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Designer Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting is usually treated as infrastructure: a floodlight over a driveway, a sensor by the back door. But the part of the garden people actually use — the table, the terrace, the corner with two chairs in it — is an outdoor room, and it responds to the same thinking as an indoor one. Low, warm, layered light will do more for a courtyard than any amount of brightness.

This is a growing selection of pieces from independent designers and studios made or suited for outdoor use, alongside portable and candle-lit objects that need no installation at all. It is a smaller collection than our indoor categories and it changes as designers release new work, so it is worth checking the unique and limited-edition pieces and what is ready to ship, or asking our curation team what is available for a specific position.

Check the Rating Before You Fall for the Piece

Outside, the specification comes first. Everything else follows from it.

  • Sheltered positions — a covered porch, a loggia, a deep balcony — need protection from splashing and humidity. In European terms that is broadly IP44 and above; in North America the equivalent shorthand is a damp-rated fixture.
  • Exposed positions — an open terrace, a garden wall, anywhere rain lands directly — need protection from jets of water, broadly IP65 and above, or a wet-rated fixture.
  • Ground level and near water — in-ground uplights, pool and pond surrounds — need higher ratings again, up to submersion.
  • Low voltage or mains: many outdoor installations run on 12V through a transformer, which is safer and simpler to extend. Mains-voltage fixtures outdoors need weatherproof connections, correct cable, and residual current protection. Either way, permanent outdoor wiring is work for a qualified electrician, and rules vary by country.
  • Portable pieces avoid all of this. Rechargeable and battery lanterns, and anything candle-lit, can be carried out at dusk and brought back in, which is the practical answer for balconies, rentals and terraces with no supply.

An unrated indoor lamp is not an outdoor lamp, however sheltered the spot looks. If you like something from our table lamps, floor lamps or wall lamps collections and want it outside, ask us first — the honest answer is often no.

The Formats That Work Outside

  • Wall lights flanking a door or spaced along a garden wall, mounted at around 165–175 cm and angled to throw light down rather than into the eyes of anyone approaching.
  • Pendants and chandeliers over an outdoor table, in a pergola or under a covered loggia, hung 75–90 cm above the tabletop and positioned out of the wind where possible.
  • Portable lamps and lanterns on a table, a step or a wall top — the most flexible outdoor lighting there is, and the easiest to live with.
  • Candlelight in candleholders, lanterns and hurricanes with handmade candles: no wiring, no rating, and the quality of light every other option is imitating.
  • Low-level light along a path or the edge of a terrace, kept dim and shielded so it marks the route without becoming the feature.

Indoors, the equivalent thinking sits across our pendant lamps and sconces — the same formats, without the weatherproofing.

Materials, Weather and Time

Outdoors, materials age visibly, and that is not always a fault. Brass, copper and bronze develop a patina many designers intend; powder-coated aluminum and marine-grade stainless steel hold up in coastal air; teak and other dense hardwoods silver gracefully. Glass, concrete and glazed stoneware all perform well against water but less well against frost, since trapped moisture expands. Natural fiber, paper, textile and untreated softwood are the ones to keep under cover or bring inside.

Three practical points: sun fades finishes and textiles faster than rain damages them; salt air is harsher than either; and in a climate with hard winters, treat unsheltered ceramics and glass as seasonal and store them. A piece that lives outdoors for two seasons and inside for two will outlast one left out all year.

Light Levels, Neighbors and Insects

Outside, far less light is needed than people expect — eyes adapt to darkness, and a single warm source at 100–300 lumens will light a table comfortably. Aim for 2200–2700 K, shield the source so the bulb is never directly visible, and point light downward: glare into a neighbor’s window or a dark garden is the most common mistake in outdoor lighting, and the easiest to avoid. Warmer, amber-leaning light also attracts noticeably fewer insects than cool white, which matters more than any other specification on a summer evening.

Explore the full collectible lighting collection for indoor pieces, or tell our curation team about the terrace, courtyard or balcony you are lighting and we will suggest what suits it.

What makes a light an outdoor light?

Not where you put it, but how it is built. Outdoor fixtures use sealed housings, gasketed joints, corrosion-resistant hardware and cable rated for exposure, and they carry a rating that states how much water and dust they can withstand. A fixture without that rating may work outside for a season and then fail — usually at the cable entry or the socket, where water collects.

What IP rating do I need?

It depends on exposure. For a covered porch, a loggia or a deep balcony where rain does not land directly, IP44 or above is generally appropriate. For an open terrace, a garden wall or anywhere fully exposed, look for IP65 or above. For in-ground fixtures and anything near a pool or pond, higher ratings up to submersion are required. When in doubt, specify one level higher than you think you need.

What is the difference between damp-rated and wet-rated?

They are the North American equivalents of the same idea. Damp-rated fixtures suit sheltered positions with humidity and occasional splashing — covered porches, soffits, bathrooms. Wet-rated fixtures withstand direct rain and can be used in fully exposed positions. If you are buying internationally, match the IP number rather than the label, since terminology differs by market.

Can I use an indoor lamp outside if the spot is sheltered?

Generally no, and we would rather say so than sell you something that fails. Indoor fixtures lack the seals, gaskets and cable protection that outdoor conditions require, and humidity alone will corrode contacts over time. A covered balcony in a mild climate is the most forgiving case, but it is still a risk with a handmade piece. Portable, battery-powered or candle-lit objects are the safe way to bring an indoor aesthetic outside.

Can I use outdoor lighting on a covered porch or in a pergola?

Yes, and this is where most decorative outdoor lighting belongs. A roof over the fixture takes most of the load off it, which widens what you can use. Two cautions: condensation still forms under cover, and wind-driven rain reaches further into a porch than people expect, so a piece on the outer edge needs a higher rating than one against the house wall.

Do you have solar outdoor lights?

Solar is common in mass-market garden lighting and rare in collectible design, since panels, batteries and the light quality they produce sit awkwardly with handmade objects. Where we can offer an off-grid solution it is usually a rechargeable or battery-powered piece rather than a solar one. Ask our curation team what is currently available if that is a requirement.

Do you have portable or rechargeable outdoor lamps?

This is the most practical route for balconies, terraces and rented properties, and the selection here grows as more studios make them. A rechargeable piece needs no wiring, no electrician and no permanent position, and can be brought indoors in bad weather — which also extends its life considerably. Check the stated run time and whether the piece is rated for occasional rain or only for dry evenings.

How is permanent outdoor lighting installed?

By a qualified electrician, using weatherproof connections, appropriate cable and residual current protection, with rules that differ by country. Many garden schemes use a 12V low-voltage system fed by a transformer, which is safer, easier to extend and does not require the same depth of buried cable as mains wiring. Plan positions before any paving or planting goes in — retrofitting cable is the expensive part.

How high should an outdoor wall light be beside a door?

Around 165–175 cm from the ground to the center of the fixture, which puts the light above eye level for most people approaching. Where a pair flanks a door, keep them symmetrical and scaled to the opening — a useful rule is a fixture roughly a quarter to a third the height of the door. Choose a design that directs light downward so nobody arrives with the source in their eyes.

How high should a pendant hang over an outdoor table?

75–90 cm between the tabletop and the lowest point of the fixture, as indoors. Outside, add two considerations: wind, which rules out anything that swings freely in an exposed position, and mounting, since a pergola beam or a loggia ceiling has to take the weight securely.

How bright should outdoor lighting be?

Much dimmer than indoors. Eyes adapt to darkness, so 100–300 lumens per fixture is usually enough to light a table or a seating area, and several low sources beat one bright one. Excess brightness flattens a garden, creates glare and destroys the contrast that makes planting and architecture look interesting after dark.

Which color temperature is best outside?

Warm — 2200–2700 K. Warm light flatters stone, timber, brick and planting, reads as welcoming rather than institutional, and attracts noticeably fewer insects than cool white light. Cooler temperatures belong in security and task lighting, which is a different product category and a different intent.

Which materials last best outdoors?

Brass, copper and bronze, which patina rather than corrode; marine-grade stainless steel and powder-coated aluminum, especially near the coast; dense hardwoods such as teak and iroko; and glass, concrete and glazed stoneware where frost is not a factor. Natural fiber, paper, textile and untreated softwood should be kept under cover or brought inside. Ask us about a specific piece — makers know their materials best.

Will outdoor pieces survive winter?

Rated fixtures will handle rain and cold; the risk is freezing. Water that gets into a ceramic body, a hairline glaze crack or an unsealed joint expands when it freezes and splits the material. In a climate with hard frosts, treat unsheltered ceramic, stone and glass pieces as seasonal, and store portable and candle-lit objects indoors over winter. Two seasons out and two seasons in will roughly double the life of most pieces.