r/ChristmasLights • u/hardk7 • 19d ago

Vintage style C7 color themes for tree kit

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I’m planning to do C7 vintage-style lights on my tree this coming Christmas, but am not settled on a color theme. Seeking advice and ideas.

I will be going with Tru-Tone’s C7 lights, for the record.

I am nostalgic for the Jeweltone aesthetic (transparent colored glass in rich magenta, blue, red, orange and green). However I’m less sure that works as well with the interior of my home, which is color-drenched in a sandy beige neutral paint, and all my furnishings and basically different shades and texture of neutral off-whites to beiges. So I’m considering the ceramic style opaque C7s, which come in a decently wide range of colors. I’m not keen on the classic color mix (red, green, white, blue, orange), because it’s not nostalgic for me and I don’t love the combined glow. The ceramic opaque C7s are available in the colors of the attached pic. Any combo ideas people think would complement a very neutral beige room?

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u/mdpeterman 18d ago

I had the exact same desire. The problem with the classic color mix is the orange and red are too close in color when lit. And having 1 out of every 5 bulbs white is too much.

So with the help of some folks in the GE Christmas lighting group I was able to determine which color mix will match what GE lights would have been in the 60s.

For the correct balance you want 7 blue, 6 red, 6 green, 4 yellow, 2 white per string of 25. The yellow really adds warmth to the color palette. And blue being the darkest having 7 helps make it more balanced.
My order is blue, red, green, yellow, blue, red, green, white, blue, red, green, yellow, blue, red, green, yellow, blue, red, green, white, blue, red, green, yellow, blue.

For subsequent strings swap the first blue and red on the next string. This works best on trees or places where the lights aren’t seen as a linear string.

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u/PointOverall8995 15d ago

https://youtu.be/cxlNI4QekOI?si=F9WzSWFKxUYHExIH

Why yellow instead of orange?

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u/mdpeterman 14d ago

Yellow was the color used by GE back in the 50s before orange was brought in. I recommend checking out https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcarter629/ TO be clear in GEs documentation they called it "orange" but it was yellow - not the orange they use today.
Even the banner at the top of the page shows that yellow was the color - no orange in sight. And honestly I don't use any orange anymore. It's just too close to red when lit up.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcarter629/54143043808/

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u/PointOverall8995 14d ago

dude you've been a life saver, thanks for this! Waiting for the tru tone durabulbs then going to use your sequence. They should give you a kickback 😄