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Objects of Design #83: Festoon Lights

festoon lights from coxandcox.co.uk
festoon lights from coxandcox.co.uk

Whisper it quietly, but I think fairy lights might be a little bit over. They do add atmosphere but you need hundreds of them to make a great effect. I know this because we installed in them in our last garden, which would, frankly, have made a pocket handkerchief look large. We put them along one, small, wall and even with 150, they rather disappeared. So, moving on, what about these festoon lights?

image by Bethany Nauert from apartmenttherapy.com
image by Bethany Nauert from apartmenttherapy.com

I posted this picture a few days ago in a piece on outdoor dining and thought at the time that these were the perfect lights for an al fresco dinner. But I didn’t know where to find them. Part of the problem, I’m sure you’ll agree, is that I didn’t know what they were called. Well, now I do, and therefore, so do you.

image from houzz.com
image from houzz.com

Bigger than a fairy light and therefore a little bolder, these festoon lights make more of a statement. What do you think?

And if you need more inspiration here is a picture of the garden belonging to @jessicazoobart who sent this over on twitter and gave me permission to add it to this post. I love it!

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Jessica’s gorgeous garden with its pretty festoon lights

coxandcox.co.uk

or

Lights4fun.co.uk

 

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.