Five LED projects to light up your home (photos)

These mason jar lanterns from Chez Beeper Bebe are each filled with a small LED and battery, are easy to make and a fun way to add a little DIY decor to an outdoor party or gathering.

It's amazing how much under-cabinet lighting can lift the space of any kitchen. Here, LEDs covered with a transluscent acrylic cover are played underneath kitchen cabinets to add diffused, complementary lighting.

There are many ways to tackle this project, from building and installing your own LED strips, to buying a plug-and-play solution. LED strips sold for kitchen lighting can also be used to light up other areas around the house -- put them in bookshelves, in the pantry, or even in your closet.

The crafty guys at IkeaHacks.com figured out a simple way to create these gorgeous photo lightbox displays. Although the tutorial will guide you through the steps for using the lightboxes as torka displays, the same concept can be applied to creating an LED frame for your family photos or personal photography.

Simple, fun, and useful, little LED lights in a variety of colors are attached to batteries to create wine charms. Make them for a dinner party, gift them to a friend, or even put the LEDs in tea light holders to light up a dinner table.

The most basic and efficient way to get started with LEDs is to replace all your old incandescent lights. You might not be able to do it all at once, as LEDs are much more expensive than traditional bulbs, so start with your most frequently used bulbs, and expand from there.

The Philips bulb pictured here is the most energy-efficient yet, lasts about 20 years, and is supposed to give off a pleasing, natural-looking light. Unlike its predecessors, it has a more affordable price tag of $50.