Outdoor lighting is usually approached as a shopping problem when it is really a positioning problem. People choose the fixture first and work out where it goes afterwards, which is why so many houses end up with a bright light beside the front door and nothing else, and a garden that disappears completely after dark.
A better way in is to think about the five positions that need light outside a typical house, decide which ones you actually care about, and only then pick fixtures.
Position one: the entrance
This is the one everybody does, and it is still frequently done at the wrong scale.
Mount the centre of the fixture at roughly 66 to 72 inches from the ground, just above eye level. If you are using a pair flanking the door, keep them level with each other and centre them on the door frame rather than on the wall, which is often not the same thing.
On size: outdoors there is no ceiling or furniture to give a sense of scale, so fixtures look considerably smaller than they did on screen. The working rule is that a single entrance fixture should be about one-quarter to one-third the height of the door. For a standard 80 inch door that means roughly 20 to 26 inches for a single fixture, or 13 to 16 inches each for a pair. Nearly everyone buys smaller than this and then wonders why the entrance still reads as dim.
Position two: the approach
The path from the gate or driveway to the door. The purpose here is orientation and footing, not brightness.
Low mounting works better than high. Fixtures at 18 to 30 inches, or wall-mounted at around 48 to 60 inches along a boundary wall, put light on the ground where it is needed rather than into people's eyes. Space them 8 to 12 feet apart for continuous coverage.
Resist the urge to light the entire path evenly. Pools of light with darkness between them read as considered and give the eye something to follow. An evenly lit path looks like a car park and needs far more fixtures to achieve.
Position three: level changes
Steps, thresholds, and any point where the ground height changes. This is the safety-critical position and the one most often missed.
Light steps from the side or from below, never from directly above. The reason is that a step is only visible when its edge casts a shadow. Overhead light flattens the tread and riser into a single surface, which makes the step harder to see, not easier. Side-mounted or recessed step lights at low level solve this properly.
Up-and-down fixtures throw light in both directions, which lights a path while also revealing the texture of the wall behind.
Position four: the wall itself
An underrated one. Washing light up or down a textured surface — brick, stone, render, timber cladding — gives a facade depth after dark that no amount of general lighting achieves.
Up-and-down fixtures are made for this. Mounted at around 60 to 72 inches on a wall with visible texture, they produce two fans of light that pick up every irregularity in the surface. On a smooth painted wall the effect is much weaker, so check what you are lighting before committing.
Spacing depends on the beam spread, but 8 to 15 feet apart along a long wall is a reasonable starting point. Fewer is usually better than more.
Position five: one thing worth looking at
A tree, a planted bed, a piece of garden structure. One well-lit feature does more for a garden at night than six evenly spaced path lights.
Uplighting a tree from ground level is the classic move and it works. Position the fixture 2 to 4 feet from the trunk, angled up into the canopy, and use a narrow beam if the tree is tall. Ground-level fixtures here need a higher ingress rating than wall fixtures do, for reasons covered next.
Reading IP ratings without the jargon
Every outdoor fixture carries a two-digit IP number. The first digit covers solid objects and dust, the second covers water. Outdoors, the second digit is the one to read.
- IP44 — splashing water. Acceptable only under a genuinely deep, covered porch.
- IP54 — dust-protected plus splashing. A minimum for a sheltered exterior wall.
- IP65 — water jets from any direction. The sensible default for exterior wall fixtures, and what most quality outdoor lights carry.
- IP66 — powerful jets. Coastal and exposed sites where rain arrives horizontally.
- IP67 — temporary immersion. Ground-level and path fixtures that may end up sitting in a puddle.
- IP68 — continuous immersion. Ponds and pools only.
The short version: if rain lands on it, IP65. If it can sit in standing water, IP67. If it goes under water, IP68 and nothing less.
One subtlety worth knowing — the ratings are not a simple ladder. IP67 certifies immersion but not high-pressure jets, which is a separate IP66 test. For domestic use this rarely matters, but it explains why you occasionally see fixtures listed as IP66/IP68.
Warm, shielded, and less of it
Three principles that separate outdoor lighting that looks designed from outdoor lighting that looks defensive.
Stay warm. 2700K or below. Cool white outdoors makes planting look grey and gives a house an institutional feel. Warm light on brick, stone and foliage is far more attractive.
Shield the source. Fixtures that direct light downward or conceal the LED behind a baffle put light where you want it and keep glare out of everyone's eyes, including your neighbours'. A visible bright point at night is the enemy of seeing anything else.
Use fewer fixtures. Contrast is what creates depth. Four or five well-chosen positions with darkness between them will look better than a dozen lights spread evenly, and cost less to install and run.
Materials and the three-winter test
Powder-coated aluminium is the workhorse: light, corrosion-resistant, widely available. Stainless steel handles salt air better, but the grade matters — 316 is the marine grade, 304 will spot near the coast. Brass and copper patina and generally improve with age.
What to avoid: painted mild steel that has not been galvanised, and any fixture where you cannot see a gasket around the glass. That gasket is what the IP rating depends on, and it is also the component that perishes first. On anything you intend to keep for a decade, ask whether replacement seals are available.
Sensors and switching
Motion sensors belong on security and access positions — side gates, driveways, back doors. They do not belong on a patio, where they will switch off while you are sitting still.
Split the circuits if you can: sensors on the security positions, manual or timed switching on anything decorative. If a sensor-equipped fixture has no manual override mode, check before buying, because some do not.
Dusk-to-dawn photocells are the low-effort option for entrance lights and work reliably, with one caveat: a photocell positioned where another light shines on it will behave erratically.
Before you install
Permanent outdoor electrical work is regulated more strictly than indoor work in most countries and often requires certification. Use a qualified electrician. Buried cable has minimum depth and armouring requirements that vary by jurisdiction, and getting them wrong is both a hazard and a problem at resale.
Fix into solid substrate rather than render alone, seal the cable entry properly — more fixtures fail through water tracking down the cable than through the body — and angle fixtures so water runs off rather than collecting.
Our full range of exterior fixtures is in the outdoor wall lamp collection. If you are handling the fitting yourself, our step-by-step installation guide covers the general wiring process, though outdoor circuits should be left to a professional.