A well-lit exterior can not only add to the functionality but also to the attractiveness of your house, thereby enhancing its kerb appeal. By following these outdoor lighting ideas, you can direct your visitors to the front door, highlight the architecture of your house, easily navigate in the dark and deter burglars.

If you wish to brighten up your home’s exterior but don’t know where to start from, we share practical and stunning ideas on making the outdoor lighting work for you in this post. From the areas you need lights at to the types of lighting you can choose from, find out how you can make your house come alive at night.

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Know which dark spots to cover

First things first – know exactly where to have outdoor lights.

Take a tour around your house and see how you access and move around the building. Make a note of spots you usually frequent in the nighttime. It could include your porch, patio, garage, swimming pool, stairways and main entrance. These are the spots you should focus on while planning your outdoor lighting. Bringing light to these dark spots will help you and your family members easily find their way around the house in dark, thus preventing slips, trips or fall accidents.

Next, also focus on outdoor spaces, like fence gates, patio doors and dark sections of your garden or yard to ensure maximum security. These areas, when left shadowy or dark, serve as perfect hiding spots for burglars. So, don’t forget to include these tricky spots in your outdoor lighting plan. Overall, you should also consider illuminating the façade from an architectural point of view.

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Pick your outdoor lighting styles

Once you’ve figured out the areas around your house that you wish to lighten up, the next step is to choose the lighting styles. There are plenty of outdoor lighting ideas that you can mix and match to spruce up your outside space.

Lighting styles, like wall sconces, festoon lights, lanterns and table lamps, will help to improve the visual attractiveness of your outdoor area. You can use these as spotlights to highlight specific points, like your wall artwork or landscape features. As these provide concentrated beams, they also come in handy to cover tricky dark spots around your house.

Floodlights with larger beam spread will be perfect for your driveway and other dark sections of your surroundings. These also help to improve the security of your home. For instance, motion-activated floodlights will turn on when they sense movement, thereby protecting property against intruders. Read on to find out other ways of operating outdoor lights, in addition to motion detectors.

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Decide how you want to control your lights

Along with picking the lighting styles, you also need to figure out how you’d like to control your outdoor lights – manually via a switch, automatically with the help of a motion sensor or an integrated astro function or digitally via an app.

If you wish to control your outdoor lights manually, there are various weatherproof outdoor switches available in the market today. These are heat-, dust- and water-resistant, and in many cases portable, thus making them perfect for outside use.

You can also automate your outdoor lighting control for hassle-free operation and saving energy. Options include motion-triggered lights, astro lights or lights with integrated timer. For example, with the help of a motion detector, like the Gira motion detector Cube, you can ensure reliable light switching as it only gets turned on after detecting ambient brightness and the thermal motion of passers-by.

By using motion sensor lights outside your home, you can bring in the savings since your lights won't be left on at all times and will also reduce carbon emissions. Alternatively, you can automate your outdoor lights by making fixed time settings for turning on your lights. If you prefer to follow nature, your lights can be set to adapt dynamically to sunrise and sunset with the help of astro function.

Lastly, it’s also possible to control your smart outdoor lighting right from your smartphone with the help of an app. Intelligent lighting control via an app gives you flexibility on factors, like when and from where to switch on/off your lights.

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Now that you have the above outdoor lighting ideas handy, it's time to illuminate your exteriors. Before you begin, keep in mind your lifestyle and the reason why you want to have outdoor lights in the first place. For example, with automated garden lighting, you can take away the hiding places of uninvited guests.

Particularly effective and more energy-efficient than permanent lighting are motion and presence detectors, which automatically switch the light on when activities take place. Their sudden brightness makes for greater attention and can deter burglars. On the other hand, permanent lighting solutions like switch-controlled table lamps and decorative lights can help you create a warm and beautiful atmosphere in your garden for dinner or get-together with friends.

Which outdoor lighting ideas and tips are your favourites? Let us know in the comments section below.

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