Brick rowhomes downtown, family houses out toward the edge of the borough and the shops along Gay Street, all lit for the season without you climbing a ladder.
West Chester is the county seat, a college town and one of the busiest downtowns in the area, all inside one borough. A single block can hold a brick rowhome with a front stoop, a twin with a shared front porch, a restaurant with big front windows and an office over a shop. We offer Christmas light installation in West Chester for every one of them, along with permanent lighting, business lighting and lighting for holiday parties.
Downtown houses sit right on the sidewalk, so the lights are seen from a few feet away by people walking past. That changes what looks good. Even spacing matters more, a straight line along the cornice and gutter reads better than a busy one, and cords look best out of sight rather than across the front steps. Farther from the center, on the wider lots toward the borough edge and into the neighboring townships, there is room for bigger trees, shrubs and longer runs of eaves.
Either way, start with what you want people to see. One crisp line of warm white along the top of a brick front can be enough. So can the porch, the windows and the tree out front all done together. Tell us which you picture, and we will put a free quote together around it.
Seasonal lighting is the right fit for most downtown homes, where a short front and a porch can look wonderful with a modest amount of light. We put it up for the holidays, then take everything down after the season and keep it in storage until next fall.
Downtown shops, restaurants and offices compete for attention all season. Lit windows, doorways and facades help a business look open and welcoming on dark December evenings. Ask about takedown when you request your quote.
Between offices, restaurants, the university and all the homes that host in December, West Chester has no shortage of parties. We can add string lights, bistro lights and lit trees or pathways for an evening, an open house or a company celebration, and take them down afterward.
If your house sits on a bigger lot at the edge of town, a permanent system mounted along the trim can stay up all year. It suits a house you would like lit through the year without anyone thinking about ladders each fall. You change colors from an app, warm white most nights and something brighter for a holiday, a game or a birthday.
The West Chester Christmas Parade has been a December tradition for decades. It is put on by the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce, usually on a Friday evening in early December, and it loops through the historic downtown on Market and Gay Streets with floats, bands and Santa at the end. Tens of thousands of people come to watch.
For businesses on the route, that night is one of the most-seen evenings of the year. For homeowners nearby, it is a good reason to have the house lit early. If either is you, call as early as you can; earlier bookings have more install dates to choose from.
Plenty of people who come downtown for the parade stay for dinner or a drink, which keeps the restaurants and bars full well into the evening. A lit front and a few strands in the windows make a real difference to how a place looks from across the street on a cold night.
Much of West Chester's center is a historic district, full of brick and stone fronts, many of them from the 1800s, with detailed trim, shutters and iron railings. Those details are worth showing off. Clips hold the lights without nails or staples, which is why installers use them on older trim, and on a brick front they hook onto the gutter, the cornice edge or a railing.
Rowhomes have very little front yard to hide a cord, so on these houses the cord path matters almost as much as the lights. Along a downspout or under a railing beats across the steps, and a simple, tidy look tends to suit these houses best.
Color choice matters more on a historic street than almost anywhere else. Warm white tends to sit nicely against red brick and dark shutters, while multicolor C9 bulbs give an old twin a cheerful, classic look. Mini lights work well wrapped around iron railings and porch columns, where bigger bulbs would look crowded. Tell us the look you like when you ask for a quote.
If a few neighbors on the same block want their houses lit, it is worth calling together. A row of matching fronts down a West Chester street is one of the nicest things you can see in December, and planning several homes at once keeps the look consistent from door to door.
Yes. Rowhomes and twins usually have a short front, so the plan is about neat, even lines along the gutter or cornice, the porch and the windows, with cords kept tidy and out of the way of the front steps.
On a brick or stone front, the lights follow the gutters, the cornice and the railings rather than the wall itself. Mini lights wrap iron railings and porch columns, and C9 bulbs run along the gutter line where they read well from the street.
Most installers price each house on its own. The length of the lines being lit, how high the house is, how many trees or shrubs are included, the color and style of the bulbs and whether you want a timer all affect the total. Our quote is free, so you know the number before you decide.
Yes, if you book early enough. Storefronts, restaurants and offices downtown can be lit for the whole season, which covers parade night and the shopping weekends around it. The parade is usually in early December, so call as early as you can.
No. We supply the lights, put them up and, with a seasonal home install, take them down after the holidays. You never have to buy a strand or own another box of holiday gear, which helps in a downtown home with little storage.
With a seasonal home install, we come back after the season, take everything down and store it for you. In a downtown home where closet and basement space is tight, that saves a lot of room. The lights belong to us, so none of it comes back into your house.