Make Your Holiday Radiant

Make Your Holiday Radiant

24th Mar 2022

If you haven’t decorated for the holidays yet, don’t worry – it’s not too late! There is still enough time for you to decorate your home and business. We put together this list of tips to help you find the right lighting for your holiday displays and set pieces. Be in the know this season and make your holiday radiant!

Stick to a Theme

It’s tempting to just put every decoration on display for the holidays, but well executed decorating is not just displaying every holiday item you own. Your space will look much nicer if you stick to a theme!

Start with what you already have. If, for example, you have a space with mid-century modern furniture and fixtures, go for bold colors and patterns. Or, if you have an industrial or contemporary space, keep the colors sparse but find reflective items with interesting geometry.

The same goes for finding the right holiday lighting. You need the right lights to match your theme in color temperature, silhouette and style. Here are a few suggestions:


  • If your space is Victorian inspired or has a farmhouse look, try a traditional or vintage decorating theme. With a traditional theme, look for flicker tip lights. These lights flicker like candle light and are often flame shaped. Flicker-tip Lights are appropriate for any situation where old-fashioned natural lighting is appropriate, but actual flames would not work. For example, if your space has a lot of foot traffic or young children, a flicker flame bulb is safer than candles or other flame-based lights. We recommend using them with electric candles, electric lanterns, chandeliers, or in any other decorative light source. In addition to flicker-tip lights, you can use other lightbulbs with warm color temperatures. Warm light or even amber colored lights will mimic old fashioned lighting much better than lightbulbs that have color temperatures closer to daylight or pure white light. So, keep the color temperature warm to stay loyal to the traditional and vintage style.
  • For industrial, minimalist, or contemporary spaces, you want to find a light that is not too warm, not too bold in color, but still feels fun and festive. This is where lightbulbs with unconventional silhouettes work well. Globe lights, for example, differ enough from traditional bulbs to add visual interest to a space without looking out of place. Torpedo style decorative lights could do the same thing and can come with candelabra bases to allow usage with chandeliers or other light fixtures. Use colored lights as decorative lighting instead of task or ambient lighting, but don’t use more than two colors at a time. Industrial or contemporary spaces look their best clutter free, and too many colors can distract from the other design elements.
  • With mid-century modern, Scandinavian, or any simply designed spaces, colored lights are a good option. Colored lights are fun, and in a space that is not dramatically styled they add the pop your decorations need. Silhouette matters less here, so feel free to go with standard A-types, globe, torpedo, or even flood lights. Also, consider ceramic colored lights as a throwback style that does not go too far back. The touch of nostalgia ceramic colored lights can add is enough to make a space feel homey without leaning too hard into the past. When looking at normal, non-colored lights, lean towards the warmer end of the spectrum – 2700K to 3000K works best!

Dim the Lights?

One of the simplest things you can do to improve your party is dim the lights. Dimmed lighting signifies the end of the day, when work is finished and you can relax! Take advantage of that association. For lamps or switches that already support dimming the lights, simply find dimmable bulbs. But, if you own a non-dimmable lamp, buy a slide dimmer. A slide dimmer gives you granular control over dimming on your lamp and set the light level just right. Before you buy though, be sure to investigate which slide dimmer will work with your lamp and find a lightbulb that will work as well. Dimming the lights also saves energy, which saves money, which will help ease the holiday blow to your wallet!

Use Lights for Emphasis

Chances are, you’re busy during the holiday season. You care about how your home or business looks, but just do not have the time to perfect every corner of your space. Don’t worry about it. Instead of spending time decorating everything, decorate parts of your space perfectly and find ways to draw people’s eyes to those spots with well thought out lighting.

  • Point your lights where you want people to look. For a sales display or other holiday set piece you want people to see: shine a light on it. The key is to not just shine a light down on the display, but to also consider lighting the display from below or from a horizontal direction. The direction you choose to light it from will change the overall look, so consider all options before calling it a day. Look at how the angle of the light changes shadow placement and visibility of the display then make decisions with that information.

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  • Some lightbulbs are more for decoration than for function. Don’t use decorative lights where they won’t matter. Light bulbs with more decorative silhouettes such as torpedo or flame tipped bulbs should not be used in places you don’t want to emphasize. One nice lightbulb in an otherwise undecorated area will not fix it but rather draw unwanted attention. Instead, use these types of lights to make an already well decorated set piece even better.
  • Dimming the lights is useful here, too. If you have dimmed lighting for most of your space, and bright lights around the sections you want to emphasize, the effect doubles. Increasing the lighting contrast works not only by making one spot brighter, but also by reducing other areas as well.

Buy the Right Bulb

No matter the occasion, this holiday season you will feel better if your space is decorated just right. Make good choices about your lighting, and you’re already one step closer to decoration perfection! Start by visiting our Holiday Lighting Section to find a wide assortment of colorful and decorative bulbs, floodlights to show off your decorations, and other helpful accessories!

Read Our Lighting Blog