Outdoor Wall Lighting – How to Make the Right Choice

With such an incredible range of options and styles for outdoor wall lighting, it can be hard to know where to begin. Luckily, help is at hand...

Outdoor wall lighting is very often something that people add to a property long after it has been built. And as a result, it can be difficult to know what will work best and what your options are.

In this blog post, we'll look at the choices available to you and explain what works in different settings.

Before you begin adding outdoor wall lighting to a home, it's a good idea to speak to an electrician to see if there is any significant electrical work that will need taking care of first.

Your electrician can also help you understand building regulations and is also the best person to fit any actual lights. You should never take any risks at all when it comes to electrical safety.

When deciding on the outdoor wall lighting you want to add, begin with an overhead sketch of your property and gardens. Then consider what effect you are trying to achieve. These could include:

       • Creating different 'rooms' within the garden

       • Illuminating paths at night to avoid tripping

       • Deterring burglars

       • Accenting architecturally-significant elements of your house

       • Giving depth and space to the garden
 

On a reasonably large house with a good-sized garden of 1/4 acre, it wouldn't be over-the-top to include a multitude of different lights serving different needs. Quite conceivably, a property of this nature may have as many as:

       • Six or seven wall lights

       • A dozen groundlights

       • Three PIR (passive infra-red) security lights and

       • Five outdoor pedestal lights
 

In fact, with outdoor lighting, we've found that it is almost impossible to get too carried away!

Some of the best 'bang for your buck' when it comes to adding lights to the garden is to install a number of outdoor wall lights. Remember, these are generally more easily fitted than lights at the other end of the garden. And there are so many styles that achieving an individual look and feel is very easy.

Many customers tell us that they love a large, antique-effect outdoor light such as the Elstead St Martins solid brass coastal wall lantern. It's the kind of lantern that brings a sense of warmth that is very appealing – one of our most popular sellers all year round.

Continuing with the antique look, this Noral Allegro F Outdoor wall light lantern looks amazing in a multitude of settings. It is also available in four colours – antique green, white, black and graphite – so you can find the best style for your home. Noral fittings are seriously robust – Norwegian built and ready to withstand the elements, they come with a 20 year guarantee.

But outdoor lights don't have to be rustic. The Astro Homefield 450 outdoor pendant is gloriously simple and modern in its styling. It is basically a boxed frame with panels of clear glass and is designed to be hung from a ceiling, rather than fixed to an exterior wall. This makes it perfect for a covered patio or porch.

Also well suited to a patio is the Hinkley HK/Carson 3P, a circular lamp in a vintage-style iron finish. It looks equally good indoors, too.

While bright PIR lights can certainly be added to a home, these tend to function as security lights. They are generally not added to boost the aesthetics of a property.

This is where LED wall lights come in. These are typically (though not always) brighter than more traditional outdoor wall lamps, and tend to throw whiter, cleaner light around the garden.

Importantly, though, they can also look great when seen from the road or when looking back at a house from the end of the garden. Outdoor LED lights are often the kind of lights you see in photos of luxurious properties that were taken at night.

A great example of a luxurious LED outdoor wall light is this Hinkley Luna light in satin black. It is both functional and visually stunning.

Imagine five or even 10 of these carefully placed around your property and then switching them on for a late garden party! These incredible outdoor LED lights will bring the 'wow' factor to almost any home.

If you're not sure how best to begin your outdoor lighting project, why not contact our expert team? KES Lighting and Home have been advising people on their choices for more than 37 years and are a great resource for anyone talking their first steps into outdoor lighting. Please contact us for more details.