English cottages, Tudor Revival houses, and postwar ranches from Sherwood Road to Lenox Park
Morningside's streets are lined with steep roofs. English cottages and Tudor Revival houses went up here from the 1920s on, and their front gables rise sharply over arched doors and small-paned windows. That pitch is what we light. A warm-white C9 line up one tall gable says more on a Morningside Tudor than a full outline ever could. Our installers have worked Atlanta rooflines since 2018. Text a photo of the house for a free written quote.
Morningside began as a handful of houses on Sherwood Road in 1923, grew quickly once the city annexed it in 1925, and had its own elementary school by 1929. Lenox Park followed in 1931, laid out under the supervision of the architects Ivey and Crook. Today the neighborhood association covers those and several other original subdivisions, including University Park, Noble Park, Johnson Estates, and Hylan Park. Building went on here from about 1917 to 1953, which explains the mix: English cottages and Tudor Revival houses on the older streets, Craftsman and Foursquare houses scattered through, and brick ranches from the years after the war.
The Tudor is the house most people picture, and it has a very specific geometry. A steep front gable, often with a smaller cross gable, a prominent chimney on the front or side, an arched door set into brick or stone, and casement windows with small panes. The roofline is not a single horizontal line the way it is on a ranch or a colonial. It climbs. That is an advantage for lighting, because a vertical line reads from much farther away than a horizontal one of the same length.
So on most Morningside Tudors we start with the tallest gable, trace both rakes in warm-white C9s at an even spacing, and stop. If there is a second gable, we light it too and match the spacing exactly. The long side eaves usually stay dark. A wreath on the arched door and lit foundation shrubs complete it. The effect is a set of warm peaks against the dark roof, which is how the house looks best.
The neighborhood's slopes are part of the job. Many lots sit above or below the street, with steps up to the door and walls along the sidewalk, and the canopy is heavy along the streets near the Morningside Nature Preserve and the South Fork of Peachtree Creek. Our residential design service plans ladder positions around those grades, and our tree and landscape work uses the canopy rather than fighting it.
Warm-white C9s on the steep front gables, spaced evenly so each peak reads cleanly from the street.
Houses set above or below the street are lit from the angle people see them, and ladders are placed for the grade.
Wreaths are sized to arched openings, and chimneys are left as strong dark shapes or lightly outlined, depending on the house.
Shingle clips, gutter clips, and tension wraps. Nothing is fastened into brick, stone, or trim.
On a steep gable, bulb spacing is visible in a way it is not on a flat eave. Uneven gaps make the line look like it is sliding. We measure each rake, cut the strand to fit, and space C9 bulbs at a steady interval from eave to peak and back down. The dormer, if there is one, gets the same spacing so the whole roof shares one rhythm.
The smaller English cottages in the neighborhood often have a single front gable over the door and a sweeping roofline on one side. A lit wreath on the door, C7 bulbs on the entry gable, and lit boxwoods at the foundation are often enough. On a small house, restraint looks expensive.
The last wave of original building here brought brick ranches and some two-story colonials. On a ranch, a long, even line of warm-white C9s along the front eave makes the house look wider and lower, which is its best feature. On a colonial, both front gables and the main eave usually get light, with wreaths in the upper windows.
The streets closest to the Morningside Nature Preserve and the creek have heavy canopy and larger trees in front yards. A trunk wrapped in warm-white mini lights to the first fork gives the house a frame and shows up even when the roofline is partly hidden by branches. We wrap evenly and never tightly enough to harm the bark.
Each display runs on a timer set during install. If a strand goes out, text a photo to (470) 380-7797 and it goes on the next route. January is takedown, with every run labeled for next year. Neighbors in Virginia-Highland and Ansley Park are on the same routes.
Five things move the number. Measured footage, gable by gable. Height and pitch, since a steep Tudor gable takes longer to trace than a ranch eave of the same length. Access, because a house set above the street on a slope needs more ladder planning. The trees and shrubs you want lit, counted one by one. And specialty pieces, like wreaths sized to an arched door or garland on an entry. Each appears as its own line on the free written quote, so you can adjust the plan before we arrive.
Tudor gables, slopes, and the 1950s ranches in between.
We usually advise against it. A Tudor's character is in its steep front gable. Tracing that gable, and a second one if the house has it, gives a strong, recognizable shape. Outlining every eave and valley tends to blur it. The written quote will show the lines we recommend, and you can add more.
Warm white, around 2700K, is our default on brick and stone because it matches their tone. Cool white can look icy against old brick. Our journal post on warm white vs. cool white on brick shows the difference side by side.
It changes the angle. From below, the upper gables and the front eave are prominent, and the porch floor is hidden. We light what the sidewalk sees, and we often add lit shrubs along the steps or retaining wall so the approach is visible.
Yes. A brick ranch has a long, low roofline, and a warm-white C9 line along the front eave suits it well. Our warm-white roofline service covers the options, including spacing and bulb size.
Yes. In January everything comes down, is coiled and labeled, and is stored with us until next season through our takedown and storage service.
Text a photo of the front of the house and the address to (470) 380-7797. The written quote will list each gable, eave, tree, and wreath, so the design is clear before install day.
Text us a photo
Scan with your phone's camera to start a text to (470) 380-7797. Attach a picture of the front of the house.
