Paper lantern string lights

Measure the length of the cable and locate the socket before choosing a style: that route decides which room a lantern string lights can realistically live in. It brings together small diffusing spheres mounted on a light cable, to hang indoors or outdoors depending on its protection rating.

• What light does a lantern string lights give
• Paper lantern: where to install it
• Where to hang it in the house
• Outdoors: rain and wind
• Solar in practice
• Long lengths and Christmas trees
• Guinguette or lantern
• Installing and maintaining

What is a lantern string lights and what light does it give?

A lantern string lights is a light string made of small lanterns spaced along a cable. It gives a soft, warm light, often amber, suited to a decorative indoor or outdoor atmosphere. The Designix collection currently contains no products.

Lantern string lights: what light in the room?

The sphere diffuses the light instead of projecting it: the halo rises on the wall and the nearby ceiling, with no beam or sharp shadow. It is supplementary lighting, the kind that dresses a corner in the evening; for reading or cooking, a ceiling light remains necessary. Paper, fabric or diffusing plastic soften the source, hence a glow that never dazzles.

LED lantern string lights: what it changes

With LED lantern string lights, the sphere heats very little: you can leave it on for a long time and hang it near a curtain or a headboard without the same caution as with an incandescent source. Depending on the model, the source is integrated or replaceable with a small bulb, which extends the life of the fixture. Check this point before buying, along with the type of power supply.

To compare the families, browse all the light strings and keep in mind the look you want, not just the number of light points.

Paper lantern string lights: where can it be installed safely?

Paper fears moisture and heat: a paper lantern string lights therefore stays indoors, in a dry room, away from a candle, a radiator or a cooker hood. You hang it above a bed, along a shelf or as a curtain in front of a window, on a taut wire or adhesive hooks.

Paper lantern string lights: indoor use only

The slightest condensation makes the sphere buckle and stains the paper; under a damp awning or on a balcony, it will not last a season. For outdoors, switch to a lantern in a material designed for moisture. Indoors, also keep a distance from a cooker hood, an oven or a nearby bare bulb. On a wall, the wall light string is easier to fix than a wire stretched across the room.

How to maintain a paper lantern string lights?

Dust the spheres while switched off, with a soft cloth or a soft brush, without wetting the cable or the connectors. When storing, coil the cable without a sharp fold and store flat in a closed box, away from moisture. A torn sphere is better replaced than repaired: check the cable fixing before stretching it.

Indoor lantern string lights: where to hang it in the house?

In the house, a lantern string lights goes where you want ambient light: headboard, wall behind a sofa, stair railing, shelf or window. Choose mains or rechargeable, and check the cable length before fixing, so you do not stretch the wire to the socket.

Bedroom lantern string lights: headboard and wall

Above a bed, generally allow 60 to 80 cm above the mattress base: high enough not to touch the pillow, low enough to stay in view. Without a nearby socket, a battery version avoids the wire crossing the room. Look at the rechargeable models before drilling anything.

Decorative lantern string lights: the other rooms

In the living room, it runs behind the sofa or on a shelf, without blocking the way. In the hallway, it hangs as a vertical curtain along a bare wall. On the stairs, the stair light string follows the climb while keeping the railing free: never attach anything that could be grabbed by the handrail.

Outdoor lantern string lights: how to choose it for rain and wind?

Outside, the lantern string lights must show a suitable protection rating: IP44 for a covered terrace or an awning, IP65 for an exposed facade or garden. Also check the fixing, the cable length and the power supply, and avoid paper, which does not withstand moisture.

Outdoor lantern string lights: IP44 or IP65?

The IP44 rating covers water splashes and is suitable under an awning, where rain does not directly reach the cable. IP65 withstands jets and driving rain, which is what you need for a facade. The connector and the power supply unit remain the weak point: place them under a cover, out of reach of puddles. The catalogue of IP44 LED light strings corresponds to the first use.

Outdoor light string: think about the wind

A wire stretched too loosely slaps against the wall and eventually wears the sheath: fix it with a slight tension return and ties roughly every metre. For a durable installation, the IP65 LED light strings and the outdoor light strings selection cover terrace and facade, to be chosen according to the actual exposure of the wall.

Solar lantern string lights: how does it work and where to place it?

A solar lantern string lights includes a small photovoltaic panel that recharges the battery during the day and lights the spheres at dusk. The panel must receive several hours of direct sunlight, without shade: that is what decides the evening's autonomy, more than the size of the lanterns.

Outdoor solar lantern string lights: where to place the panel

Orient the panel towards the south when possible, clear of foliage, the blind and the wall that casts shade in the afternoon. Moving it a few dozen centimetres sometimes changes everything. For a balcony, the solar light string avoids running an extension lead from indoors.

Solar light string in winter: what you need to know

Short days and a low sky reduce the charge: the light string comes on later and less brightly, without failing for all that. Clean the panel once a month, dust and dead leaves are enough to halve the output. Compare the solar LED light strings if you are looking for an installation without cable or socket.

Long outdoor Christmas light string: how to cover a facade or a tree?

On a facade, first measure the diagonal or the planned zigzags, then add margin for the ties: it is the useful length, not the wall's, that counts. On a tree, start at the top and work down in a tight spiral. A long length can be connected as far as the power supply allows.

Long length: measure before fixing

Draw the route on the ground or on a plan: a zigzag back and forth uses two to three times the width of the wall. Allow for the drop to the socket, which counts in the metreage. The LED light string remains the most flexible for following a window outline without breaking the wire.

Christmas tree light string: from top to bottom

Fix the start at the top, then wind in a spiral, bringing the turns closer at the bottom, where the branches are wider. Spread the spheres outwards so they remain visible. For connection, a 220 V LED light string plugs directly into a socket, with no transformer to house in the branches.

Guinguette light string or lantern string lights: which to choose?

The guinguette light string lines up bare bulbs on a cable, for a terrace or a courtyard; the lantern string lights dresses each light point in a sphere, which softens the light and makes it decorative even when switched off. The first lights more, the second decorates more: the choice depends on the use, not the style.

Glowing ball light string: the spherical version

The sphere hides the source and rounds the light point, which limits glare when you sit underneath. Switched off, it remains a decorative object: that is what sets it apart from a bare bulb. See the guinguette light string if the goal is to light a table rather than decorate it.

Outdoor light string: matching the furniture

On a wooden structure, a warm white blends with the slats; on black metal, the same wire disappears and only the spheres stand out. Height matters more than colour: above a table, allow about 2 m from the floor so as not to obstruct the view. A 24 V installation suits large tables, low voltage limiting the risk on contact.

How to install and maintain a lantern string lights?

Fix the lantern string lights with adhesive hooks, screw eyes or a taut wire, never with nails on a cable. Check that the wire does not pull on the socket, keep the power supply away from water, and dust the spheres dry, switched off, before storing it.

How to fix a lantern string lights without drilling?

Adhesive hooks on a smooth painted wall, cable clips on a wire stretched between two screw eyes, small brackets screwed into a skirting board if the support allows: the right fixing depends on the weight and the length. Test the hold after a few hours, before adding an extension. For a large wall, the wall installation distributes the load better than a single wire.

How to store a lantern string lights?

Switch off the power, dust dry, then coil onto a board or into a flexible hoop to avoid sharp angles. Store in a dry place, protected from frost. Check the sheath before plugging back in: a pinched wire can be spotted by eye, and a doubtful light string is better replaced than repaired.

Secure payment, tracked delivery, returns and Designix customer service: you order without going in blind, and the team answers if the length or the protection rating does not match your installation. Browse all our light fixtures to match the light string to the rest of the room.

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