchen Task Lighting

If you’re looking for a quick retrofit option that sheds light on your worktop, try fairy lights. String the under a shelf or wall cabinets to provide some handy extra illumination for chopping and other food prep. Or to create a little ambiance after dinner is served.

3. Light Up a Plain Corner

Got a dark or dull corner you don’t really know what to do with? Hang fairy or festoon lights from a hook screwed into the ceiling for a burst of brightness.

4. Add Light to Children's Bedrooms

Bring more colour to a kids room by adding seed fairy lights, star lights, flower lights or ball fairy lights.

5. Let festoon lights be the table centrepiece!

Use festoons to bring extra light and style to above the dining area.

6. Highlight a Motif

Create a quirky lighting feature above a bed or on a wall by adding Gold Star Lights.

7. Make a feature out of furniture

Want people to pay more attention to a favourite heirloom or new upcycling project? Drape fairy lights over the top to put your furniture in the spotlight.

8. Rest lights on your headboard

Use fairy lights as a softer way to light up your bedroom. You can wrap them around your bed posts, or rest them atop of an upholstered headboard, giving the room a warm, inviting glow.

9. Hang curtain lights up the staircase

Hang twinkly curtain lights and make your staircase look like a forest of fireflies lighting the way to bed.

10. Display on the table

Snake fairy lights across the table instead of using candles if you’ve got children around or a particularly busy table. Available either battery or USB powered.

11. Cover the hallway table

Brighten up your hallway table by lacing a sheet of net fairy lights over the top. They’ll add extra light to the dark entrance hall and are guaranteed to have guests smiling as soon as they step through the door.