Outside lighting inspirations for the garden, pool deck, patio, or for in and around water features.

Setting up outside lighting used to mean attaching a few bulbs to the side of the house and throwing a flood of harsh light on the back garden or the patio. Nowadays, most people consider lighting to be an essential element in the design of outdoor living spaces. Good outdoor lighting design highlights the most attractive features of the garden, deck or patio, and creates a warm, inviting atmosphere. If you have water features in the garden, you can create magical effects, by playing with the reflections of the light on the water.

Outside lighting essentials.

Naturally, choosing the right fixtures is very important. If you want the lights themselves to be a feature of the garden or patio in themselves, you should look for fixtures which fit in with the style of your overall design, whether traditional or more contemporary. There is such a wide range of different fixtures available these days, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding something which blends in perfectly. If you want to hide the fixtures, choose designs which are simple and unobtrusive. You can even buy outdoor lighting fixtures which look like rocks or stones, and are virtually invisible during the day.

If you’re planning to use lights to highlight water features, make sure you choose fixtures and cables which are specifically designed for this purpose. The lights should work on a low voltage system, either mains powered or solar. There are special fixtures which are designed to be anchored to the bottom of the garden pond and shine up through the water. Others are specifically designed to float on the surface of the water, or highlight waterfalls.