Midtown Christmas Light Installation in Sacramento

Once a month the Second Saturday art walk puts a good chunk of the city on Midtown’s sidewalks, and in December all those people stroll right past your front steps. Midtown Sacramento is a walking neighborhood, so lights here get seen up close, at porch height, by folks holding coffee. That’s who we plan for. Midtown Christmas light installation, from a crew based a few blocks away downtown, starts at the porch.

The grid between 16th and 30th Streets is full of old Victorians, and a Victorian is tall. Raised basement, high porch, then a steep gable way up in the street trees. Could we outline every peak? On some houses, yes. Should we? Usually not. The canopy hides most of it from the sidewalk, and the trim up there is old and fancy and better left untouched.

So on these houses the roofline lights tend to go on the lower lines: the porch roof, a bay window eave, and one front gable if it shows through the branches. They’re held with clips sized to the gutter or the trim edge. We never nail or staple into old wood.

A raised Victorian porch is basically a little stage facing the street. That’s where Midtown houses shine.

Turned porch posts get a pillar wrap from the floor to the bracket. Lit garland runs along the porch railing and down the stair banister, tied with soft ties so the paint stays put. A lit wreath hangs on the door, or one in each front window if you like symmetry. On a house with a wide stair, garland on both rails with a wreath at the top is about as Sacramento-in-December as it gets. We have more ideas on our garland page.

Midtown lots are snug. Front yards are often a patch of garden and a short walk to the steps. Stake lighting still works, just in small doses: a few along the path, kept out of the planting beds and away from drip lines.

The tall trees are the neighborhood’s signature. If one grows in your own yard, a tree wrap on the trunk gives walkers something glowing at eye level. Snug lots also mean we think about cords. With the sidewalk this close, everything gets routed along the house and under the porch, never across a path.

We cover the official Midtown blocks from R Street up to J Street, and the wider area people call Midtown out to Alhambra Boulevard, past Sutter’s Fort. Boulevard Park is next door and gets the same careful hands.

Midtown as a whole has no HOA, so a house on the grid has no display dates to follow. Infill lofts and condo buildings are different. Each has its own association, and balcony and common-area rules vary building by building. If you’re in one, get a fresh copy of the building’s rules and call (916) 313-4551, then our put-up day and our January pull-down day get picked to suit it. A balcony rail with garland and a wreath is often all a loft needs.

We also light businesses. A storefront on J Street or a restaurant patio gets the same treatment as a house: our lights, a timer and takedown in January. Our commercial lighting page has that side of things.

Two ways, a call to (916) 313-4551 or a photo. Stand on the far sidewalk, get the whole front in the picture, steps and all, and text or email it over, or send it through the contact page. We’ll come back with a plan and a quote. Parking a truck on the grid takes some thought, so tell us if you have alley access or a driveway. It helps us pick the day.

If a strand goes dark before Christmas, (916) 313-4551 brings us back. In January the garland comes off the railings, and Second Saturday goes on without us.

Can you light the very top gable of my Midtown Victorian?

Sometimes. It depends on the height, the trim and how much the street trees hide it. Send a photo and we’ll tell you whether it’s worth doing or whether the porch and lower eaves will show better.

My Midtown house isn’t in a condo building. Do any association rules apply?

No. Midtown as a whole has no HOA, so a house on the grid has no display dates to follow. Condo and loft buildings are the exception, each with its own association.

I only have a loft balcony. Is that enough to bother with?

Yes. A railing wrapped in lit garland with a wreath shows well from the street, provided your building’s rules allow it.

Where do you park and work on a tight Midtown street?

We plan around street parking and use an alley or driveway when you have one. Let us know what access your block has when you call.