No More Plain String Lights — Use Nail Polish To Transform Garden Paths & Walkways

String lights are a perfect way to light up your garden and walkways, and you can get quite imaginative with them. For example, there are plenty of creative ways to display solar fairy lights and enchant your garden. But when they are all white to off-white, it can get a little boring. Sometimes, you want a magical purple or fiery red to really transform your garden paths and walkways. Thankfully, with a bit of nail polish, you can cheaply add color to your plain string lights — as long as you are careful. 

Just like painting a lightbulb can create a new mood in any room, adding a few thin layers to your outdoor lights can change up how they look in your garden at night, with the light filtering through the colorful polish. Take care to be consistent with the thickness for a non-patchy, uniform look on the bulb itself. Adding a few layers will help, bearing in mind that more layers will cause lower light emission. It's also a good idea to stick to lighter colors, as dark blues, blacks, and browns can significantly reduce the brightness and trap heat, which may cause problems. 

This is a cute trick, but only if you are careful. It's key to follow the safety guidelines and know which materials to use, or this can easily become more of a hazard than a fun decor project. We've compiled a few of the considerations below. 

Nail polish doesn't hold up well to heat and is typically unable to withstand temperatures beyond 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It may start melting, peeling, or flaking, ruining your fun decor piece. Because of this, nail polish is best reserved for temporary color changes. It can last one to three months on bulbs, but frequent use and exposure to humidity and rain will make it degrade faster. 

This project has a few significant safety considerations. For one, many nail polishes are filled with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that turn into a dangerous gas if the polish gets too hot. Some nail polishes are even flammable, with the potential to catch fire when heated.  Nail polish also adds a layer of insulation and traps more heat than normal. That's why choosing the right bulb matters too. Many lights heat up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit or hotter, making it essential to only use low-wattage LEDs — most of them run under 122 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the base can reach much higher temperatures, up to 185 degrees Fahrenheit, so take care to not get any polish on it while painting. 

If all of these guidelines make you hesitate to reach for a bottle of nail polish, or you just want a more long-term solution, there are also LED garden light sets that you can change to almost any color with a press of a button. But if you're still looking for another creative option to repurpose ones you already have, try a project like this cute DIY alternative to pricey outdoor lights.