Streetcar-era bungalows, deep porches, and the shops along North Highland Avenue
Virginia-Highland is a neighborhood of front porches. The bungalows on St. Charles Avenue, Greenwood Avenue, and Rosedale Road were built for sitting outside and watching the street, and in December the street watches back. We light them the way their architecture suggests: a clean warm-white line under the wide eave, garland on the tapered columns, a wreath at the door. Our installers have worked Atlanta rooflines since 2018. Text a photo of the porch for a free written quote.
Virginia-Highland grew in the early twentieth century as a streetcar suburb, and most of its houses date from the 1910s through the 1930s. The Craftsman bungalow is the signature, but walk a few blocks and you will also see English Vernacular Revival cottages, Colonial Revival houses, and American Foursquares. The neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and its streets are still close to how they were built: narrow lots, houses set near the sidewalk, sidewalks under tall oaks, and small commercial clusters along North Highland Avenue.
A bungalow's roofline is low and broad. From the sidewalk, a pedestrian sees the underside of the porch eave, the column tops, and the door well before they see the ridge. That is why a display here usually starts at the porch. One continuous warm-white line along the porch eave, carried around the corner so it does not stop short, gives the house its outline. C7 bulbs suit this scale. On a larger bungalow with a front-facing gable or a shed dormer, a second line in C9s can trace the upper roof without crowding the porch.
December is a public month in this neighborhood. The Virginia-Highland Tour of Homes has run each December since the early 1970s, when it began as a bungalow tour, and it is now part of a mid-December winter festival with a parade and a market. Neighbors walk more, visitors come in, and houses are seen at an easy walking pace. That calls for tidy work: strands cut to length, clips spaced evenly, connections hidden behind columns or downspouts.
Our warm-white roofline service covers the eave work, and our wreaths, garland, and greenery handles the porch dressing. For the shops and restaurants along North Highland, the storefront service follows the same attention to detail.
The porch eave, the columns, and the door come first. Upper roof lines are added only when the house is tall enough to carry them.
The smaller C7 bulb keeps a bungalow looking in proportion when people pass ten or fifteen feet from the porch.
Every strand is cut to its run and every connection is tucked out of sight, because people see these houses up close.
Large street-side oaks can be wrapped from the ground to the first limb to frame a small house from the sidewalk.
Wide eaves with exposed rafter tails, tapered columns on brick or stone piers, a low front gable, and a porch that runs most of the width of the house. That is the Virginia-Highland bungalow in a sentence. We run the warm-white line under the eave rather than on top of the shingles when the rafter tails allow it, which keeps the line crisp and hides the clips. Garland and a wreath finish the porch.
Some bungalows here use stone for the piers and foundation and shingle siding above. Warm white is almost always right on these, because stone and wood shingles have warm tones that cool white fights. A driveway edge or front walk can carry a low line of light toward the porch when the house sits a little higher than the street.
English Vernacular Revival cottages have steep gables and arched doors, and they look best with one gable lit and a wreath on the door. Foursquares are taller and boxier; their hipped roofs can carry a C9 line above a lit porch, which gives the house two tiers of light. On a block of mixed types, we keep bulb color consistent with the neighbors when they ask.
Front yards here are shallow, but many have large oaks near the sidewalk. A wrapped trunk adds height to a one-story house and brings light out to the street edge. Our tree and landscape lighting is quoted per tree, with the wrap height measured on site.
The timer is set at install. A dark section during the season is a text away: send a photo to (470) 380-7797 and it goes on the next route. January brings the takedown, with every strand coiled and labeled by location. We also work nearby in Morningside, Druid Hills, and Inman Park.
With houses only a driveway apart, a Virginia-Highland display is always seen alongside the ones next door. When neighbors ask, we keep bulb type, spacing, and color temperature consistent from house to house, so a row of porches reads as one warm line down the block. When they do not, we still plan each house so it holds up on its own next to whatever is beside it. Warm white at 2700K is the safest shared choice, since it matches old brick, stained wood, and painted siding alike. Every house still gets its own written quote.
Bungalow scale, column wraps, and neighborhood events.
Usually. A bungalow has a low, horizontal shape, and a single clean line under the porch eave plus garland on the columns reads as deliberate. Outlining every roof edge tends to make a small house look busy. We will suggest what we think works from your photo, and you can adjust it.
Yes, if the date is booked early. Installs run from late October to about mid-December, and the late November and early December slots go first in this neighborhood. We can install early and set the timer to start whenever you like.
Garland spiraled up the column with warm-white mini lights inside, held with ties and tension, never tacks. On brick or stone piers we wrap only the tapered wood section above, which keeps the base looking solid.
Yes. We install outside business hours, keep ladders clear of the sidewalk while customers are around, and set the timer to your hours. Details are on our storefront and restaurant page.
Yes. After the January takedown, strands are coiled and labeled, and our takedown and storage service keeps them until next season.
Text a photo of the front of the house and the address to (470) 380-7797. We will send back an itemized plan that names every run, bulb type, and piece of greenery.
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.
