7 Types Of Outdoor Lighting Fixtures You Will Love

A Kid In A Candy Store

“I can’t wait to get these lights in our yard,” says Josh happily.

Melissa smiles back. “Me neither. They’re going to look so good with our pond! It’ll be like a little magical grotto in our backyard or something like that. I wonder what kinds of lights the contractor we hire are going to choose,” says Melissa.

Josh frowns. “Don’t we get to choose? I mean, we can have a say in the fixture choices and design and stuff. We are paying the cost per fixture so we should get to choose.”

Melissa shrugs and gets out her phone. “You might be right, but neither of us knows for sure. Let’s look it up on Google and see what we can find out.” She starts searching as Josh walks over so he can see what she finds. “Great! Looks like we have a few options to choose from.”

Here’s what the couple discovers:

The 7 Best Types Of Outdoor Lighting Fixtures

The best types of outdoor lighting fixtures are garden and pathway lights, up and down lights, spotlights, flood lights, string lights, bollard lights, and step lights. Each has areas where they work best. You probably won’t use each one for your home.

1. Garden And Pathway Lights

Garden and pathway lights will change how you see your landscape.

Garden lights spread the light down and out. They are closer to the ground, usually staked right into it. You can use them to show off your favorite plantings and natural areas. You can also put lights like these next to paths and walkways. They show where to step without blinding anyone.

2. Up/Downlights

You can use these types of outdoor lighting fixtures on your home!

Up and down lights point light, well, up and down. You can watch these lights bring textures and patterns to life on the walls of your home. A downlighting effect called moon lighting creates a moonlight-like scene for your yard. You can also put uplights under statues.

3. Spotlights

This is a generic term for lights that point in one direction (which are most).

Spotlights are just spotlights until you use them in a certain way. This is why up and downlights aren’t classified as ‘spotlights’. They range in brightness and amount of area they cover. 

4. Flood Lights

These types of outdoor lighting fixtures flood areas with light.

This makes them ideal for covering driveways and large backyards. Most people attach motion sensors to them and use them as security lights. Their brightness can be a drawback. Some people find them to be too bright for their landscape lighting purposes.

5. String Lights

This is one of the more artsy types of outdoor lighting fixtures.

String lights are great for running over hardscapes, along fences, and through trees. You can run them around or attach them to most anything in your yard and home. There are many design styles to choose from.

6. Bollard Lights

These are basically small light posts.

Bollard lights are a post with a small light on top that usually shines in all directions. It’s the only landscape lighting fixture that does. You can put shields on them to better direct the light.

7. Step Lights

Do we need to talk about how useful this type of outdoor lighting is?

You can use step lights to give guests and yourself an easier time using the stairs. You can place them alongside the stairs or on the vertical part of the stair itself.