String lights are great to play around and experiment with because they are so cheap, and are so versatile (you can shove them into wine bottles or wrap them around branches). This post shows how to bring string lights into your indoor decor. I’ve also got a post on all the DIY projects you can do with them outdoors: Home Decor Ideas: Creative Ways of Using String Lights Outdoors.
Creating Your Own Lamp
All you need to create the informal floor lamp in picture (1) is a thick rope and some string lights. For the ‘how to’ and more pictures of this nautical rope lamp head on over to A Merry Mishap.
A classy lamp idea would be to use a a brown wine bottle. The project (2) by Wit and Whistle does require some drilling of glass. Or instead, how about using hurricane lanterns to house the lights seen in picture (3) – done by Restoration Hardware.
Let’s think bigger, and create a chandelier. Instead of using a hula hoop as the base, The Project Table grabbed a grapevine wreath to create a more rustic looking string light chandelier (4).
Whimsy In the Bedroom
Adding string lights in the bedroom creates a magical and whimsical feeling. There are so many different ways you could style a bedroom with them. They can be hung above the bed just like in picture (5). If you buy LED string lights, which produce less heat, you can wrap them up in drapes or light fabric to create a soft mystical glow.
If you hang the lights from a point in the ceiling, and fan them out down towards the bed, you will create a canopy effect seen in the picture below. Turn off the bedroom lights and you’ve got yourself a makeshift starry sky effect.
When it comes to the headboard, you could create your own headboard that has string lights fitted in them. Or just hang some on the headboard to use as romantic bedroom lighting.
Another bedroom idea is to use the string lights as a hanger for your photographs, just like in picture (6). Or in a nursery, cotton balls and firefly lights make for great looking floating clouds (7). For more bedroom ideas that make use of string lights have a look at my posts here: indie bedroom ideas and romantic bedroom ideas.
Remix
There are a lot of things you can do to personalise the string lights themselves. I’ve seen a lot of craft paper used and flowers created, to stick onto each light. The origami cubes in picture (8) by Amanda look great, and can be used anywhere around the house (or outdoors if it doesn’t rain). I’ve also seen colourful pingpong balls attached to each light too.
Create your own art piece by cutting out holes in a piece of canvas. Fitting string lights behind the canvas then lights up the art work (10).
Wood and Lights
I’m a fan of bringing the outdoors inside. So one indoor string light DIY project that is on my to do list is to use branches, and wrap string lights around them to create a tall floor lamp – just like in picture (9). These days you can also find firefly lights, which are tiny lights strung on a bendable copper wire – making it easier to wrap them around things. The firefly lights in picture (11) and the picture below can be bought at Restoration Hardware.
Other lighting mood boards:
