Outdoor lamps is a really flexible and impactful element of home decor. It is both a useful and a tasteful way of decorating your garden, pathways or any other outdoor areas to express your taste and enhance your existing space. These designs are also weatherproof and waterproof so you don’t have to concern yourself with maintenance or worry about electrical issues in order to decorate your home.
Lighting in an outdoor setting can come in many forms. They can be used to light a pathways, illuminate pergolas or patios, mounted as wall lamps or be strategically placed throughout the garden to highlight and draw attention to certain features of points of interest even at night. They can also be used as quirky garden decor in interesting and novelty shapes to bring an air of magic and whimsical fun to an average garden. Whatever your style you can express yourself in your lighting in anyway that fits you and your home.
32 Charming Outdoor Lamps for Enhancing Your Garden Decor
Temporary lighting can also be used for outdoor parties and special occasions to enhance the overall ambiance and help set the mood for the whole evening. String lights, lanterns and hanging lights are a classic and beautiful way of decorating that serves to set the mood at the same time.
So if you’re ready for some inspiration for how to to bring a little light into your life here are:
1. Computer Game Inspired Cube Flower Bed Light
This modern cube light could be an item you collect in a video game. Strategic slits have been cut into the opaque material, which controls the how the light escapes to create this stylized man-made pattern amongst the greenery. The recessed centre in the top of the cube and at the centre of each ‘X’ makes the material appear almost soft. LED lights are important to use in this case to make it safe to place into foliage and create a novel and whimsical garden light without the risk of fire. Pairing many of these together can create little glowing spots of light throughout your garden like giant fireflies.
2. Portable Plastic Waterproof Lights
A reworking of the traditional waterproof camping light, this spherical handheld light is a more contemporary and attractive camping accessory. These small lights have a convenient handle for simple transportation that adds a pop of colour to the design. However they aren’t just reserved for camping trips, a series of these little outdoor lamps can be used to decorate an outdoor party that can be easily removed and simply stored away for later.
3. Gleaming Half Moon Outdoor Table
Outdoor lights can actually be mixed use items as this striking table demonstrates. The flat wooden top makes the table functional and completely opaque from above while below the half moon glows like its sky bound counterpart and bathes the patio in a gentle romantic light. The contemporary and novel design goes well with the brightly coloured wire framed sun lounger and marks this patio as unique.
4. Floating Multicoloured Orbs In A Swimming Pool
Light can be a beautiful medium to decorate with even if it doesn’t cast actual useful light, sometimes all you need is an ambiance. These battery operated fully watertight spheres trail all the way through the pool and up onto a poolside tables. Their larger counterparts can even be seen in the garden beyond. The reflection of the glowing multicoloured bubbles paint a layered pattern of colour and light across the water’s surface that changes as they float around of their own accord.
5. Novelty Gorilla Lamp Holding a Flashlight
A stylized smooth novelty shape is a contemporary way to make your lighting fun without being tacky. The cartoonish image of a gorilla lighting your way through a garden with a flashlight is cute and shows that you don’t take yourself too seriously. The shape can come in many forms so you can choose your favourite animal to highlight as a entertaining design feature. This style could work at any scale depending on your garden size and how much whimsy you feel like decorating your garden with.
6. Leather and Glass Hanging Candle Holder
Candlelight is a romantic way to set the mood but they can be risky especially if you have a lot of vegetation around you. These portable glass and leather candle holders are perfect for tall pillar candles to decorate for outdoor parties. Not only are these charmingly rustic and prevent your candles from blowing out in the slightest breeze but they are also much safer than exposed candles. Usually candles are decorations that are limited to tabletops but these candle holder have a leather strap that allow you to bring the candlelight into the air They are also an easy decoration to move around and store away for later.
7. A String Of Lights On A Terrace
A painted clapboard traditional house like this with its raw wooden decking is the perfect traditional backdrop to decorate with a string of fairy lights. Thin poles at regular intervals hold up strings of draped round lights for a nostalgic terrace lighting option. The soft, romantic light they cast is perfect for an outdoor family barbecue or a little outdoor dinner date. This is a style of lighting that can be permanent or temporary and easily DIY’d using very low cost materials. All you need is a few wooden poles, some waterproof fairy lights and some cable ties to make your average front porch feel new and different.
8. Strip Lighting Built Into Minimal Pergola
This hilltop lawn pergola has very minimalistic design with a thin almost invisible metal framework. A strip of high powered LED lighting has been built into this sleek frame to cast a bright light over outdoor dining area from two side while being barely perceptible. This provides ample light to eat and socialize by while being surrounded by a beautiful view at dusk.
9. Wizard Staff Lamp Posts
The gleaming orbs sitting on top of the black staffs wouldn’t look out of place in a fantasy novel held by a Gandalf like figure. When the black poles disappear when the sun goes down so the lights seem to float. The cracked effect of the glass make the light glow in a mysterious way. Paired together along a pathway creates a magical ambiance and feeling of excitement as to where these glowing orbs will lead.
10. Wall Mounted Up And Down Lighters
Wall mounted directional lighting like these are a very modern and space saving lighting option. The material and texture blends in with the walls colour and texture when the sun is out and when the sun’s gone down rough texture of the thin stone cladding of the wall is emphasized by a combined up and down-lighter.
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11. Luminescent Mushrooms
A big garden coupled with a love of fantasy and fun makes you the ideal person for some quirky outdoor lamps. The lights are made of one translucent material that appear white and opaque when off and suddenly glow when switched on. The whole mushroom glows gently, illuminating the natural foliage around them. However mushrooms rarely grow on their own so you can make your whimsical lighting more realistic and fun by clustering many of these together or dotting them around the garden for a cohesive garden design.
12. Short LED Garden Lamps
These simple little knee high lights are ideal for lining a pathway. Their height and material allows them to illuminate only the path in front of you in a comforting soft light so you’ll never lose your way. The reflective stainless steel casing helps to reflect their light down as well as being attractive and very modern. The plastic casing has a subtle rippled texture that refracts the light for a gentle luminescence. The LED bulbs give off very little heat so they are safe for a garden setting and use very little electricity so they can be left on at night. If you are very eco conscious these also come in a solar powered version so you can achieve all these benefits without using electricity at all.
13. DIY Mason Jar Cluster Outdoor Lamps
Mason jars are a very popular rustic chic item, especially when it comes to DIY’s and this is no exception. This eclectic outdoor lighting can be easily DIYed by drilling through the mason jar lids and connecting wiring and a light bulb through it. Be sure to use LED or energy saving bulbs so they don’t heat up inside the jar. If you aren’t well versed in dealing with wiring or electrics please ask for help so you don’t shock yourself. Clustering various colours of the same shape together is simple and effective.
14. Strategically Placed Garden Up And Down Lighters
Carefully considered placement of the plainest lighting such as up and down lighters can highlight certain parts of your garden while leading you down a path at the same time. Due to the fact that the item being lit up is the main focus the design of the light itself gets put on the backburner and is often hidden in shrubbery anyway. Down lighters have been placed by the stairs to prevent tripping while uplighters illuminate a tree and flowering bushes. The way the light plays through the leaves is attractive and textural for a very atmospheric walk to your front door.
15. Upcycled Plastic Flower Outdoor Lamps
If you are eco conscious upcycling is probably on your radar. Upcycling in unexpected ways like your lighting is a great way to bring your passion for the environment into your garden decor. The flower shape makes it feel perfectly at home in a garden setting. The plastic is naturally waterproof and translucent so it lets light shine through it and glow in a gentle way for a very atmospheric soft light. In this case using LED lights is imperitive so you don’t melt the plastic.
16. Cute Novelty Lanterns
Elaborately patterned hanging lanterns such as these can be easily hung up and moved around for everyday use or decorating for a party. The variety in patterns creates visual interest when the lights are switched off as well as a variety of light quality when the light is on.
17. Rings Of Light Around A Patio
Simple stylized mushroom shaped pedestal lamps are a sleek way to illuminate the corners of the patio. The black domed housing is elegant in the light and disappears in the dark so the patio seems to be lit by floating rings of light. Pairing them together creates an other world effect of being surrounded by suspended rings of light.
18. Semi Submerged Cube Of Light
A statement pathway is a smart way of introducing your guests to your house before they even reach it. This design is the perfect example of how light can help you do that. The striped grass and grey paving pathway is lit sporadically by these box lights which appear to be half buried in the green lawn which is interesting and quirky. The casings take the form of black cubes with one open side exposing the natural wood finish. The light is cast from the inside of the box. The effect is innovative and will heighten the interest of anyone walking up to your home.
19. Moroccan Inspired Decorative Metal Lanterns
Traditional Moroccon lanterns are incredibly rich in detail and make delicately ornate lighting decoration. They can be painted or left in raw metal for a more sleek or rustic appearance to your outdoor decking. When they are on the intricate metalwork designs cast an amalgamation of illuminated patterns across these wooden stairs. Creating a cluster of these lanterns together in various shapes and sizes and on multiple levels creates a rich texture even when the lights are switched off.
20. Tiny LED Lights Along A Pathway
Sometimes you want the vessel holding the light to disappear the light it casts be the main focus. A set of miniature LED lights in a slim matte black casing light up a pathway with tiny spotlights. The thin black pedestal is elegant and unobtrusive in the dark, which makes the lights appear to be hovering twinkles working their way down the path. They are small in statue but provide a stunning look worth twice its size.
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21. Magical Watering Can Pouring Out Light DIY
This is another example about how playing with your outdoor lamps can imbue your garden with an air of witchcraft and fun. This is a really beautiful example that is simple to DIY on a relatively low budget. A classic silver tin watering can is hung by its handle from a tree. A string of tiny little fairy lights can then be fed through the spout and various heights and allowed to twine around one another so it appears to be pouring out cascading streams of light.
22. Outdoor Rework Of A Basic Standing Lamp
This outdoor standing lamp has been modeled off of a classic indoor standing lamp with a conical lampshade shade. However this lampshade has been pared back to thin wooden ribs That flare out and let the light shine through in gentle shafts.
23. Washed Up Light In A Bottle
This portable waterproof light with LED bulb can be brought with you for mood lighting that is also useful on any outdoor pursuits like beach picnics and camping. The design is contemporary and far from the utilitarian traditional camping lanterns and their unappealing hard plastic. The materials appear soft and cast a gentle glow while being resilient and hard wearing.
24. Modern Metal Cylindrical Garden Light
This is a well-loved modern style of outdoor light seen in office building everywhere. The reflective stainless steel column with a frosted glass outlet for emits a soft light that will reflect off its casing into its surroundings. When it comes to a classic design its hard to go wrong. The slim design is unobtrusive in the stone strewn flowerbed during the day, while it is illuminated at night for an added textural element.
25. Tabletop Multi Use Charging Lamps
These utterly gorgeous tabletop lights serve so many purposes. They have a beautiful sculptural quality with brushed gold pedestals hold the glowing half moons of light aloft on an outdoor table. The opaque flat surface that floats on top of the light doubles as a wireless phone charging station in an unexpected addition. All of these factors together combine to make a perfect addition to an outdoor patio.
26. Wire Ribbed Light Up Stools
Yet again we have a light that serves many purposes. These stool lights serve to bring statement lighting into a natural setting and provide areas to socialize. The shape and material of these outdoor stools are striking and innovative just as they are because they are made of the impossibly thin metal ribs, which seem to be too thin to possibly hold up a person. Once the light factor is brought into play the beautiful pattern it casts takes these to the next level.
27. Floating Pink Bubbles Of Light
Similar to our fourth example these floating waterproof lights are left to float as they please on the pools surface and cast a soft pink light that is purely for ambiance and dramatic effect. Temporary lighting like this is a great way of bringing colour into your outdoor decor and adapting it to suit every outdoor social occasion. The other world lights change formation as they freely float across the infinity pools surface and stand out against the glass like waters surface and natural backdrop.
28. Portable Hanging Outdoor Lamps
For a romantic outdoor date a portable light is a great way to set the mood. A beautiful glowing moon like light hangs above the sand illuminating the bright white fabric in an atmospheric way. The light has a convenient hook and is made of light materials so it is easy to move around and can be hung in many different places to create an ambiance in any location or situation.
29. Colorful Novelty Solar Lights
These novelty flowerpot shaped lights cast beautiful colourful butterfly patterns that overlap to create even more colours and a rich abstract pattern. Solar powered lights are an eco friendly option and ideal for a light that is going to spend its daily life in the sun anyway. The kaleidoscopic patterns can decorate your pathway without hurting the environment one bit. The shapes of the pattern could vary depending what kind of aesthetic you wish to achieve and the colours can be coordinated for any colour scheme that suits your style.
30. Fantasy Inspired Glowing Rocks
Abstract and unexpected features are an iconic piece of garden design, especially if they serve dual purposes. These natural amorphous shapes imitate actual smooth rocks that are unsubtley disguised lights that resemble something out of a fantasy novel. When these lights are switched off they become opaque pieces of sculpture that only come to life when the sun goes down. If you want a garden imbued with a magical atmosphere these are the perfect choice.
31. Human Sized Teardrop Lights
These surreal tall teardrop shaped lights appear to have dropped to earth from the sky. Statement lighting like this is a truly breathtaking way to line a pathway up to your home. Its new, bold and unexpected which is visually breathtaking. Walking between these luminescent forms the height of an adult gives an ethereal air of being flanked by glowing magical beings and impossible not to be impressed by. If you have a surrealistic style and want to make a statement this is the statement lighting option for you.
32. Coloured Blown Glass Terrace Lights
These purple glass Moroccan style blown glass hanging lights double as light and patio decor. A sculptural effect is achieved by hanging the lights at different heights for visual interest while using multiples of the same design for a more dramatic visual effect. The purple lights also coordinate with the terraces furniture and curtains tying the whole design together from floor to ceiling.
Conclusion
Its obvious from this list that outdoor lighting is a chameleon; it can be adapted and styled in a multitude of different uses and appearances to fit absolutely any situation. Lights can be unexpectedly multi-functional; as we saw with the light up chairs and charging stations; which opens the door to innovative applications and designs that really make your space memorable and something to be talked about.
You can choose designs that are simple and effective or you can be free to have fun and play with novelty to make your home feel special. So don’t be shy, go and explore your options and see if you can bring your style from inside your home to outside with some really beautiful outdoor lamps for lighting.