Hosting your circle doesn’t have to be beautifully lit only during the festivities with these pergola string lights ideas. So you can have the best lighting at your dinners and functions, right there in your backyard, regardless of your theme. LED string lights are energy-efficient and still provide warm lights and a soft glow, depending on your need. You can also get some LED bulbs that mimic the appearance of incandescent bulbs for your old-school-themed parties.
The pergola string lights ideas you will find in this piece will help you set up light in your backyard in preparation for a special occasion or just your regular sit-out. Light fixtures that conserve energy, some that do not require the regular power source, others that combine different color characteristics, for a common goal, lighting your pergola for the best effects.
Source: Pinterest
Good to Read: Watchword For Furniture & Lighting Design Trends
You can tweak some details around these ideas. First, however, ensure that you stick to the theme of your gathering and choose the right lighting idea for your occasion. Here are some of the most creative pergola string lights ideas.
Stunning Pergola String Light Ideas
While the path that leads to the gazebo you have in your backyard may be boring now, you can make them a sight to behold by erecting poles and beams that form a pergola, leading to that restful place. However, if you already have a pergola in your home, you can make them breathtaking by installing lights on them. Use these pergola string lights ideas to achieve that.
Simple Incandescent Bulb String Lights Along Beams
Source: Pinterest
When you set a dining table that fits into the 1800s furniture set, you need outdoor lighting that supports that theme. While it may seem as though you have incandescent bulbs and because they consume a lot of energy and produce so much heat, you can use more energy-saving lighting options, but with the same appearance.
Yellow lights from LED incandescent bulbs lined along the wooden beams and diagonally across the beams provide a warm glow in the dark and still provide enough illumination to light the pergola adequately. First, place the string lights to line the beam at the stretch of the pergola. Then, run the string lights in a zigzag pattern across the beams from one end of the pergola.
If you’re worried about moisture on the bulb, you can choose string lights that are made to withstand weather elements.
Go Modern With White Lights
Energy saving is important now, and the easiest way to achieve that is to use LED lights. Your pergola, close to the rear exit of your home, can portray n extension of the exquisite lighting in your home. While they may not share the same power source, they can have similar characteristics or can be drastically different, as you wish.
This pergola string lights idea is for you if you have a covered pergola. Then, you don’t have to worry about your string lights getting damaged by frost or water. Your white string lights can come in a flat shape or as a bulb. Place them along the center beams of the pergola, stretching from one end to the other. Ensure that you choose string light with enough lumen to illuminate your pergola. Otherwise, you can select more string lights and install them along beams, leaving one between each one carrying the lights.
Also, if you have a fan installed in your pergola, especially on the roof, you can have a central light on it to support illumination and provide a visual effect. However, white string lights ensure the right wall and furniture color, preferably dark.
Basic Pergola String Light Idea
Source: Pinterest
Good to Read: Decorative Led String Lights
The most beautiful time to experience the warm glow of the string lights in a pergola is at night. You can use the basic pergola lighting, using round bulbs on strings attached to the pergola at every corner of the structure.
Along the longer side of the pergola, make the string lights a little droopy, with a round bulb of yellow glow at each post on the corner of the structure. However, the string lights should droop lower at the shorter side of the pergola. This provides different levels of illumination, with the shorter side being brighter.
This basic pergola string light idea is suitable if you have no guests and aren’t hosting any gatherings. However, it is excellent when you are alone, probably with familiar people that want the same mood lighting as you do.
Elegant Open Top Pergola Lighting
Source: Pinterest
A sturdy pergola is a structure of elegance; however, you can enhance that elegance by installing equally elegant rows of string lights, providing that warm glow that you will need to set your mood right in winter, summer, or fall. Of course, with this lighting idea, you’ll have to cover not only the beams but also the posts.
Every beam of your pergola is covered by a string of yellow lights shining down onto the table you have set for the occasion. Also, the posts hold accent lights that wash them in a softer yellow beam of light, compared to the string lights on the beams. The foot of each post is illuminated and, combined with the rhythm produced by the beam lighting, provides an elegant result.
Since the pergola has an open-top, you should choose weather-resistant string lights with low lumen to enhance the warm glow it provides.
White Curtain Lights for Pergola
Source: Pinterest
For a sense of privacy and to enhance the atmosphere of the gathering you’re to host, you should employ the use of white string lights as curtains around your pergola. While this type of string light for pergola may not provide adequate illumination in a dinner gathering, you can add overhead string light to provide more illumination.
On the beams, attach white string lights with round LED bulbs to provide bright illumination to the dining table. Ensure that the bulbs don’t hang too low to disturb the gathering proceedings. However, wrap some string lights with tiny bulbs around them on the posts, while the same type of light is allowed to hang down from the beams around the pergola. They form a curtain of white lights, which enhances the ambiance of the pergola.
This type of pergola string lighting idea is suitable for an open-top pergola.
String Lights Along the Stairs and Fence
Source: Pinterest
Good to Read: Outdoor Sign Lighting Ideas for Home & Commercial
The purpose of lighting your pergola or patio isn’t because you want to host some friends to a dinner event; it is more because you like to have a certain ambiance around that space in your home. In addition, it may be the space where you recharge and let off steam.
Lining your wooden stair railing and the fence around your patio with light to set your mood right is one of the pergola strings lights ideas you can easily apply to your backyard space. It gives an aura of calmness and peace, where you can relax at the end of a stressful day. The strings of light go beneath the wooden top of the railings and stairs, causing its cool glow – if you’re using white light strings – or warm glow – if you’re using colored light strings – to fall on its surroundings.
The string lights may share the same power source as the light you use at home, or if you choose, they can be solar-powered, supplying light all year round.
Lantern String Lighting for Pergola
Source: Pinterest
If your pergola comprises a rustic patio, you may want to have a pergola string light that fits that design and style – string lanterns. It is usually dark brown and has small bulbs, typically yellow, with a warm glow hanging from the top of your patio or pergola. Therefore, the string lights provide as little light as possible and are more suitable for providing mood lighting.
You can also use these string lights for tree pergolas, where you hang the string lanterns on branches of the tree. The bulbs in the lantern are well protected from direct sunlight and water. However, they are best used in pergolas from 6 ft and above tall.
Hanging Lantern Pergola Light
Source: Pinterest
Good to Read: How to Layout Recessed Lighting
While string lights can provide ambient lighting under the shade of your patio, you can add more ambient lighting and character to your pergola by including some overhead lighting as provided by lights placed in hanging fixtures.
Usually, the light in the hanging fixtures is produced by lit candles, placed in mason jars, and secured in each hanging round basket. They provide a warm glow and ambient lighting incorporated into the right atmosphere, such as romantic dinners in a contemporary pergola.
The hanging light in the pergola can be used in combination with other string pergola lights. However, they must be compatible in the glow and light color. Another advantage is that it does not depend on electricity to provide its effects.
Simple Zigzag Pergola Lighting Pattern
Source: Pinterest
Good to Read: How Many Watts per Square Foot for Lighting?
This is one of the pergola string lights ideas that can be used for both open tops and closed top pergolas and patios. It is simple and does not need any form of expertise to install in a pergola. It is best achieved with a combination of string globe lights and a bright roof for your pergola.
Starting from one corner of your pergola, hang the string lights so that it forms a zigzag pattern till it reaches the adjacent corner and provides lighting to all the pergola space. It is suitable for outdoor kitchens, dinner events, and other outdoor occasions you can think of.
Final Thought
Your pergola is an outdoor space for hosting guests for events such as dinners and dates, relaxing and letting steam off. The beauty of this outdoor space can be enhanced with lighting. In this article, some pergola string light ideas can help you transform your pergola into somewhere you always want to be. Apply them as they suit your style and enjoy the ambiance.
Do you want latest Trends straight to your inbox?
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.
