Fairy Lights Ideas That Create a Magical Environment

Faith, trust, and pixie dust might take you to Neverland, but you don’t need actual fairies to make your home a dreamy space of your own design. All you need is a little charm and twinkle of your own—and fairy lights can help. For a whimsical home environment, fairy lights can prove a simple, inexpensive way to create that one-of-a-kind magical mood. Below, try out our fairy light ideas that will transport you into a whole new world.

What are fairy lights?

Fairy lights, also called twinkle lights, are a type of string lights that add an especially magical feel to any DIY project or lighting space. The primary function of these teeny lights is to subtly add warmth to your space. They are typically several feet in length; they are often available in 3-foot and 10-foot lengths. The flexible wiring makes them especially useful for wrapping around objects or for any purpose where the lights need to hold their shape. Fairy lights are often made of long-lasting LEDs, too, so one strand can last for thousands of hours.

13 fairy light ideas

Once you know where in your room you’d like a touch of magic, you can use any of the 13 below fairy light ideas for a cozy and romantic setup.

1. DIY faux fire

Fireplaces are cozy, but a real fire isn’t always plausible or safe. A faux fire, though, is an excellent alternative that takes full advantage of your fireplace and twinkling lights. To set up your DIY fireplace, drape battery-powered white fairy lights over logs or between battery-operated candles. This combo will provide a soft and romantic atmosphere without producing unwanted heat on nights when it’s already warm.

2. String lights

While slightly different than fairy lights, with larger bulbs, thicker wires, and bolder light shapes, string lights can look quite striking alongside their smaller, twinkling counterparts. Your two lights can be interwoven and hung on a decorative wall between pictures to spotlight important memories and people who are a light in your life, pun entirely intended.

3. Light up a forgotten space

Twinkle lights in wine bottles on a corner shelf can help illuminate a part of your room that overhead lights just aren’t reaching. In this case, your fairy lights will add a pretty element to an otherwise plain or potentially forgotten room accessory. Place your lights in wine bottles you’ve saved from old nights in hopes of preserving your memories – this way, your corner will really pop.

4. Fill a mason jar with fairy lights

Mason jar lights make for a versatile approach to your lighting setup. Fill your mason jars with battery-powered twinkling lights and place them on shelves or tables to decorate a space in a French country or farmhouse style. This reliable technique is an easy, beginner setup staple in lighting and interior design.

5. Make furniture a show piece

Adding that one special focus piece in a room as your certified crowd-stopper may seem overwhelming, but with purposefully placed fairy lights, any couch, chair, or table can become a centerpiece. Fairy lights wrapped delicately across your nightstand, for example, add just enough lighting to make it look as though there truly are fairies dancing above your head.

6. Fairy bedroom lighting

Headboards are an ideal spot for fairy lights. You can wrap them around your headboard’s bars in a pattern of your own making to create a space of warmth and rest.

It’s not just the thin, whimsical structure of fairy lights that achieve this look – twinkling lights subtly fill the room with a softer, warmer light than your ceiling overhead lights. This relaxing setup can lull you right into Dreamland. You can also pair these lights with elegant sheer drapery to create a princess bedroom aesthetic for the dream fairytale sanctuary.

7. Sparkling candle lighting

The soft glow of a candle flicker may at first seem to provide a perfect amount of glow all by itself. However, twinkling lights with copper or silver wiring wrapped around the upper third of a candle can add a gorgeous, diamond-like glow that adds both lighting and romance. Similarly, fairy lights casually thrown around a candelabra can create a subtle glow that warms your room just as much as the actual heat from your candles.

8. Bed canopy icicle lights

A cascade of fairy lights that hang down from your ceiling can resemble a star-studded indoor sky, perfect for the adult who wishes for a whimsical but mature bedroom ceiling. For another ceiling fairy light bedroom idea, try designing your cascading lights in the shape of a bed canopy. Alternatively, think of your hanging light strips as icicles, then drape them in close lines for a winter wonderland vibe. Not quite the look you’re going for? String lights shaped like real-life icicles can do the trick.

9. Wall accents

Fairy lights strung along a wall create a crisp, clean look that accentuates an otherwise plain part of your space. This lighting idea is also a great way to show off the floor-to-ceiling height of the room or its interesting features such as vaulted ceilings. Hang your lights with tacks around the corners of your walls for a quick and easy DIY project.

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10. Quotes in lights

Do you have a favorite word or saying? If you do, you can add it to an empty wall space with your fairy lights.

To create this stunning visual, place tacks in your wall in the shape of your word or phrase. Then, use these tacks to hang your lights. The result will be your favorite word in exactly the way you want it. Everytime you see it, you’ll be reminded of its message and why it means something to you. Try this fairy light idea over a master bed or dining room wall.

11. Magic mirror

Magic mirror on the wall… you’re the fairest of them all! Nothing quite says magical and pixie-dusted quite like an enchanted mirror covered in tiny glowing specks of fairy dust. To achieve this look, place your fairy lights elegantly around a mirror frame for a dramatic look that adds extra light to a dark room. For additional glamour, choose a vintage or art-deco frame that has plenty of gold accents to further reflect the glow shining off the mirror.

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12. Make an inspired “mini world” to decorate your bookshelf

A “book nook” is the ultimate DIY craft on the list, but once done, it’s an invaluable addition between your favorite novels on your bookcase. Start with an empty cereal box, then craft a woodland scene with bark and moss. You can also add a stream of water or a gravel road using pebbles. Finish things off with a small string of lights to place between the trees to give an illusion of a curved pathway to the back of an old forest road.

13. Galaxy inspired lights

Sky and galaxy lights give off a similar vibe to fairy lights, without any of the need to wind wires around an object. They project twinkling, colorful stars, nebula clouds, and stardust for a dose of magic a good deal more immersive than a string of smaller LEDs, and all without installing anything.

For example, the BlissLights Sky Lite Evolve Galaxy Projector douses your room in colorful nebulas and blue or green stars that don’t just twinkle – they transform your room into an out-of-this-world experience. It can also promote relaxation through its calming blue and green hues – the magic of rest can be all yours with the click of a button.

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Get the fairytale look from BlissLights

Maybe it's true that magic isn't real, but that doesn’t mean our imaginations can’t come alive with enchanting fairy lighting. The lights on this list will have you feeling as though your favorite fairytales have come to life in your own magical world. Here at BlissLights, our galaxy lights are an especially engrossing type of magical, starry light that takes you to a magical location without you moving an inch. Browse our collection to perfect your whimsical lighting setup!