Faceted vs. Smooth Christmas Lights: How to Choose the Perfect Look

A beautifully designed Christmas display is a feast for the eyes that can effortlessly enchant onlookers and warmly greet your guests. One of the core concepts behind an impressive display is choice. You choose the theme, color scheme, and decor. And when it comes to lights, you have the choice between faceted and smooth. Either one has its own attributes and pros and cons that meaningfully impact the look and feel of your display. Dive into this comparison of faceted versus smooth Christmas lights where you’ll discover the differences between the two so that you can choose the perfect look for your display.

What are Faceted Christmas Lights?

Faceted Christmas lights are Christmas lights with bulbs that feature tiny cuts or crystal-like patterns on their surface. The bulbs have a textured look, and they help cast light brilliantly thanks to a faceted design that’s meant to maximize light dispersion through multiple surfaces.

Both C9 bulbs and C7 bulbs are popular styles of faceted lights, especially for outdoor lighting. M5 Christmas lights and C6 Christmas lights are top choices for faceted string lights, and can look great both outdoors and indoors.

The Visual Effect of Faceted Bulbs

In faceted bulbs, light refracts through the faceted surface to create a dynamic sparkly shine. This effect is particularly noticeable from larger bulbs in outdoor settings. The light quality of faceted bulbs is characteristically bright, sparkling, and modern-looking.

Pros and Cons of Faceted Christmas Lights

Pros:

• Enhanced brightness: the faceted surface refracts light, making the bulbs appear bright and dynamic
• Eye-catching sparkle: beautiful up-close and at a distance with its attractive sparkle
• Versatility: works well in both indoor and outdoor settings; retrofit bulbs are very bright and look best outdoors while string lights are great mostly indoors
• Visibility: more noticeable from a distance, making them a premier choice for outdoor displays

Cons:

• May appear less traditional: smooth lights are more associated with the classic-looking incandescent lights of the past, while faceted lights are more modern and mostly available as LEDs
• Unexpected appearance: the light dispersion caused by the faceting can sometimes make color from the diodes look slightly different than anticipated

What are Smooth Christmas Lights?

Smooth Christmas lights are Christmas lights with bulbs that feature a sleek, transparent surface. Through this surface, smooth Christmas lights emit a soft, consistent glow. The traditional origins and classic appeal of smooth Christmas lights remind onlookers of Christmases past, evoking childhood memories for many. The more uniform, nostalgic light of smooth Christmas lights is reminiscent of incandescent lights.

Smooth Christmas lights are available in two main styles:

• Frosted: features a soft diffused glow that spreads throughout the shell; the appearance is similar to a lit egg
• Filament: features a bright U-shaped filament visible through a transparent bulb; the most nostalgic look of all, resembling an incandescent light bulb

For smooth Christmas lights in string variety, T5 Christmas lights are a popular choice. Their bulb design is similar to the shape of incandescent mini Christmas string lights, making them a wonderful choice for retro-inspired arrangements.

The Visual Effect of Smooth Bulbs

Smooth bulbs emanate a warm, consistent illumination that can be seen as a soft glow. The light disperses out from the bulb evenly, without the refraction that occurs through a faceted bulb. The light quality of smooth bulbs is characteristically soft, warm, and classic-looking.

Pros and Cons of Smooth Christmas Lights

Pros:

• Iconic appearance: Has a classic, timeless look that appeals to traditionalists and people who enjoy retro styles
• Warm glow: casts a warm glow that’s ideal for creating cozy settings and atmospheres
• Comfortable brightness: has a reserved brightness level that’s fitting for indoor installs

Cons:

• Too soft: may not look as bright as faceted bulbs, especially in large outdoor displays
• Muted light from frosted: diffused light from smooth frosted bulbs can make these lights seem less impactful in certain displays and settings
• Perception of brightness from filament: light shines through the transparent shell without refraction or diffusion, limiting the perception of brightness

How to Choose Between Faceted and Smooth Christmas Lights

Choosing which bulb for your Christmas lights will come down to several factors such as the location where you’ll put up the lights, the desired effect you wish to create, and your own taste in light design and appearance.

Consider Your Display Location

For Outdoor Displays

Faceted lights are ideal for outdoor displays thanks to their enhanced visibility and sparkle effect that catches the eye. The brightness and twinkling effect of faceted lights makes it easy to see these lights from afar, garnering distant attention toward your display from admirers. C9 faceted bulbs are especially popular as roof Christmas lights, and as outdoor tree wraps.

For Indoor Settings

Smooth lights are best for indoor displays where a traditional, nostalgic look is desired. They’re also perfect for displays where subtlety is key. Smooth lights are right at home wrapped around an indoor tree. Smooth lights radiate a glow that creates a cozy, warm atmosphere in an interior space. Garlands, wreaths, and other greenery are tasteful complements to the soft glow of smooth lights.

Consider Light Color and Intensity

The differences between faceted and smooth bulbs impact the very appearance of color coming from LED Christmas lights, making the choice of which to decorate with all the more meaningful. Refraction from faceted bulbs can slightly alter how color appears: the brightness and sparkle from faceted bulbs produces an effect where some colors look more intense, with increased brightness and vibrance. For RGB bulbs, such as Twinkly RGB C9 lights, have red, green, and blue diodes inside of them. Therefore, the facets can make certain colors in the diodes more pronounced depending on the angle. Smooth lights are more subtle in appearance, which means less intensity. The richness of each color shows through in smooth lights.

Can You Mix Faceted and Smooth Christmas Lights?

Yes you can! The unique properties of faceted and smooth bulbs empower decorators to make the most of a decorating space. Faceted lights are a fantastic choice for outdoor lighting, while smooth lights are wonderful for indoor lighting. Faceted C9s shine bright on the roofline, while smooth lights will wrap your indoor tree in a warm glow. Consider smooth lights on the pergola and other parts of the patio where guests will hang out, and faceted lights on farther away outdoor items such as bushes and tree wraps. When near another, the contrast in brightness between the two types of lights may not look flattering, so it can help to keep them a fair distance from each other.

Making Your Final Decision

Weighing your options means weighing the differences between faceted and smooth lights. And we’ve explored differences that are definitely worth considering. Let’s break down the main differences between these bulb types:

Personal taste is the most important factor in making your decision. Whether you want faceted lights emitting their enthusiastic brightness, or you want smooth lights casting their enchanting glow, or both for installs where either’s distinctive specialties shine, it’s all up to you.

If you’d like to try both types of lights but have a preference for one, decorate the main areas of your home with your preferred type and experiment with the other by incorporating it in smaller spaces and limited installs.

Shop Quality Christmas Lights at Christmas Designers

Faceted and smooth lights each shine in their own unique way, which is why we offer both in a robust variety of colors and styles. All of our lights are high-quality, professional-grade Christmas lights that have the power to transform the spaces at your home into impressive Christmas portraits. Pro-grade lights are unmatched in quality, durability, and design compared to retail lights that come from a big box store. And the only lights we carry are LED lights, which are the most energy-efficient option for Christmas lights. Whether you choose faceted or smooth to give your decorating space a glow-up, we’ve got you covered: explore our selection of high-quality, pro-grade LED Christmas lights today.

Get your holiday lighting and decorating questions answered from one our qualified Christmas Designers: send an email to [email protected] or call 1-800-391-5280 to be on your way to making a decorating masterpiece.