We always did the corners, roofline, and gutters when my brother and I were kids. Looked AWESOME. Topped out at 5200 bulbs.
Guess I've never really counted my lights - probably lots of bulbs in one of those icicle-light strings, and we've got 3 of them to cover the length of the front of the house. Nothing on the windows as yet (two stories, so I'll have to think long and hard about whether I want to get up on the roof to string lights on those). 5 columns with a 100-bulb string (reds, greens, and whites), plus another string of them along the carport railing, a 400-ct multicolor string on the ~10' evergreen, 200 on the bushes next to it, and 100 whites on the bush on the other side of the driveway. So, 1300 in LEDs, plus the 3 strings of icicles (I think they're supposed to be 300-ct each?) which are mini tungsten lights - looking to replace those with LEDs for next year, I think. Total of 2200 or so, outside. Wouldn't mind doubling that, I suppose, but can't imagine tripling it or more.
When I was a kid, living in Round Rock (TX), the house was kind of U-shaped around a sidewalk leading to our front door, with a steel-bar fence and gate. We strung the fence, gate, and bushes on both sides (inside and outside the gate) with white minilights, along with the front door. Looked VERY nice.
