Brighten Up Your Home with These Backyard Lighting Ideas

Enjoy your backyard , day or nighttime , with these fun DIY backyard lighting ideas .

Edmund Barr

The right outdoor light can transform dark landscape into dreamy gathering billet — and it does n’t take much to make a difference . Simple chain lights , for instance , add both twinkle and decor to a backyard without the want for ground fixtures . Depending on your grand and needs , there are multiple lighting solutions to choose from — such assolar lightingalong a walkway , pretty porch lights , or interchangeable candle centerpieces . No matter how you opt to illuminate your yard , these backyard light up idea can leave a starting detail for your nextweekend project

Backyard patio dining

Credit:Edmund Barr

Solar Lighting

Marty Baldwin

Solar lightsare a backyard favourite for serious ground . These post lights have solar cellular phone that charge during the day , so they can ply light along walkways at night . If you just postulate to illuminate a small portion of your cubic yard , or create a path to a back door , these easy - to - install light are a slap-up option .

Simple Backyard Lighting

Dana Gallagher

Add cutestring lightsto your entertaining area if you need just a small amount of light . These blue lights , for lesson , make the infinite more functional at Nox but also add interest group during the day . It ’s an especially great DIY backyard lighting idea for a humble seating domain .

Paper Lanterns

Robert Brinson

composition lanternsdo threefold duty ( both indoors and out ) by providing indulgent , diffused brightness at night and structural sake during the day . Here , large trees make an easy , natural topographic point to hang lantern over an outside dining table . Their bright colors tot elan even when the lights are n’t lighted . In climate prone to occasional rain , look for water - resistant paper or nylon lanterns .

Mixed Backyard Lighting

To truly light up your backyard , regard multiple DIY selection . This outdoor dining area is even more inviting at night thanks to a combination of hangingpendant lights , drawstring Light Within , andoutdoor candles . A pergola makes a swell anchor point for pendent light you wish to suspend above a table .

Rustic Pendants

Kevin J. Miyazaki

Create a rustic , farmhouse excogitation outside with assistant from this DIY backyard light estimate . Here , dewy-eyed out-of-door pendant lights are arrange in Mason jars to lend a casual , vintage look . The reparation are then suspended from a distressed wood overhang that fence in a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree bole .

String Lights to Unify Spaces

Ed Gohlich

chain illumination offer a sport , timeless means to add light to your railway yard . These casual lights , which are stretch over the seating room and broiling area , combine the zones and make it prosperous to entertain at night . employ exist structures — like a nearby garage , shed , porch , or even afreestanding celestial pole — as lynchpin points to freeze the light high above your pile up spots .

Outdoor Dining Area

If you ’re golden enough to have anoutdoor diningarea in your yard , you ’ll want lights to illumine late - night parties or after - dusk dinners . In this out-of-door space , intricate silver-tongued dependent light suspended above the dining tabular array make it feel refined and modern . The inert colors also let the yellow chairwoman and patterned benches to stand out .

Simple String Lights on an Arbor

String lights are another easy backyard light idea for outdoor dining field . Just a strand or two strung over the mesa can provide enough light for dining after nighttime — and they are much loose to instal than standard out-of-door fixtures . In this design , awhite arborserves as the perfect place to give ear lights without add additional structures .

Backyard Fireplace

John Merkl

A flame in thiscozy outdoor fireplacewill render plenty of light to the surrounding seating expanse . However , when it ’s too raging for a fire , lantern placed on either side render plenty of light for entertaining . taper place inside each lantern create a more instinctive , rustic firing pick .

Torch Candles

Jacob Fox

If you need a temporary light solution for anighttime assemblage , consider adding a few outside torches . These brightly - colour flashlight add interest to a planter , but they could also be space along a footpath . To keep fires , set your outside blowlamp at least 6 to 8 inches cryptic and 6 foot from your home and other social organisation . Avoid localise them beneath trees and overhangs .

Outdoor Wall Sconces

Light up anoutdoor patioalong a service department with bulwark sconces . This backyard lighting thought provides a lot of light from just a few wide-eyed fixtures . With the symmetrical placement of the lights , a dining area on the adjacent concrete slab is inviting and operative , even at night .

Backyard Patio

Brie Williams

Frame apatio dining areawith simple string illumination . Here , two poles render backbone points to give ear the lights in a square around the patio from the side of the home . This design will sort out the entire terrace with just a few string of bulbs .

Porch Light

John Bessler

Your front door in all probability has its ownporch ignitor , but your backyard could expend one , too . Adding a porch Inner Light to the back of this house helps illuminate the patio seating area . A simple lantern design is both stylish and subtle at the same metre .

Candle Centerpiece

If you do n’t demand a long ton of Inner Light in your yard , adjudicate placing a few cd on an out-of-door coffee mesa . This easy DIY backyard lighting does n’t require any electric installation . Plus , you could move the enceinte hurricane candles as need to supply light where you require it . In mellow - traffic field , considerflameless candlesto prevent mishaps .

Border String Lights

Kim Cornelison

Typically , you depict string lights hanging above youroutdoor seating area . However , this terrace innovation adds a new twist by pay heed them at shank height on the ring fence . It ’s a simple , in effect result for fix a border while also brightening up a backyard .

Outdoor Hanging Candles

Brian McWeeney

Themetal chandelierover this outdoor dining table give it a countrified , homey finger . But it also support private methamphetamine hydrochloride cups that can hold lit standard candle . Whether you apply real or electrical candles , this backyard light idea is both rustic and romantic .

Wicker Lantern Backyard Lights

Laura Hull

Add lights throughout your backyard by hanging them from trees . This simpleDIY backyardlighting can sort out a large area without adding any permanent installations . These caning lanterns are well-off to advert and can add light to almost any part of your backyard .

String Lanterns

Bob Stefko

String lantern lights hung along the edge of this home add colour and elan during the day . The location of the service department next to the patio provides a great spot to thread up the light . At dark , they can illuminate theseating areawith ease .

Star String Lights

Coral von Zumwalt

Though most string lights are low , these large light make a command . Huge stars suspend over this casual dining country create a fun place for picnic . The adept tot up an interesting design constituent during the day and will twinkle and sparkle at Nox .

Backyard Bar Lighting

Meredith Corporation

Light up just enough space for tardy night home mixologist . A bulwark sconce installed above thisoutdoor barmakes it easier to combine up beverage for evening entertaining . The simple-minded reparation also fit the passing elan of the bar thanks to its wicker shade .

Frequently Asked Questions

No . Indoor and outdoor light are not interchangeable . To avoid issues and chance event , apply only fixtures designed to hold exposure to outdoor elements — like rain , wind , blow , and ice . Look for wet - rated fixtures ( made with noncorrosive cloth ) to employ in fully peril areas or damp - denounce fixtures to utilize in areas that are outdoors , but protect from lineal rainfall and drips .

A good formula of thumb for bulwark - ride out-of-door lighting is to center them at eye level ( typically 60 to 75 inches from the priming , pack of cards , or patio ) . outside doorway light is generally hang near the upper third of the doorway . If you only hang one , invest it on the side with the doorknob .

expend a combination of budget items , underfoot , and mid - height lighting to make a cozy ambience in out-of-door sitting areas . First , lease overhead lighting from string Christ Within , pendants , or lantern wash over the sphere like moonlight . Then , elucidate walkways in and out of the sphere with deck of cards lights or small solar lights . Finally , employ table lighting ( like candles and lanterns ) to make the space feel intimate and relaxing .

Solar backyard lighting

Credit:Marty Baldwin

Yes . Outdoor firing should be soft , warm , and tempt . Think twinkle brightness , not flood lights . Your pauperism will vary based on your property and its purposes , but generally , 50 to 100 lm are sufficient for walk . In gathering spaces and seating area areas , you might need near to 500 lumen .

Patio string lights