Outdoor Lighting by Style

Getting outdoor lighting right is harder than it looks. Most people either end up with something too harsh, the kind that turns a garden into a car park, or something so subtle it barely registers once the sun goes down. What actually works is lighting that suits the character of the space, and that starts with knowing what style you're working with before you buy anything. A lantern that looks perfect in a walled courtyard looks completely wrong strung across a modern decked terrace. We've organised this collection around style precisely because that's how most people actually think when they're standing in their garden wondering what's missing. Coastal, contemporary, rustic, classic, each has a visual logic and the lighting should follow it. We've looked at wall lights, post lights, string lights, and path lights across all of them. The right outdoor lighting makes a garden feel like somewhere you actually want to be after dark.

Claire's Top Picks

Water-Resistant Decorative Cushion Covers Outdoor Printed Cushion Cover Garden Pillow Protector - Lantern Ivy

Garden Lanterns That Lift the Whole Room GARDENISTA Water-Resistant Decorative Cushion Covers Outdoor Printed Cushion Cover Garden Pillow Protector - Lantern Ivy Jump to section ↓

$7.99 GARDENISTA

Garden Lanterns That Lift the Whole Room

Evening light in a garden changes everything. The moment the sun drops and you're left with whatever you've got, a string of harsh security lighting or nothing at all, is when most outdoor spaces fall flat. Lanterns fix this in a way that feels immediate and considered at the same time. What we look for is scale that holds its own outside, materials that actually weather without looking shabby after one season, and a quality of light that makes people want to stay out rather than retreat indoors. Brass that develops a patina properly. Glass that diffuses rather than glares. The kind of piece that looks as good on a stone step as it does grouped on a table. We've pulled together lanterns that work for a courtyard supper, a quiet evening on the terrace, or simply a front step that deserves better than a bare bulb. These are the ones that earn their place every time the sun goes down.

GARDENISTA Water-Resistant Decorative Cushion Covers Outdoor Printed Cushion Cover Garden Pillow Protector - Lantern Ivy $7.99 GARDENISTA