Cue the oooohs and aaahhs:  It’s BISTRO LIGHT time!

My parents put up bistro lights over their patio a few years ago (for our rehearsal dinner in 2011) and ever since I’ve wanted them in our backyard. One of the main reasons we put in the patio was to put up bistro lights!

First draft of the layout

My Dad was essential for the design help. As with most projects, this one was a lot more work than I initially thought. (We’re facing something similar with the pizza oven right now…) It took me a bit to wrap my head around the guide/guy wire concept, but luckily my Dad had already been through the process once and was patient when explaining it (over and over again) to me. He even provided detailed drawings, like this one.

First things first, I had to buy the lights. I used the same company and products as my parents did: Budget Lighting.

This is what I ordered. The grand total ended up being $154.70 + shipping. BLI has a $25 minimum order, so I ordered double lightbulbs to replace them as they burn out, since ordering additional bulbs later wouldn’t meet the minimum order.

Here’s what all of the “ingredients” of this project looked like:

With the materials in hand, my Dad drew a more detailed sketch and we went to Lowe’s to pick up the remaining tools: “S” clips, tighteners, hooks for the deck and tree and an outdoor extension cord.

We measured and cut the wires to match the diagram. Then we drilled into the trees and connected the wires. Where’d Brandon go!?

From there, we hung the lights, flipped the switch and voila! What do you think? I almost want it to get darker earlier again. Almost.