Christmas light installation in St. Petersburg, FL

WHY ST. PETE IS DIFFERENT

Porches, waterfront and the beach — three different jobs

St. Petersburg's bungalows were designed around a covered porch, and that's where a holiday display belongs: garland wrapped along the railing, a wreath centered between the columns, warm white light up the posts and across the porch fascia. A plain roofline strip on a bungalow looks like an afterthought — the porch is what makes the house look decorated.

On the canals — Venetian Isles, Coquina Key, the Snell Isle waterfront — the audience is the neighbors across the water. Those displays get dock rail and seawall lighting plus palms lit to the crown, all on one timer so the house and the water line come on together.

Out on the beaches the constraint is wind, and in the historic districts it's the wood. We solve both with hardware rather than shortcuts: wind-rated mounts at the beach, padded clamps on painted trim in the Old Northeast.

• Porch and railing garland sized to the actual railing runs.
• Wreaths between the columns and on street-facing windows.
• Dock, seawall and pool-area lighting on the same timer.
• Wind-rated mounts and sealed connections on the beach.

WHAT WE HANG IN ST. PETE

What a St. Pete display usually includes

Most homeowners here pick two or three of these and let the house dictate the rest. We store whatever we install, so adding the porch railing this year and the palms next year is simple.

• Porch railing and column garland.
• Wreaths between columns and on street-facing windows.
• Roofline and porch fascia tracing in warm white.
• Palm wrapping and landscape accents.
• Dock rail, seawall and pool-area lighting.
• Patio string lights for the back yard, if you use it in December.