Outdoor Lighting
/In time for summer, here are the highlights of my searches of a variety of kinds of outdoor lights – from decorative outdoor lights to fire pits, and expensive to inexpensive.
Do you like your outdoor space to feel like an indoor living space in design, but with the beautiful outdoor atmosphere? If so, this Havana Outdoor Floor Lamp can provide beautiful illumination to your outdoor area. The base can either be a stake or a box, allowing for multiple installations and uses. It provides a soft, diffuse light and I think looks great with multiple lights in a row, but could be used alone as well with great effect (probably will look more like a lamp in a living room if you have the kind of space outside that is set up almost like an indoor room).
Add a little pizazz and drama to your outdoor space with these lights – functionally they help light a walkway or illuminate a patio, and design-wise they are stunning.
Made of weather resistant polyethylene, these lights look great on the ground and would add flair and a great soft, low, light to any outdoor space.
Available in multiple sizes, these illuminated planters can spark up your plants at night, or can even double as a bucket for drinks – adding some drama to your outdoor party or bbq.
June 8 update: Luau Portable Lamp
I just found these lights at DWR and I think they're terrific. They are $198 each (great if you don't want to spend the $750+ for any of the lights above), they're relatively large so they have good presence (15" tall and 8.5" wide), they are portable, LED (energy efficient!) and best of all don't need a separate electricity source, they charge up and last for 8 to 10 hours.
Here is a cool option for dining outside, if you don’t have a lot of light. The Mayday light can hang on the rods of your umbrella, on a branch outside, or on an arbor. They come in Orange or Black, so your options are either to spice things up with a little color, or have the black disappear into the dark.
String Lights
If you’re looking for something dramatic and fun but less expensive than the previous lights, string lights are fun.
Restoration Hardware Party String Lights: For a few of my evening outdoor parties I have wound these lights like these around my umbrella pole and around the posts of the umbrella and it has been terrific. It adds light where I need it, but more so it creates a festive atmosphere. There is something about these lights that just makes it feel like a party.
Pottery Barn Cafe String Lights: If you want to create a Parisian feel for your party, these lights can do the trick easily and inexpensively. Covered with galvanized iron caps, they would look great strung between trees, or from a fence to an umbrella. Since they aren’t very heavy, you can be inventive about where to hang them.
Mason Jar Candle Lights: Another beautiful and inexpensive option are these mason jar lights I found on etsy. I think they’re stunning in a group on a fence, and would be an easy project to put together yourself. This etsy listing is for the hangers for the jars (the lid and chain).
Outdoor Fire Pits & Bowls
I can’t write a post on outdoor lighting without having at least a few outdoor fire pit options. I think one of the best ways to spend an evening after dinner is sipping wine and hanging out with friends by a fire pit. I came across this one and thought it looked great: I love the modern design, it stands alone by itself as a design element, and provides functionality! They have options for wood burning, ethanol, and propane.
Bio-Ethanol Bowl: This outdoor firebowl operates with bio ethanol, so there is no smoke and no one has to move when the wind shifts. With its extremely modern design, it would fit best into a backyard with very updated features.
Hampton Firebowl: This by far is my favorite fire bowl/fire pit for value and design, but it seems to be out of stock on every website I check, except one Canadian Distributor (that I link to here).
