Multicolored string lights

Plan on one string per area to be coloured: small, closely spaced bulbs for a tree, visible round bulbs for a terrace, a fine, discreet wire for a bedroom wall. Multi-coloured fairy lights do not replace a main light fixture: they colour a corner, and are chosen on three points: bulb shape, colour and protection rating.

What are the different types of fairy lights?

Fairy lights are chosen first by their use. The guinguette string with exposed round bulbs dresses a terrace or a pergola. The globe string, bulkier, marks a wall or a shelf. The tree string, with tiny, closely spaced bulbs, blends into the branches. The fine LED string suits a bedroom wall, and solar or rechargeable models settle the socket question. Fairy lights are therefore classified by use before being classified by colour.

Multi-coloured guinguette string

On a terrace, it is the visible round bulbs that create the atmosphere, not the number of light points. A guinguette string for a terrace is stretched between two posts or along a wall, at a good distance from the walkway so nobody touches it. Multi-coloured works well there: it marks the dining area without lighting it strongly. Plan the cable length before choosing: a metre too much can be hidden, a metre missing is obvious.

Multi-coloured tree string

On a Christmas tree, colour stands out all the better when the bulbs are small and closely spaced. Install the string before the baubles, spreading the light towards the inside of the branches. A dark, lightly decorated tree shows off multi-coloured to advantage; on a pale tree already heavily decorated, it fades. For a change, a wall fairy light can also play the part of party decoration on a free stretch of wall.

Which fairy light colour to choose, warm white or cool white?

Warm white leans towards orange-yellow: it warms a living room, a bedroom or a party table and matches wood. Cool white leans towards blue: a more neutral rendering, useful in a workshop or on an outdoor area to be lit. For a coloured atmosphere, multi-coloured fairy lights remain the most direct choice, provided you concentrate them on a single area.

Which colour gives the most light?

At comparable power, cool white appears the brightest and most neutral, warm white appears softer, and multi-coloured colours without lighting much. In practice, a string never replaces the main lighting of a room: it serves as an accent. If you want to see clearly, go for cool white in LED strings, which use less power.

Multi-coloured or warm white for a living room?

In a living room already furnished with wood and natural fabrics, warm white blends in and stays elegant all year. Multi-coloured, on the other hand, is reserved for a moment or a corner: a shelf, a tree, a stretch of wall behind the sofa. Mixing the two on the same length muddles the reading of the room.

What is the best fairy light for outdoor use?

Outdoors, the decisive criterion is the protection rating, not the number of bulbs. This collection has only one model: check its page for the IP rating and power supply, rather than generic criteria valid for any string. Strings intended for outdoor use carry this rating on their page.

Multi-coloured outdoor string: IP44 or IP65?

Under an awning, a pergola or a roof overhang, IP44 models for a sheltered terrace are enough. In open ground, on a facade or a fence, choose IP65 strings resistant to water jets. The transformer should always be housed away from moisture, even when the string is intended for outdoors.

Multi-coloured solar outdoor string

With no socket available, solar strings without a socket simplify installation in the garden: the panel is fixed facing direct sunlight and recharges the battery during the day. Battery life depends on sunshine and the model, indicated on the product page. Solar LED strings are well suited to a hedge or a railing far from the house.

How to install fairy lights properly?

First locate the fixing points, then unroll the string without plugging it in: the cable should be slack, with no tension on the sockets and no contact with a hot surface. Then plug in, test that it lights up, and fix the last metres with a support suited to the wall. Unrolling flat before installation avoids knots and bulbs that stay unlit. For a banister, the stair string to wrap around the banister follows the handrail without damaging it.

Where to hang multi-coloured fairy lights in the home?

Places that work: a headboard, a shelf, a stair banister, a window frame, the back of a low unit. Stay on one continuous line rather than several scattered sections. In a bedroom, a soft light away from the bed is better than multi-coloured right above the pillow.

How to fix fairy lights without damaging the wall?

On a painted wall, repositionable adhesive hooks hold a light wire. On wood or a partition, a small screw eye or a cable clip works better. For a line stretched between two walls, a wire tensioner stops the cable sagging in the middle. Remove the fixings before repainting.

Do fairy lights use a lot of electricity?

An LED string uses far less than an incandescent bulb string of the same length, and it gives off little heat: that is the criterion to watch for prolonged use. Solar and rechargeable remove consumption from the socket. Actual consumption depends on the number of bulbs and the hours of use, indicated on the product page.

LED or classic bulbs: what is the difference?

An LED gives off little heat and lasts longer; an incandescent string bulb heats up and copes poorly with continuous use. For a tree lit several hours a day, this point matters. 220V mains LED strings plug into a standard socket, 24V low-voltage LED strings go through a transformer.

Solar or rechargeable string: when to do without a socket?

Solar is the obvious choice in a garden, on a facade or along a fence, far from any socket. Rechargeable suits mobile uses: a party table, a shelf, an unconnected terrace corner. Rechargeable strings to place wherever you like are charged before the evening and leave no visible cable.

How to match multi-coloured fairy lights to a room's decor?

On a neutral wall, multi-coloured becomes the light point of the room: reserve it for one area, headboard, shelf or tree, rather than scattering it. In a child's bedroom or a reading corner, it brings colour without dazzling; in an already busy living room, it stays as an accent on a single stretch of wall.

Bedroom fairy lights: how to install them?

A wall string for a bedroom goes behind the headboard or along a high shelf, out of direct view from the pillow. The wire runs in a soft line, with no hanging loop. For a reading corner, pair it with a main light fixture that really lights.

Multi-coloured Christmas string: where on the tree?

Wind from the bottom upwards, in a wide spiral, keeping the plug accessible. The light goes inside the branches, not on the surface. On an already very colourful tree, one well-distributed string is better than two crossing each other.

How to care for and store fairy lights?

Unplug first, let cool, then dust dry without any product. Check the cable and sockets: a bare wire or a split socket should be replaced, not repaired. Wind loosely around a hand or a board, without bending the wires or forcing the bulbs. Store dry, in a closed box, away from sunlight and heat sources. Checking the cable when unpacking avoids nasty surprises from one season to the next. To replace a tired model, see all available strings.

Secure payment, tracked delivery, returns and Designix customer service: your order can be tracked, and any doubt about a model is settled with customer service before plugging in.

Choose your string according to use or complete with a main light fixture for the room hosting the string.

Frequently asked questions