A few choices decide most of how a house looks from the street in December. Every idea below comes from houses we have lit around the Des Moines metro, from Grimes to Johnston.
1. Trace the house in warm white
Run warm white C9s along every gutter and up every peak the street can see. After dark, the lights draw the shape of the house the way the builder drew it. Warm white works on brick, siding and stone, and it never fights with a wreath on the front door.
2. Light the front first
The front roofline and any peak facing the road carry the look. If you want to spend less, light the front and leave the back dark. You choose which parts of the roofline get lit, and just the front or just the peaks is fine. Pricing is by the foot, so a front-only display is also the least expensive way to get the look.
3. Keep multicolor in straight lines
Multicolor looks sharp when every bulb sits at the same spacing and each line ends where the roof ends. Strands cut to the length of each section make that possible.
4. Pick a two-color pattern
Red and green, or red and white, reads as Christmas from a block away. You can pick any mix at no extra cost.
5. Change colors on game night
Color changing C9s switch from your phone. Try black and gold for a Hawkeyes game, cardinal and gold for the Cyclones, red and green on Christmas Eve, and warm white the rest of the week.
6. Make the peaks the showpiece
A house with several gables gets its character from them. Light each peak from edge to edge and the front of the house shows off its shape. Every peak is a stop and a change of direction for the ladder, so a front with several gables takes longer to light than a long, straight gutter of the same length.
7. Add a wrapped tree or a wreath
A lit tree in the yard or a wreath over the garage fills the space below the roofline. Both are optional extras with their own price.
8. Hide the cords
Run the cords under the gutter and tuck them into the corners. The house looks clean in daylight, and nobody sees where the power comes from. The lights run from outlets your house already has, so the cord path gets planned around where those outlets are.
9. Go permanent for every holiday
Permanent lighting stays on the house all year. Pick orange for Halloween, red, white and blue for the Fourth, and warm white on an ordinary Tuesday. We install permanent lighting from February through September, because October through January belongs to seasonal installs and takedowns.
See it on your house
Send your address on the estimate form. Tate measures your roofline from satellite imagery and texts you a ballpark, usually the same day. You can browse more finished houses in our portfolio.
Common questions
Does the color cost extra?
No. Warm white, multicolor, red and white or a custom mix are all the same price. Color changing RGB bulbs and permanent roofline lighting are priced on their own, because the hardware is not the same.
Can you light trees and wreaths?
Yes. Trees are wrapped and priced by size, wreaths are hung and lit, and garland is priced by the foot. Each one is optional and priced on its own.
Can I change the colors for game day?
With color changing C9s, yes. You change them from your phone whenever you like.
What does it cost to light a roofline?
Pricing is by the foot of roofline. The rate steps up on set dates through the season, and the current rate is on our pricing page. One price covers the lights cut to your house, the install, fixes all season, takedown in January and storage until next October.
