The right kind of exterior lighting can enhance your home’s curb appeal, improve security, and create a welcoming atmosphere for guests. However, it’s tough to find the right balance between functionality and design. On any night, you’re sure to find houses with front doors hidden in the shadows, unsafe walkways, and decks and patios that are useless once the sun goes down. On the flip side, you may see a home where the driveway looks like a landing strip or the yard is so bright it resembles a maximum-security prison.
We’ll help you avoid those mistakes by explaining where lighting should go and what types you should use. Surprisingly few watts, when carefully directed, make an area safer and more usable after dark.
Survey Your Exterior First
Take a nighttime stroll around your property with a flashlight and look for areas where you may need to add more light or experiment with different angles. You’ll quickly discover that a few well-placed, low-wattage fixtures can make your spaces more safe, usable, and inviting.
Front Door Lighting
Lighting at the front door serves several purposes: it acts as a beacon that shows people where to enter, prevents tripping on the steps, and helps locate the doorbell or keyhole. It also lets those inside see who is at the door.
Consider lighting your front entrance with two line-voltage (120V) lanterns on either side of the door. 40W LED or 15W CFL bulbs can minimize glare without compromising safety or functionality.
When selecting fixtures for your front door, keep these tips in mind:
- Choose lanterns with frosted or colored lenses to reduce glare.
- For a sparkling effect, use cut-glass fixtures with warmer bulbs.
- Mount wall lanterns along the upper third of the front door.
- Use a shoebox to gauge how big the fixture should be. You don’t want to go too big, as it will be seen from a distance.
Know Your UL Ratings: Light fixtures sold in the U.S. should carry an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) rating indicating what kind of location they can be used in. Damp-rated fixtures are suitable for sheltered porch areas protected from water, even during storms. Wet-rated fixtures use different combinations of drain holes, seals, and protective gaskets to prevent water from accumulating on live wires and other electrical parts. Select the right fixture rating based on your entry’s level of exposure to the elements.
Sizing and Placement: According to This Old House Magazine, most folks choose front-door fixtures that are too small and hang them too high. For double sconces, place door-framing lights 6 to 12 inches from the door casing. A good rule of thumb: each fixture should be about one-quarter the height of the door plus its casing. A 13- to 15-watt LED bulb (labeled 60- to 70-watt equivalent) per fixture is usually enough for a symmetrical entry.
Driveway and Garage Lighting
Shown: Balance the outdoor lighting scheme with coordinated fixtures marking the driveway, garage, and entry.
A 7- to 8-foot-tall post lantern at a driveway entrance is a useful landmark to help visitors and emergency vehicles find your home after dark. It isn’t necessary, though, to light up the entire length of the approach—the headlights of your car will take care of that. For most driveways, a few low, shaded, low-voltage spreadlights will suffice to define the limits of the pavement. A good tactic for wooded driveways is to mount downlights in the trees, making sure the light is focused on the edge of the roadbed, not into the driver’s eyes.
When illuminating a long, straight drive, minimize the airport runway look by staggering shielded path lights that hide the light source. Position them about a foot from the edge of the drive along one or both sides.
Shown: Post and wall lanterns announce the entrance to the home from the street and the drive. At these locations, line-voltage fixtures with low-watt bulbs provide adequate light.
For areas where you might need more light, such as for playing basketball or working on your car, wall-mounted floodlights with 20 to 100W bulbs can do the trick. To save on energy costs, use motion sensors that turn the lights on only when someone’s nearby. Models with pulse-count technology can also minimize unnecessary activation from pets or wildlife.
Lighting For Walkways and Steps
Shown: Choose from bollards, shaded tier, or mushroom fixtures to light steps and walkways evenly. Stagger them on either side of the path to avoid a runway look.
To guard against falls, use even, overlapping pools of light from low-voltage fixtures to illuminate the full run of pathways and steps. Here, as on the driveway, staggered rather than parallel fixtures will help avoid a runway look. Popular fixture choices for these locations include ground-hugging bollard lights, mushroom lights, and shaded tier lights. All of these low-voltage fixture types are available in various styles, from no-frills utility models to hand-crafted works of art. Ground stakes and support “stems” are often sold separately from the fixture, letting you coordinate the height of the lights with the terrain.
The light source is concealed within the fixtures and shines light downward in a soft ring, eliminating glare. Lamps ranging from 4 to 20W are appropriate for this application. Fixtures equipped with photocells or dusk sensors are a real convenience, automatically turning the lights on at sunset and off again with the dawn.
Another type of path light is fitted with tough plastic lenses that sit flush with the walkway’s surface. This feature can be particularly handy when mowing the grass, as you won’t have to trim around protruding light fixtures.
When spacing your walkway fixtures, resist the urge to brighten every inch. As This Old House Magazine advises, lamps should ideally be placed 10 to 15 feet apart, creating pools of light that gently point the way. Also keep in mind that poorly aimed lamps can be harsh on the eyes, especially around stairways and hillsides — and don’t forget that eye level shifts when people sit down.
Decks and Patios Lighting
Shown: Brighten deck railings and benches with either subtle strip and rope lights or miniature accent lights.
Pro Tip: For a warm, romantic glow on a pergola or overhang, lighting pro Paul Gosselin recommends commercial-grade M5 LED string lights in warm white. “They won’t get hot and harm greenery like incandescents and can be left out year-round,” he says. To save time on installation, tack up strings along beams in a zigzag pattern using a staple gun fitted with a wire attachment, which has a groove that centers the wire.
Outdoor living areas like decks and patios offer an excellent opportunity to get creative with your lighting design. “Be flexible in your lighting plan,” suggests Phil Kinzer, marketing manager of Intermatic Malibu in Spring Grove, Illinois. “Have fun with the project and let your imagination be your guide.”
Permanent fixtures should be installed where task lighting is needed and where safety is a concern. A low- or line-voltage floodlight mounted on a wall near the grill can help keep both dinner and the cook from being burned. Outlining elements like benches and stair risers with small strip or rope lights can prevent a tumble and add a decorative touch.
Then there’s the insect concern. They’re attracted to bright lights, so pay attention to where you position lights. You can even try to lure insects into the trees by placing fixtures overhead rather than at knee level. Where such a compromise isn’t possible, use a specially designed light to discourage these pests. Some companies make special “bug bulbs” to fit in any fixture.
Remember that alfresco events are often accompanied by various temporary, decorative lighting—candles, hurricane lamps, and the occasional tiki torch. But to preserve the festive atmosphere, avoid overlighting the area. Dimmers let you adjust the light level over the course of the evening.
Pro Tip: Scott Caron, master electrician for Ask This Old House, recommends LEDs for deck lighting: “Low-voltage lighting is very DIY-friendly. The thin wiring is easy to hide on or under the deck.” In addition to festive string lights, Caron has installed multiple kinds of LEDs on a single deck to allow homeowners to create layers of light for both safe footing and appealing ambience—a far better approach than relying on a single spotlight mounted on the house, which casts harsh shadows.
Lighting Landscape Features
Shown: Illuminate large trees or structures with spot- and floodlights positioned above or below their subject.
Highlight your garden and landscape features at night for a stunning visual display. It’s more pleasing to light selected sections and contrast them with dark rather than indiscriminately bathe the entire backyard in light.
Select a primary focal point—something substantial like a tree or garden structure—and a couple of secondary areas of emphasis. To illuminate them, use floodlights attached to in-ground poles or hung from an eave, wall, fence, or other elevated location (just don’t put lights where they could interfere with tree pruning or are extremely difficult to reach to change the bulbs). But you can also use recessed well lights with swivel heads aimed at the object of affection.
To light flower beds and other ground cover, as well as statuary or stone walls, use well lights recessed into the ground or use swivel spots and short-stalked tier, mushroom-, and tulip-shaped shaded fixtures, which shine light downward.
One clever trick you can try is mounting shielded bullet fixtures in taller trees to shine down, like moonlight, on a shorter tree or some nearby shrubs. You’ll get an interesting shadow network in the end.
Finally, for a dramatic backlit effect, position light sources between the object you want to highlight (such as a distinctive tree in your front yard) and the wall of your house. This technique creates depth and visual interest in your nighttime landscape.
Maintaining Your Outdoor Light Fixtures
Shown: Smaller garden elements, such as flower beds and ground covers, can be highlighted with spreadlights or short bollards.
To keep your outdoor lighting fixtures in top condition, follow these expert maintenance tips:
- Verify that landscaping and vegetation are not obstructing fixtures or blocking light. Adjust fixture positions or trim plants as needed to maintain lighting.
- Clean fixtures periodically to reduce calcium deposits from water exposure. For heavy deposits, use a household cleaner formulated to remove lime.
- Lubricate threads with an anti-oxidizing, anti seize lubricant like Permatex, available at auto supply stores.
- Apply a high-heat silicone compound to the socket and lamp base to lubricate threads and prevent metals from rusting together. This makes it much easier to change light bulbs.
- Regularly check fixture mounts to ensure they’re secure and not damaging your trees and landscape features.
