Strip lights that enhance ambience

There are suddenly plenty of color LED light strips on the market. My wife and I have been looking for some decent accent lighting – to go under our kitchen counters, in some closets, out on our patio, and in the garage. But she’s picky – adamant that a lot of these LED lights look like they belong wrapped around a stripper pole. I can’t say I disagree.

Regardless, I got the new LED Strip Light M1 from Govee. We ultimately determined it would be best placed as mood lighting in our garage, which we use primarily as a sports den. This way, we can add ambience and team spirit when we have friends over for football and hockey gatherings.

Each 16.4-foot-long strip is pretty easy to install. Just peel off the backing and it sticks to flat and clean surfaces. Then there are tiny clips that also help secure the strip in place – each of the nine that come with the strip can also stick to the surface or be screwed into place via the included screws. The strip can be connected to others via a simple click, or trimmed. And when rounding corners, the company advises against making hard turns with the strip and rather opt for a rounded turn. Once the strip is fastened, you just click the power source and control panel (which also has a sticky backing) into place at one end of the strip, and plug it into the wall. You can control it with the little panel for a limited number of options, or sync it with the Govee smartphone app to open an entire world of other options – as in 64 scene modes, 200+ preset scene effects, music mode that changes lights and patterns as it reacts to the beat of any music playing, or create-your-own motifs. You can zero in on some crazy amount of color options, as well as various brightness levels.

I tried several of the pre-set modes, such as a snowflake one that twinkles, a Vegas-style one in which the light travels around the strip like on a marquee, and a Halloween one that bands orange and white. I also tried the super-bright version of plain white lights, and it can really brighten a room. The company claims the bead density is 60 LEDs per meter, which I guess is impressive because it’s on the marketing material. It also claims the strip showcases natural tones, high lumen brightness, and rich color performance. Without a benchmark to compare it to, I cannot vouch one way or the other.

And you can also set up the strip to respond to voice control via Alexa and Google Assistant. I personally think this would also work great in a dorm room and in really any dark area of a home. I totally get my wife’s opinion, but I also think this is a great fit hidden under a counter: Set at white, it would be a discreet lighting solution for our kitchen. Each strip sells for $100.

I liked the strip so much that I also added Govee outdoor string lights to our backyard. Like the strip, it lets you choose through the app from a deep choice of colors, brightness levels, patterns and animated light shows. My wife and I agree that it boosts both the ambience and visual depth to what was a plain Jane backyard. We have a 48-foot strip that includes 15 bulbs which each can clip into place where you need them. You can also easily remove any number of the lights. I actually clipped ours to a vine at one end of our yard, then wrapped it around a table umbrella before plugging it into a socket at the other end. So far, we are pleased – and already looking to have company over so we can entertain among the lights.