It’s almost the time of year to get back outdoors and make full use of our patios and decks. When you’re sprucing up your patio, this year take a good, long look at your outdoor lighting. Proper outdoor lighting can transform your outdoor space into a welcoming, functional, and aesthetically pleasing area ready to embrace your friends and loved ones. Today we provide you with some innovative backyard and patio lighting ideas to inspire you to enhance your outdoor living experience.
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Whether it’s leading up to your front door or meandering through your backyard garden, pathway lighting brightens the night to lead your guests to their destinations. Well-lit pathways enhance the safety of your guests as well as lowering the chances of your beautiful plants being trampled by uncoordinated feet. Where some homeowners choose the convenience of solar-powered stake lights, more and more homeowners are choosing AC powered, low-voltage path lights as one of their favored backyard lighting ideas (we love the clean lines of the Kichler Lighting LED dome path light).
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Long-time favorites as overhead lighting for outdoor dining areas, String Lights provide soft ambient lighting over a large area. Modern string lights, like the Satco LED string lights provide soft, glowing lighting in some areas you might not expect – wrapped around deck rails, outlining a backyard fence or even artfully wrapped around large trees. The more traditional addition to your outdoor patio lighting ideas would be to use these flexible beauties is to install poles (or even build them out of sticks as in this image) and hang the lights overhead in your dining or relaxation space.
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You’ve worked hard to imbue your home with luscious details like architectural archways, wrought-iron gates, cherubic fountains, and impressive oak trees – it’s time to make them shine. Adding spotlights, well lights and up lights to dramatically bathe these outstanding features in brilliant light. Spotlights are particularly effective to highlight individual pieces, and we’ll recommend the Kichler Lighting LED spotlight be at the top of your list of ideas for outdoor lighting.
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Frequently found on either side of entryway doors, outdoor wall sconces add functional lighting to a critical area – and look amazing while doing it. Sconces earn their place on the list of outdoor house lighting ideas by hanging your lighting directly on the wall and (since they’re in a direct line of sight) are one of the first items your guests will see that clue them into your own personal style. From traditional lantern fixtures to minimalist, turtle-friendly “dark sky” lights to classic nautical styles like the Kichler Lighting Seaside wall light, we’re proud to say that we have so many options available that you’re sure to find the one that just screams “You!”
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Your deck or patio doesn’t just have to be “a” space… make it “your” space. Decorative lighting additions, like the Hinkley Lighting Carson outdoor chandelier are built for the elements and can take water and mist like a champ. Gorgeous as that chandelier is, we’ve got some other patio lighting ideas that you may not have considered – add post cap lights to your railing to create a glowing boundary, recessed deck lights add lighting anywhere you need it, just below deck level while under-railing LEDs can be placed just about anywhere along your railing.
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Backyard lights ideas that include pathway lighting (like the gorgeous Kichler Lighting low-voltage pathway light) help your guests to get from “A” to “B,” but that’s not all there is to pathway lighting. The best backyard light ideas include in-ground well lights that highlight a cluster of gorgeous plants or even bollard lights to add more illumination at critical pathway junctions.
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As it relates to backyard lighting ideas “moonlighting” is created by hanging a downlight WAY up in a tree (at least 25’ high so you see the light from the fixture, but not the fixture itself). The resulting effect is that of moonlight shining down through the tree with all the dramatic shadows of the limbs and leaves. To make this easy, the Kichler Lighting accent light comes with a moonlighting kit for added effects.
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A gurgling water feature sounds fantastic, but as evening sets in the beauty of the cascading water is left to the imagination unless you’ve added underwater lighting to your list of outdoor lighting ideas. Since they shine out from underneath the water, the rippling of the water is echoed on your nearby hardscaping and plants, creating a magical scene your guests will remember for years. Add a few Kichler Lighting underwater pond lights to create your own magical aquatic wonderland.
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Look up the word “smart” in your list of exterior house lighting ideas, and you’ll probably find that you need smart bulbs for your “normal” light fixtures. When selecting new fixtures, opt for integrated LED fixtures with smart technology built-in to allow you smartphone app control (or even voice control) of turning your lights on/off, dimming and setting local scenes depending on the time of day (full power when you normally get home, then dim to 50% until midnight, then shut off) … and it’ll happen automatically. Some of the best, like the ET2 Lighting iQ flush mount even allow you to change colors (hint: easiest Christmas Lights you’ll ever use).
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As we peruse our list of exterior house lighting ideas, seasonal lighting is one of the more festive. Frequently used from Halloween through New Year’s Day, holiday lighting has become a staple of homes across the land. Many use thin, stringy lights (think “icicle lights”) to adorn their front porches, while others prefer the robust versatility found in smart string lights, like our favorite Satco multi-colored string lights that can link 3 sets together to string out an amazing 144 feet of smartphone or voice-controlled colored string lighting.
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Simply put, “dark sky”-friendly lighting are those fixtures on your exterior lighting ideas list that shine all their light down toward the ground, so as not to contribute to light pollution. Take a look at the drop-dead-gorgeous Progress Lighting Brookside copper wall lantern – all of the light that is given off is directed strictly down. To ease light pollution even more, consider adding motion sensors to your exterior lights to only have them on when needed. The last step is also an energy saver; select the fixtures, lamps or bulbs that have the lowest amount of light (whether you use lumens or wattage-equivalency ratings) for the purpose at hand.
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Your list of lighting ideas outdoor edition can now include gorgeous chandeliers, hanging pendants and hanging candle lanterns that are damp or wet rated (meaning that they are perfect for a covered porch). Take the stunning Kichler Lighting Halleron outdoor pendant, hung as a set of 3 in this image, with its Victorian design and clear seedy glass that creates dramatic shadows in your outdoor space.
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Kids aren’t the only ones who love an outdoor movie night – there’s something special about watching the on-screen entertainment with a backdrop of twinkling starlight. You’ll need a projector (short throw if possible) to create up to a 100-inch diagonal screen, a projector screen (or a tightly hung white sheet or white wall on a building). Add tertiary lighting to your outdoor lighting ideas for this special night, perhaps LED rope lighting down both sides of the seating area or dimmed string lights toward the back of the venue to give you just enough light to move around while you crank up the flick. Grab some comfy seating (blankets will do in a pinch), gather your loved ones around and keep the popcorn flowing!
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While your deck, hardscape steps or dock is being built, that’s the right time to plan for landscape lighting. Step Lighting, like the Kichler Lighting hardscape LED light is perfect for lighting the way, whether you prefer to be an upper or a downer. Adding patio LED lights to your deck lighting is just as easy (when done during construction), and your water features or docks will love underwater lights designed to make your dock stand out.
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Outdoor bars and kitchens are all the rage, and with good reason. Entertaining outdoors, with food cooking on the BBQ, upbeat tunes in the background and cold drinks all around, is why summer was born. As the evening approaches, you’ll be glad that you added task lighting (for cooking) and gorgeous hanging pendant lights above, providing all the illumination your party needs to rock on into the night. Often overlooked, a well-placed ceiling fan with an LED light kit (like our favorite Hinkley Lighting Artiste 900172FMM-LWD 72-inch ceiling fan with LED lighting can provide all the light your area needs and a much-needed cooling breeze when you find Mother Nature slacking.
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We’ve shown you sixteen ways that you can pep-up your outdoor spaces by adding the perfect outdoor lighting. Think over some of these ideas to identify which ones fit your spaces the best, and then enjoy wandering through the thousands of options available to you here at 1StopLighting. We’re here for you with advice you can really use, the selection you want and the price you need. 1StopLighting, your one stop for all your lighting needs.