Love them. I think any design element has its yin and yang...except probably Elvis on velvet.

They have such a nice glow that really can't be replicated by any other light source. I love the 4th picture. Looks like a great spot for a long winter's nap.

we keep multicolored christmas lights strung up all year, tucked up where the walls meet the ceiling. it gives off the perfect amount of cheery, warm light for evenings when you don't want to have bright lamps turned on.

Eh. All of these look like Christmas decor to me.

I recently twisted some clear rope lights (which I bought for my first dorm, oh, about 6 years ago) along the pole at the bottom of our metal headboard. The glow they give it very nice. The bed totally hides the rope itself, so it looks a lot better than just some rope lights.

That first pic is gorgeous. I want a space that cozy.

I love the bed in the first photo, it's gorgeous. Does anyone know where it came from?

i do love the glow they give off.

i would love some US retail sources for fairy lights, especially ones on clear wires, not dark green to blend in with christmas trees. I'd say 50% of the lights shown are from UK's Habitat, i had the cherry blossom lights in picture 5 and adored them, but in the US i can't find any good fairy lights since i moved from the UK.

Zhenpoo - World Market has a pretty good selection (at least they did a couple of years ago). Funny, because I felt the opposite of you - I coudn't find any decent fairy lights when I was in the UK!

In high school, I loved christmas lights. I had a room at was about 10 by 10, and I coverd the ceiling in blue, purple and white lights. It sounds really awful, but trust me, it looked wonderful. I would set them on a timer and turn them on when I went to bed. Very soothing.

LOVE that first image. Very romantic, yet subtle.

Sparrow King, you and I must be kindred spirits or something- I always enjoy your posts.

leehou, I saw a mythbusters about just such lights and their ability to ignite. turns out, they don't. not the lights themselves. the only way jamie and adam could light a very dry and dead christmas tree on fire was to short-circuit the wires and outlets. so yeah, pretty safe as long as nobody overloads the outlets or uses old wires.

but yeah, that candle there would be an issue...

We added a zigzag of fairy lights in a dark hallway, which completely transformed it. The hallway is lined with bookshelves, and now I can see the titles without a flashlight!

I really like the bedding in the first one. I totally wanna cozy up in there, next to those lights. I absolutely love Christmas, so I don't mind a little something Christmas-like in the fall or even into February.

http://www.modernests.com

In theory I think no one over the age of 20 should have fairy lights in their home.

In practice, though, [gulp] I kind of love it. And most of the examples, particularly 1, 2, and 4, are lovely.

Some of these images are lovely holiday decor - but these same images would appear ridiculous and juvenile in July

I love them and use them -- partly because they solve a problem. Harsh light makes my vision blur, sometimes even sparking a migraine. This is much worse in the morning or when I wake up in the middle of the night. I put my computer in a doorless closet (the kind with two 3' wide sliding doors) and I lit the interior with these fairy lights. If I turn them on first, I can see to work until my eyes adjust enough to handle the regular bulbs.
Someone is most certainly going to suggest a dimmer. Have one. Still use the fairy lights. Guilty of being an unrepentant romantic and permanently dreaming adolescent.

Adore the very shabby very chic decor of #4. The snow crystals on the windows. The sheer curtain with the perfect distribution of faerie lights. The tassels on the window frame. Adds up to a lovely vision!

I got rid of my string of lights after I finished university because I thought they were too college-y. But I recently had dinner at my aunt and uncle's beautiful home in Halifax, and the had casually bundled a string of Christmas lights in a dark corner. It looked amazing. Now I'm thinking of doing the same.

Does anyone recognize the lights from the first picture? Where might I find tin flower lights?

@zhenpoo -- how long did the cherry blossom lights last? Every time I visit in London I'm so tempted to get some... they look amazing. But then, everything in Habitat looks amazing, so....

Why are pics 1, 6, 8 and ***4*** so incredibly beautiful?

It's possible to light pretty much my entire house by fairylight. They're perfect party lighting all year round, and they help stave off the twilight gloom when there's no party to be had. If they're not left on with no one home or awake, and if the cords are maintained, then they're not a fire hazard. And if they're LED, they don't use too much electricity.