Dressing Up Your Outdoor Windows For Christmas

The holiday decorating experts at Christmas D�cor Oakville love to design custom looks for our clients and one of the techniques we often use in Christmas landscape lighting is decorating windows. There are a few tried and true design techniques we use and love season after season.

Real decorations (real cedar boughs for instance) look and smell great, and might be just the right choice for you depending on how long you want the decorations to last. Real decorations will need to be replaced each year, but can add a lot of charm to vintage homes.

Wreaths

We really love the look of a lit up wreath for the front of a house or in windows. They can add shape and contour and create a focal point of the design. Often, wreaths can be purchased pre-lit and assembled and all you have to do it hang them. Use the hangers that are most appropriate for the window or fa�ade of your home. To create a hovering effect, use fishing line or something similar to hang the wreath. Coloured lights can be quite effective on wreaths - a splash of red against the green foliage can be quite dramatic.

One tip we often give customers is to make sure the wreath is properly scaled for the front of your home or the size of the window. Too big and the wreath can look garish, too small and you might not see it at all from the street.

Lights

Depending on the look you want, windows can be given the same treatment as the eaves and rooflines of your home with simple and elegant white lights. You can put lights just across the top of the window, or around the entire window frame. Keep in mind the overall shape of the home and roofline and try to create symmetry.And don't let the window lights overpower the main entrance to your home.

With LED lights, in addition to saving on energy costs, you can also program the lights to flash at timed intervals or automatically shut on or off when desired. Icicle lights are still popular and can be fun and festive. Take a look at our gallery for some design ideas and holiday inspiration.

Garlands

Adding lights to garlands is simple and elegant and provides a timeless look. You can incorporate the lighted garlands around the front door or main entryway, edge garage doors or highlight front pillars and columns. Adding lighted garlands to window frames is also a great approach.

Garlands don't have to be only the evergreen variety. It might be fun to try twigs or grape vines, especially if this part of your design doesn't need to be seen from the street. Adding flowers like Poinsettia or other organic elements can create a rustic or elegant look. Layering your Christmas d�cor so some aspects are enjoyed close up is an intimate and welcoming touch to your Christmas display.

Keep in mind that natural materials can be affected by bad weather more than artificial decorations. Real berries that start out red may turn black with a frost for instance.Natural evergreen branches may be less resilient to high winds and heavy snow.

The Christmas display design and installation experts at Christmas D�cor Oakville provide free design consultation, complete installation and takedown, quality products and hardware, and are fully trained. Let us take care of all your outdoor Christmas decorating needs. Request a free quote by calling 905.632.2445, email us at Oakville@Christmasdecor.ca or use our handy contact page.