From prison vibe to starry sky: Philips Hue curtain lights review
29.10.2026
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Pictures: Debora Pape
250 LEDs strung along ten cable strands is what you get with the Philips Hue Festavia curtain lights. Originally intended for my wall, they ended up in my window. Now I’m sad I have to give them back.
«I hope testing out these lights wasn’t a mistake,» I think to myself as I start attaching the Philips Hue Festavia to the curtain rod in my study. My cat, Bonnie, is rubbing against my legs, curious to see what’s going on. She gingerly prods one of the dangling cables with her paw. I can already picture frayed cables, chewed-up LEDs and knocked-over flowerpots.
Fast forward a few days and, fortunately, the lights are showing no signs of chewing. The plants are still in place, too. Turns out, the cats aren’t very interested in the curtain lights. At least so far. A different string of lights I put up wasn’t so lucky. Perhaps Bonnie and Balu can sense how expensive the Festavia curtain is. Seeing that my feline friends have taken to the curtain surprisingly well, I can now turn my attention to the main task: the test.
The Festavia product line includes several smart string lights in various shapes. You can choose between classic LED string lights, curtain lights made up of several strands arranged side by side, icicle-shaped lights for roof edges and nets of lights for bushes in your garden, for example.
The curtain I’m testing is two metres high and the ten strands span a width of 1.35 metres. Each strand has 25 LEDs, so 250 in total.
Setup and activation in the Hue app
I wasn’t intending on hanging the curtain of lights in the window, but on the wall. I’m sure it would’ve looked very nice on the slanted ceiling in my room. But that would’ve meant drilling. Seeing that I only have the Festavia lights for a limited testing period, I’m not about to ruin my wall for that. Instead, I’ll make do with a curtain rod and cable ties. The window’s going to have to do for testing purposes. I never thought Festavia would look good there. Boy, was I wrong.
When I open the box, the first thing I notice is the silvery-transparent colour of the cables. Regular string lights from the hardware store are usually black or dark green. This makes them almost invisible when you wrap them around a Christmas tree, for example. The Festavia curtain lights, however, aren’t intended for trees, but for walls. And they’re not normally black. Nice one, Hue, for thinking of that. Their silvery tone definitely makes them less noticeable.
The box also includes about a dozen white cable ties with eyelets for hanging. My curtain rod’s black, so I use my own cable ties of the same colour. The included ties would come in handy if you wanted to attach the Festavia to wall hooks, screws or nails. You’d just pull them tightly around the mounting cable and use the eyelets to hang up the curtain lights.
The power cord is 4.5 metres long from curtain to plug. That’s quite short, even in a small room like mine. After all, I need to run the cord from a height of two metres down to the floor. That leaves me with 2.5 metres, which isn’t enough to reach the closest socket. So I reach for an extension cable and hide the three-prong plug with its bulky mains adapter behind a shelf.
This is probably trickier to do if you want to put your lights up in the garden. Festavia is rated IP54 (and the mains adapter IP44), which means its splash resistant and therefore suitable for outdoor use under certain conditions. However, if you’re using an extension cable, you need to make sure no water can seep into the plug connection. The chunky mains adapter could also be a trip hazard in the garden.
First impression: okay-ish
I hang up the curtain lights and am sceptical. The dangling cords are giving me prison vibes. The fact that the window is now harder to open isn’t helping either. It’ll take some getting used to, I suppose.
Integrating the smart lighting into my Hue ecosystem goes as smoothly as always. All I have to do is scan a QR code in the Hue app and the Festavia curtain lights are ready to use shortly after.
I switch them on and my scepticism melts away. The lights are so pretty, even in daylight!
I’m testing the curtain lights with the original Hue app. It offers what feels like an endless number of predefined lighting scenes that combine different colours. The scenes are all harmonious, and the app distributes the colours nicely across the width of the curtain. Colour gradients are always horizontal; there are no vertical ones. Although the LEDs can technically be controlled individually, the Hue app hardly makes use of this feature. Instead, each cable cord always glows in just one colour.
Animated scenes are few and far between in the Hue app. Most scenes are static, so the preset colours remain unchanged. This creates a peaceful atmosphere, but feels a little boring at times. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not after flashing fairground-style lights, but I would appreciate gently changing colours. I was already missing animated scenes in the Hue Play floor lamps I tried out a while back.
However, the current Halloween set does actually include a few lighting scenes with more movement. Some of them make just a few LEDs light up briefly; others make them look like they’re all twinkling. Depending on your mood, this can feel stressful or tacky, or it might remind you of a glittering crystal cave. Or light reflecting in the snow.
Second impression at night: amazing!
My disgruntlement dissipates completely when I switch on the string of lights after dark for the first time. I’m blown away. The little lamps even make my plain old radiator and standard window look pretty. The way the light bounces off the curtain makes it look three-dimensional. Thanks to the Festavia, the room now feels like it has more depth. The window’s been transformed from a black void to a starry sky.
I would never have guessed that the curtain would have this effect, and I’m now convinced that the curtain of lights looks better in the window than on a wall.
During the dark afternoons and evenings that follow, I enjoy the lights more than expected. I experiment with different moods and bask in the soft, unobtrusive light the curtain diffuses. Neither my three ceiling spotlights with their Hue bulbs nor various LED strips or wall-washing lamps next to my screen have managed to do create such a beautiful atmosphere so far. While I rely on diffused, indirect lighting with other lamps, the small dots of light on the Festavia curtain are the stars of the show. They illuminate the surroundings without causing glare, and look pretty on top.
If only it weren’t for the price tag. As is typical for Hue, the curtain isn’t cheap. Maybe I’ll treat myself this Christmas. But I’ll have to think it over because of the cats. Although they’ve not messed with the curtain in the past few days, I’m pretty sure they’ll start playing with it sooner or later.
In a nutshell
A vertical starry sky
Festavia curtain lights create a cosy light I’ve really been enjoying during evening sessions at my computer. Putting them in my window turned out to be a great idea, as they add depth to my curtain. If I were just rating the beautiful light they emit, I’d give them five stars. The easy setup, included cable ties and subtle colour of the cables round out the package.
But then there’s the high price, the power cord that’s on the short side, and the chunky mains adapter that sits on top of the plug. What’s also a pity is that the original app offers few animated lighting effects. However, this isn’t the product’s fault. If you’re after more effects, you can simply download a third-party app like Hue Essentials.
Pro
- Beautiful lighting for your window
- Included cable ties are handy for installation
- Subtle cable colour
- Weatherproof
- Simple setup
Contra
- Expensive
- Power cord only 4.5 metres long
- Chunky mains adapter
Header image: Debora Pape
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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