Easy Lighting Fixes for Your Outdoor Area
Nothing cosies up an alfresco entertaining area more than the right lighting – here are some ideas anyone can make their own
If your deck, balcony, terrace or patio seems to have all the elements it should have, but somehow still lacks appeal, it could come down to lighting. If it’s lit too brightly, it will be just as uninviting as an outdoor area that’s on the gloomy side – both extremes can make it feel dull and far from welcoming. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a lot to improve lighting – adding ambience is easy. These ideas are sure to make your outdoor dining or lounging area look and feel so inviting it will be where everyone wants to be.
This vine-covered pergola has a charm all its own but the strings of lights enhance that desirability tenfold. A low-hanging Moroccan-style lamp brings the focus to the table … and each other.
A little-used terrace can be dank and uninviting without the right lighting, but fancy it up with some blue fairy lights and the space is suddenly worth spending time in. The golden glow from interior lights shining through windows may be the only other source of light you need for an intimate dinner.
Coloured fairy lights aren’t just for Christmas. Dangled in lines, they can make any occasion more festive and also serve to delineate one area from another.
Lanterns
You don’t have to have this many lanterns to cosy up a poolside nook – but do make sure they have an exotic edge to transport you and your guests away from the everyday.
You don’t have to have this many lanterns to cosy up a poolside nook – but do make sure they have an exotic edge to transport you and your guests away from the everyday.
Lanterns of a different kind give any party promise, floating like little moons against a blackened sky. While paper lanterns are generally used inside, nylon versions are more suited to the outdoors. The firepit has additional pulling power for anyone thinking about lingering inside.
Permanent fitting
An undercover patio gives you the ceiling you need to install a standout light over the dining table – it’s just as attention-getting as an indoor version. Be sure to connect the lights to a dimmer so you you can set just the mood you’re after.
Lights: Town & Country Style
An undercover patio gives you the ceiling you need to install a standout light over the dining table – it’s just as attention-getting as an indoor version. Be sure to connect the lights to a dimmer so you you can set just the mood you’re after.
Lights: Town & Country Style
DIY lighting
It doesn’t get much simpler than this, but what a delightful touch for a cosy outdoor eating area. Track down an old ladder from a secondhand store and suspend old jars from it using wire. Using a gas lighter available at supermarkets will make it easier to light the candles inside.
It doesn’t get much simpler than this, but what a delightful touch for a cosy outdoor eating area. Track down an old ladder from a secondhand store and suspend old jars from it using wire. Using a gas lighter available at supermarkets will make it easier to light the candles inside.
By day this garden setting is beautiful, but a special kind of magic happens when night falls and the woven votives hanging from above shine bright. Such a fabulous scene is cause for celebration, even if there’s nothing in particular to celebrate.
Epsom Salts add sparkle to this table centrepiece, and it couldn’t be easier to recreate. A vintage crate is the perfect finishing touch.
Tealight candles in glass jars are just as effective here. All that’s needed is a few friends and some chilled glasses of bubbles.
Inside-out lighting
Interior lights do most of the work for the outdoor eating area on this deck, but some simple uplights in the garden connect it more with the outdoors than the indoors as night falls. Consider solar-powered garden lights as a set-and-forget option. They come on automatically at dusk and there are no pesky wires to disguise.
Interior lights do most of the work for the outdoor eating area on this deck, but some simple uplights in the garden connect it more with the outdoors than the indoors as night falls. Consider solar-powered garden lights as a set-and-forget option. They come on automatically at dusk and there are no pesky wires to disguise.
All aflame
Aside from a light over the barbecue area, a firepit is all this deck needs to be a drawcard at night.
Aside from a light over the barbecue area, a firepit is all this deck needs to be a drawcard at night.
If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, consider building your own outdoor fireplace. This wood fire and chimney was built from recycled bricks, an old hardwood mantle, and a reclaimed lintel from a demolished wall in the original backyard.
TELL US
How do you make your outdoor entertaining area more inviting? Share your lighting ideas in the Comments.
MORE
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TELL US
How do you make your outdoor entertaining area more inviting? Share your lighting ideas in the Comments.
MORE
Light Up: 10 Good Reasons to Use Outdoor Lighting
How to Create Powerful Lighting Effects for Your Home
Exposed Bulb Lighting: What’s All the Fuss About?
7 Lighting Ideas to Enhance Your Outside Space
Three simple strings of lightbulbs are all it takes to make this courtyard more magical. Layered lighting helps set the scene further, with garden lights bringing the greenery to life and a gas fireplace adding cosy appeal.
Acupulco chairs; lights: Restoration Hardware