Case study

Double-Fronted Edwardian, Wimbledon Village

Twin gables measured against each other rather than eyeballed, a lit porch between them, and a hedge washed low so the house sits on light.

Wimbledon VillageTwin gables, porch, hedge washWarm white festoon bulbs and hedge fairy wash

Double-fronted red brick Edwardian house in Wimbledon Village with both gables outlined in warm white bulbs, a lit porch and a front hedge washed with fairy lights

Property: Double-fronted Edwardian
Area: Wimbledon Village, SW19
Palette: Warm white, one temperature
Fixings: Gutter clips, no drilling

Schemes like this run £1,800–£2,600 for the season

The brief

A double-fronted Edwardian off Wimbledon Village high street, SW19. Twin gables, a central porch, and a clipped hedge to the pavement. The owner's only note, after a previous installer's attempt: "last year one gable looked lower than the other."

What we installed

Warm white festoon bulbs along both gable verges, matched to the millimetre
Porch outlined and a fresh wreath hung centrally
Front hedge washed low with fairy string
Timer set to dusk, off at midnight

Why do symmetrical houses look wrong when they are lit?

Because installers eyeball the second gable off the first. On a double-fronted house your eye compares the two constantly, and a 40mm difference in where the run starts is genuinely visible from the pavement. Here we set both runs off a measured datum from the ridge, marked both verges before a single clip went on, and checked the result from the far kerb at dusk before packing up. It costs an extra half hour and it is the difference between "nicely lit" and "something is off."

Why it works

Symmetry is the house's own argument — the lighting just has to agree with it. The porch gives the centre point the twin gables need, and washing the hedge low lifts the whole frontage off the pavement so the house appears to sit on light rather than float above darkness.

Same treatment, your house