How to use LED light strips: indoor and outdoor strip lighting ideas

August 15 2024

With their flexibility and ability to illuminate long stretches of surfaces, LED strip lights are one of the most versatile lights available. Many LED strip lights – including Philips Hue indoor and outdoor lightstrips – can even provide light in a variety of colors, making them ideal for not only illuminating your home, but creating interesting aesthetics, setting the mood, and highlighting your home's best features.

Smart LED strips take the flexibility of strip lighting to another level. With Philips Hue, for example, you don't need to wire a special LED-strip-compatible dimmer switch to the wall or worry about reaching an on/off switch —all you need is an app, your voice, or a smart accessory to control the lights. 

Follow these tips from the experts to get the most out of your strip lighting.

Indoor strip lights can be used to accentuate certain indoor features, create lighted pathways, or set the mood with subtle lighting effects.

LED strip lights make the perfect under-cabinet lighting in your kitchen, allowing you to light up your entire prepping surface in bright white light – or create a unique vibe with a vibrant color. Philips Hue lightstrips can be cut to size and mounted with the included 3M adhesive backing, which makes them incredibly easy to install. No drills or elbow grease needed.

Since LED strip lights dim on your command, you can create an even grander effect by lining the lower cabinets near the floor in your kitchen. Set the lights to a low glow, creating a relaxed atmosphere that's just bright enough to guide you around the kitchen in the middle of the night for that midnight snack.

See how others use Philips Hue lightstrips in their kitchen:

Cove lighting can be best achieved with RGB LED strip lights, which are slender and flexible enough to be hidden within many styles of crown molding. Because smart LED strip lights require just a plug and can be controlled from an app or other smart accessories, they're much easier to use than standard LED strip lights.

With their adhesive backing, LED strip lights can be mounted onto almost any surface – including the backside of your TV or the inside of your entertainment center in the living room. With the LED strip light casting light against the wall behind the TV, you can create a beautiful outline of light. 

Bright idea: When you mount Philips Hue lightstrips around your TV or entertainment unit, you can create a surround lighting experience in your living room while you watch your favorite movies and TV shows. Watch the LED strip flash, brighten, dim, and change color in sync with the content on your screen using the Hue Sync app paired with a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box. 

Under-stair LED lighting can be done in two ways – under each individual step or along the side of the entire staircase. The easier way is the latter since it involves far less measuring and cutting. Philips Hue lightstrips can be cut to size on designated markings but can also be extended with Philips Hue lightstrip extensions.

When you use LED strip lights along the side, you can either run the LED strip light along the base of the staircase cleverly hidden inside the trim or baseboard, or along the inside of the handrail. With smart LED strip lights, you can also add a motion sensor to make your lights turn on automatically as you walk by – especially helpful for those late-night trips down the stairs.

Create a truly unique atmosphere by outlining certain pieces of furniture in your home. Use an LED strip light underneath or behind the couch in the living room to create a cozy ambience to relax in or line the shelves of a bookcase or display unit to put your favorite collectibles in the spotlight.

While indoor LED strip lights complement your interior decor, outdoor LED strip lights can help you highlight your favorite outdoor features, designate specific areas with light, set the right mood for an evening outside, or simply extend your living space.

Use an outdoor LED strip light to line the railing of your balcony or porch. Attach the strip underneath the railing, running it along the length to hide the strip itself from view while casting light downwards onto the deck.

If your porch or balcony is covered, you can also mount the LED strip light along the underside of the roof, providing more overhead lighting. This not only allows you to illuminate a pathway or seating area, but it also lets you highlight the architecture of your home.

If you have flower beds around the perimeter of your outdoor space – or even just smaller flower beds scattered throughout your yard — you can illuminate them with LED strip lighting. As the sun sets, you can turn the lights on to cast complementary colors over them, highlighting your beautiful blooms and creating a unique lighting effect in your garden. Because the Philips Hue lightstrip features a waterproof design, it's ideal for flower beds. 

To install outdoor LED strip lights around flower beds, place the strip light along the perimeter and tuck it slightly into the ground. Make sure that it's evenly installed and no dirt is covering the light – though a little bit of grass does create an interesting shadow effect!

Path lighting is a popular way to guide the way through your yard by placing one fixture after another along your walkway. If you prefer not to invest the space or money in multiple pathway lights, you can line your path with an LED strip light instead. Using an LED strip light along a pathway will guide you through your yard with softer, diffused light rather than brighter pathway lights.

If you have outdoor stairs leading to your patio or porch, line them with LED strip lights. Tuck a strip underneath the sides of your stairs to create a unique, subtle look. Not only will it add to the aesthetic of your outdoor space, but it will help you see where you're walking if it's dark outside. That's a win-win situation.

See how others are using LED strip lights in their homes: