Patio String Lights 101: Plan the Run, Skip the Sag

July 21, 2026

String lights are the fastest way to make a patio feel finished — but most people buy a length at random, drape them once, and end up with a saggy line and a dark corner. Ten minutes of planning fixes all of it. Here's the simple method we use.

Step 1: Measure the run, then add a third

Walk the path you want the lights to follow — fence post to pergola, pergola to eave — and add roughly 30% for swag (the gentle dip between anchor points). A 20-foot straight run becomes about 26 feet of lights. Taut lines look institutional; the dip is what reads as "café."

Our solar G40 globe string lights come in five lengths from 25 to 98 feet, so you can match the run instead of forcing the run to match the box.

Step 2: Go solar where wiring is a pain

The biggest reason patio lighting projects stall is the outlet question. Solar sidesteps it entirely: the panel stakes into a sunny patch of garden, charges through the day, and the lights come on at dusk on their own. No extension cords across the walkway, no timer to remember. One honest caveat: brightness tracks the day's charge — after a grey day, expect a softer glow.

Step 3: Anchor points every 6–8 feet

Swag depth is controlled by anchor spacing. Every 6–8 feet gives you the classic bistro dip; wider spacing looks dramatic but strains the line. Cup hooks under an eave, stainless screw eyes on a fence rail, or a simple wire guide between two posts all work. If you're spanning open air, run a support wire first and clip the lights to it — the wire takes the tension, the lights just hang.

Step 4: Layer a second light source low

Overhead string lights alone can feel like a ceiling with no lamps. Add one low, warm source — lantern solar string lights woven through a railing planter, or a few flameless candles on the table — and the space gets depth. The rule of thumb from interior lighting applies outside too: two heights beat one.

Step 5: Leave them up

Good outdoor string lights aren't a summer-only prop. Shatterproof globes handle weather, and a warm glow against early snow is half the reason to have a backyard at all. Plan the mounting once, properly, and the takedown question disappears.