Decorating with Rope Light - A Must

Accenting different aspects of your home, inside or outside, is quite easy with rope light. The versatility of rope light makes it a favorite among decorators for accent lighting. Rope light is a broadly used term referring to lights that are manufactured in flexible tubing. Rope light is manufactured in many different styles and colors. Recent innovations have the same type of lighting in square, rectangular, and even strip like flexible coating. The lights come in 120 volt, LED, and a low voltage 12 volt style. Different wiring configurations within the rope light allow for chasing or pattern effects with a controller and there are even super bright versions of the lighting.

The flexibility of rope light is only half of its story; it is also very economical. The lights can be used in lengths up to 150 feet (600 feet for the LED version) but can be cut to smaller runs. The rope has markings on it showing where the cuts can be made so that the lights are not damaged. The bulbs within the roping are not replaceable but they are typically rated for about 25,000 hours or about 10 years of typical use (100,000 hours for the LED version). Best of all, 10 to 15 feet of rope light only uses about the same amount of energy as a 60 watt light bulb and emits very little heat in the process. LED rope light runs about 75 feet for the same energy usage as a 60 watt light bulb and remains cool to the touch. With all of these options, it may be difficult to decide where to start with your decorating.

Outside, rope light can be used to illuminate pathways, deck stairs, deck railings, or even attached to the underside of a patio umbrella. Often, landscape details can be highlighted with rope light as well. Decorating outdoors is easy with rope light because multiple colors of the roping can be spliced together to get the effect you want (like red, white, and blue for 4th of July). Inside the house, the most common application for rope lighting is cabinet lighting. In the kitchen under cabinets, above cabinets, or along base cabinets provides a glowing effect in the room. Rope lighting also works well along the ceiling in cove molding for media rooms or bedrooms. Kids’ rooms can also be decorated with rope lighting to create a whimsical effect.
Don’t worry, rope light is easy to install. You can purchase the rope light in 150’ spools or in kits that contain smaller runs of rope light (usually 12 to 30 feet). Kits contain the rope light, a power-cord connecter and mounting clips. Be sure to check what is and is not included when you purchase to avoid hold ups in your project. You may need to buy splicing connectors or extra mounting clips for your project. Typically, the power cord attaches to the rope light via a connector that is pushed into one end of the rope. A splicer works in a similar manner to connect additional lengths or colors of lighting together. The mounting clips are screwed into the surface where the rope light is to be hung at about 3 to 4 inch intervals. You can then just snap the rope light into the mounting clips. Be sure to lay out or plan your project so that the end of your rope light with the power cord is closest to your outlet. Once you are done, you can sit back and enjoy your new lighting effects.

Decorating with rope light can give you dramatic payback at a low cost and without much expertise in lighting. I think once you complete your first project, you’ll be inspired to do more in and around your home.