15 Stylish Outdoor Lighting Ideas – The Best Backyard Light Options – HouseBeautiful.com

Katie Hodges Design

When it comes to setting the mood in any space, lighting is of utmost importance. Sunshine and moonlight might be the best sources for light in outdoor areas, but it definitely helps to have some backup. With this in mind, we're spotlighting 16 lighting ideas and tips so you can see clearly in your outdoor oasis no what time of day or year it is. Keep reading to learn about the best ways to create comfortable, stylish, safe, and well-lit backyards, porches, balconies, and beyond.

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1Recessed Lights

If you want barely-there overhead lighting on a porch or in the backyard, opt for recessed can lights built right into the ceiling. In this space designed by Emily Henderson, the white recessed lightning blends right in so you notice the light they shine...without actually seeing them.

2Downlights

Outdoor lighting provides safety value, too, especially on stairs. Choose built-in downlights that will brighten up the path but also complement the style of the facade. Corinne Mathern opted for brass to accent this adobe home in Santa Barbara and placed them every few steps so it doesn't make the partition wall cluttered. Alternatively, you could place them on the face of the stairs so you only see them while walking up.

3Pendant Lights

This balcony in a home designed by Commune Design feels like an organic extension of the interiors. A bold, metallic pendant light is a great way to jazz up your exteriors. But this isn't your living room. So to put it in the right context, use nature-inspired materials burled wood or rattan and add a botanical-print throw.

4Hurricane Candles

Alfresco dining is great, but cooking outside is even better. In a Key West house, the outdoor kitchen cabinets are made from old cypress shutters and the tropical florals bring a bright pop of playful colors. And the hurricane candles scattered around the area provide plenty of soft lighting.

5Floodlights

Because the slat roof means you can't install recessed lighting, Heather Hilliard opted for minimalist floodlights that secure to the frame of the structure and fill the entire dining area with light. Though a little more noticeable, the black minimalist design blends in well with the space. These are also a great option safety-wise for front doors and driveways, especially if you set them up with sensors to automatically light up when motion is detected.

6Tree Pendants

Show your trees some love and dress up the backyard by hanging lanterns in the branches, as Alexander Design did here. This will set the mood for a truly magical outdoor living space. It's mostly aesthetic and shouldn't be your only light source, but it definitely adds some style.

7String Lights

Designer Jill Sharp Weeks used string lights to make her garden feel like an extension of her home. The space even includes an outdoor privy, the only bathroom on the ground floor.

8Floor Lamps

To make a backyard sitting area feel like an outdoor living room, opt for traditional indoor lighting, like a floor lamp but in a more resilient and nature-inspired materialjust make sure your outdoor area is electrically equipped for one. Contractor Tim Givens built the swinging daybed on the back porch of Liza Pulitzer Calhoun's Palm Beach house, and she simply covered its seat with a favorite tablecloth.

9Pool Lights

This minimalist and modern backyard is area is full of lighting ideas. Pool lights are a game-changer for night swims, and if you look in the far left, you'll notice the garage skylight that gives you peek at the cars below and allows for shared light.

10Chandeliers

Now this is how you make an entrance. In this Spanish-style Beverly Hills home designed by Commune Design, the front porch is inviting, comfortable, elaborate, and ornate all at once. The warm terracotta tiles, exposed beams, and wood stool ground the intricate wrought iron lighting and fuchsia pops of color.

11Underglow

It doesn't get any chicer than this backyard designed by Night Palm Studio. The mood is undeniably sultry, from the curved shape and soft swirls of the marble and white to the wave-like daybed while edgy concrete foundations, and underglow LED lighting built into the bench.

12Garden Lights

See that little spotlight nestled into the rock landscaping behind the bench? Shaped like spotlights or little torches, garden lights ares perfect for anyone who wants to shine a light on their gardening skills even after the sun goes down.

13Sconces

If your backyard sitting area doesn't have a ceiling or overhead structure, make sure there's a bright sconce attached to your home. Interior designer Jenn Feldman opted for a large, lantern-style sconce here.

14Ceiling Fam Lights

This front porch designed by Amanda Lindroth is a tropical dream. It inspires us to pick our favorite color when and run with it. Also, installing a ceiling fan (or several, depending on size) will keep the air circulating on those balmy nightschoose one that doubles as a light for bonus points.

15Candle Lanterns

Thin trees shade a 1960s home's walled retreat. Elizabeth Kennedy and Ray Booth brought the interior's sleek style outdoors by adding all-weather chairs and row of lanterns.

16Garden Lights

This back porch by Regan Baker Design is the perfect private spot to unwind in. To make it conducive to entertaining, bring in addition floor seating with large outdoor floor cushions and keep it bright with bollard lights, which are shapes like posts crowned with a light so it shines the surrounding area in every direction.

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15 Stylish Outdoor Lighting Ideas - The Best Backyard Light Options - HouseBeautiful.com