It’s safe to assume that most home decorators—from hobbyists to professionals—understand that proper indoor lighting is one of the most fundamental elements of any room inside a home. But what lighting principles hold true when it comes to designer outdoor lighting for the backyard?
Whether you’re looking for stylish lighting solutions for your next family get together or need subtle designer-inspired mood lights for a special backyard space, we want to walk you through our favorite ways to light your outdoor areas just like you would any other room of the house.
From sleek and subtle hardware lighting, candle holders, solar LED solutions, and even our new string light stands, we’re here to help you bring stylish, designer outdoor lighting to your outdoor or backyard space.
Hardwired, Designer Outdoor Lighting
First things first, there’s nothing wrong with having flood lights around the exterior of your home for motion detection or for utility purposes, but avoid using them in your entertaining areas. They’re great for task lighting but don’t create the comfortable, inviting mood you’ll want to achieve for gathering and socializing.
The good news is there are a LOT of hardwired lighting options available to help illuminate your spring, summer, and fall evenings well beyond sunset. We’ll walk you through our three favorite options below.
Sconces
Your outdoor lighting situation might benefit from sconces if you have a deck or patio area. Sconces can either standalone or work together in a group to provide lighting to high-traffic areas while accentuating your architecture.
Verano Outdoor and Archer Industrial Outdoor Sconce Lights are a great way to achieve a sleek yet subtle look. Our Whittaker Outdoor Sconce has a two-tone finish for extra glamour.
Pendants or Chandeliers
If you’re fortunate enough to have a covered porch, consider installing a chandelier or pendant on a dimmer. It’ll add a focal point to the space, emphasize tall ceilings, and most importantly add an inviting glow to your outdoor area.
Chandeliers are the perfect ‘yin’ for an outdoor covered porches ‘yang.’ From durable Bamboo and Hadley chandelier options to our classic Piedmont Lantern, you can’t beat the style and practicality of an outdoor chandelier.
String Lights
A few years ago it seemed like string lights became the go-to outdoor lighting method for commercial and home spaces, and we totally understand why!
String lights can help anyone light their backyard on a budget and without calling an electrician. Now with our new Adjustable String Light stand you can quickly add string lights to any area of your backyard.
Outdoor Candle Holders
Hardwired lighting is great for illuminating deck, patio, or covered porch areas, but what about those hard-to-reach locations like a garden bench or poolside chair?
Candle holders are the ultimate stylish lighting solution for any hard-to-wire areas of the backyard, and there are great options both big and small to meet your backyard lighting needs.
We really love putting a powerful battery-powered candlelight in our Bunny Williams Outdoor Lantern or Legare Lantern to create a warm and well-lit ambiance late at night. Alternatively, our Le Marais Tea Light holders are a small solution that can pack a big & bright punch in darker backyard settings.
We can ensure that you and your guests will appreciate the flickering glow of candlelight on a cool summer night—especially if those candles are complimented with the ambient glow of fireflies!
Solar LED Outdoor Lighting
So far we’ve talked about stylish options for lighting your porch, deck, and patio areas as well as using candle holders to properly light those hard-to-reach areas in the backyard, but what about the path between those two things (or any other spots we haven’t covered)?
If you want to achieve stylish, designer lighting in your backyard but don’t want to deal with the headache of running underground electrical wires throughout the property, you may be surprised to learn just how far Solar LED Outdoor lighting has come in just the past few years.
From LED Outdoor Path Lights to standalone Solar LED Outdoor Table Lamps, Solar LED lighting options are perfect for filling out all of the grey lighting areas in your backyard space. Simply install them, let them charge throughout the day, and enjoy up to 4 hours of bright light when the sun goes down.
How do I design lighting for my patio?
When lighting your outdoor space, try to use at least 3-4 of the above lighting sources to ensure there’s adequate light around the entertaining and lounge areas of your backyard.
- Start with Hardwired Options like a lantern or sconce
- Add String Lights to a seating or dining area — string lights are especially nice in a dining area where you’ll require more light for eating, than you might need in a lounge area
- Add Mood Lighting — Give your outdoor space a welcoming mood by adding lanterns with pillar candles or solar table lamps
We hope this outdoor lighting guide showed you just how easy it is to achieve stylish and practical lighting solutions for your backyard space.
As always, let us know in the comments if you have any questions we could help answer or if there are any lighting options you want to know more about; We are always here to help bring your design dreams into reality, and we can’t wait to see how you transform your backyard space with proper lighting soon!
Did you like this outdoor lighting decorating how-to? You might also like:
- How to Layer More Light into Your Space
- 10 Backyard Entertaining Ideas
- Lighting Tips for Every Room from William Peace
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