Late January through February 14
Valentine's Day
Short, cheap, and almost nobody does it, which is exactly why a Valentine yard gets noticed. Two weeks of the deadest month on the calendar.
- start planning early January
- 3 themes
- 30 plans
what makes this one different
Before you buy anything
February yards are working against bare trees, gray light and old snow, so a little color goes a very long way. It is also the one holiday where the display is mostly for the people in the house rather than the street. Keep the budget small and reuse the lighting you already own.
pick a look
3 themes for Valentine's Day
Each one works with every yard shape on the site, so pick the look first and the plan bends around your geometry afterwards.
Showing these on your Small Urban Postage Stamp not yours? pick one
- Wide Shallow, No Porch
- Narrow Shallow with Porch
- L-Shaped with Projecting Garage
- Deep Narrow
- Corner Lot
- Split-Level or Raised Ranch
- Sloped or Terraced
- Small Urban Postage Stamp
- Circular Driveway
- Long Driveway, Rural Frontage
We will remember it for next time.
Cupid's Bow
Arrows that landed where they landed, a cherub taking aim, and the whole yard set up as one joke that pays off from the sidewalk. The least sentimental way to do February.
1 free build plan in this one
See it on Small Urban Postage StampLace Valentine's Day
Cut-lace panels, white lanterns and warm light coming through patterned edges. The quiet, grown-up end of Valentine's Day, and the only version of it that still looks right on a February morning with nothing switched on.
1 free build plan in this one
See it on Small Urban Postage StampSparkle Hearts
Maximal, glittery and completely unembarrassed. Hearts at every size, everything catching light off everything else, and no attempt at restraint anywhere in it.
1 free build plan in this one
See it on Small Urban Postage Stampor start from your yard
Which shape do you have?
If you already know your lot shape, go in that way instead. Every theme above works with every one of these.
- Wide Shallow, No Porch Lining everything up in one flat row parallel to the house. It turns your yard into a store display. Stagger the depths even a few feet.
- Narrow Shallow with Porch Buying one giant inflatable that fills the entire yard and blocks the porch. The porch is your best feature. Do not park something in front of it.
- L-Shaped with Projecting Garage Treating the entry as the center of the house and spacing everything around it. The entry is off to one side. Symmetry built around it looks lopsided from the street.
- Deep Narrow Putting everything up by the house where you can see it from the front door. From the street it collapses into one small cluster with 40 ft of empty lawn in front of it.
- Corner Lot Decorating the front door and leaving the whole side street bare. Half the neighborhood sees that side first.
- Split-Level or Raised Ranch Crowding the top landing. It is about four feet deep, it is the only way in and out, and everything up there is invisible from the road anyway.
- Sloped or Terraced Putting the tallest thing on the bottom tier because it is the easiest to carry to. It hides everything above it. Height goes up the hill, not down.
- Small Urban Postage Stamp Buying at the same scale as a suburban yard. A 9 ft inflatable in a 12 ft setback is not festive, it is a wall.
- Circular Driveway Decorating the island and leaving the house behind it dark. The island reads as a floating blob with no context unless the roofline is lit too.
- Long Driveway, Rural Frontage Putting everything at the house, where the road cannot see any of it, and leaving the mailbox end completely dark. Most of your audience never gets past the mailbox.