From birthday celebrations to evening cook-outs, some of your family’s most treasured moments take place outdoors – and having adequate patio light is crucial for making sure those memories can continue long after the sun goes down. The right mix of decorative and functional lighting ideas allows you to dress up your outdoor dining or entertainment space, define its boundaries and keep guests from tripping or falling while adding visual wow to your landscape design.
The most obvious choice for ambient patio light is a set of outdoor pendants or flushmount ceiling fixtures rated for the outdoors that can be placed on a dimmer. But there are other options, too. For instance, outdoor sconces can serve as both décor and lighting by putting a visual emphasis on wall art or accent features. Also, look for cylinder lights that cast upward and downward beams for a more diffused effect.
For low-level accent lighting that doubles as safety lighting, consider small deck and step lights that improve visibility in recessed areas of your patio or around steps to a lower level of the yard. They’re especially useful for illuminating stairs where missteps could happen and can extend the reach of your lighting scheme to other parts of your outdoor living area or even the rest of your yard, if desired.
For a quick and easy DIY project, wrap string lights around the tops of posts that you’ve positioned along your deck railing or a fence line. Then use cup hooks to hang the strands as you would drape other outdoor decor, spacing them evenly and keeping your general design in mind.