Christmas 2019 marked the first year we hung festive lights outside on our House on a Sugar Hill. However, hanging a good set of lights is trickier than I imagined it would be, and our first attempt didn’t go exactly as we had planned. Still, even though our icicle style lights never fully unraveled or hung straight, we loved them for the welcoming glow that they cast on the house as we would return home in the evenings.

When the Holiday season was over we weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to our sparkling front porch.  Our solution? Put up twinkling cafe lights instead. So we did!  Immediately. No joke. We took the Christmas lights down and added the cafe string lights the same day. You’re welcome, neighbors.  Because our Christmas light installation was pretty unstable (again, first timer problems), I was looking for a sturdier solution to install our cafe lights considering they would be up potentially all year.  Enter, Placement by National Hardware!

National Hardware has taken it upon themselves to remove the hassle from small project installations. Part of their collection is the Bistro Patio Light Hanging System.  The Q-hangers have made hanging their bistro lights an absolute breeze. The screw base and looped top were as easy as inserting into the surface, and then slipping the cord inside the loop. Tim was able to put up the strands in about 20 minutes. 

We debated whether to hang them on the inside of the porch going back and forth across the ceiling, or to swag the lights around the edges of the porch.  We opted for the edges of the porch because we were able to screw the hangers into wood only and avoided having to drill into the siding of our house. It’s also much more visible from the road this way, which I absolutely love.

Once the bistro lights were hung, I was ready to add some seating.  I found a bistro seating combination from Ikea that reminds me of something you’d find on a patio in Paris.  To make it cozy, I surrounded the table with plants and a few small lanterns.  Adding a bouquet of fresh hydrangeas completed the look.

I love that my patio now radiates charm whether it’s morning, afternoon, or evening with the addition of our glowing Bistro Lights. I have a feeling we will be using the space often. 

A big thank you to National Hardware for sponsoring this post and introducing me to some of their incredible hardware solutions!!  Make sure you check out not only their Bistro Hanging kit, but their easy gallery wall installation, and level picture hanging set as well.  We own them all and love them!