Porch lighting isn’t solely about illumination. That is a crucial element, of course, if we’re thinking about practicality, safety and security, but there’s so much more to it. Porch lights allow you to make a statement, to announce the presence of your beautiful home to guests, and to offer a warm welcome. They set the opening tone, and provide a glimmer of what’s stored beyond the door. Ultimately, they can elevate a home exterior from good to great. 

Porch lighting is oh-so-simple to master, and we’re here to show you how! We’ve put our heads together and gathered our best front porch lighting ideas below, to help you get started, and make your home the brightest on the block.

What Kind Of Lighting Fixtures Should I Use For My Porch?

Wall lights fixtures are the most popular choice for the outdoors, as these are the easiest to accommodate, lining them up one by one along house walls and garden fences. Porches offer a slightly different opportunity, though, as they have the advantage of overhead coverage, which opens up the possibility of overhead lighting, too. Your range of choice now expands to hanging pendants, flush and semi-flush ceiling lights and recessed lights. As long as your chosen pendant doesn’t swing so low it risks a lot of head-banging, it works wonders. 

So which of these fixtures should you choose? Well, this depends on what look you’re going for, how much space you have and how much light you need to cover the area. These are the main points to consider, so let’s unpack them a little further. 

When it comes to aesthetics, you may want to approach your lighting scheme with big picture thinking, taking note of your home’s architectural style and choosing lighting to match. What kind of colours and textures dominates your interior and exterior already? Can you make your outdoor lighting fixtures an extension of this? Or perhaps you want to mark a distinction between the indoors and out; establish a unique style for each. If so, then lighting features are a good way to start. Take a look at some examples here – which of these designs speaks to your personal style? Do you want bold, discreet, or somewhere in between? The choice is yours. 

Now, let’s consider logistics – space, positioning and lighting requirements. If you have large windows situated near the entrance that allows indoor light out, from your living room, say, then your porch may already be lit up to some degree, and so it won’t need as much internal lighting. And if your porch is on the smaller side, then the reach of this indoor-stretching-to-the-outdoors light will most likely cover greater ground, again meaning that less lighting is required on the porch itself. A roofed or covered porch will also impact the extent of lighting needed. Shielding from overhead allows light to be contained and concentrated, while a wide-open space means that light will run away into the night. 

Layered Lighting

When we talk about interior lighting schemes, we often encourage you to take a layered lighting approach. This means, instead of choosing one main light source to do all the work, you purchase a collection of different lighting fixtures – wall lights, ceiling lights, floor lamps and table lamps, for example – to operate harmoniously, embracing the benefits of each. 

The same principle can apply on your porch, though the position of the lighting fixtures is more limited. You could choose a number of smaller wall fixtures and team them with an overhead pendant, or accompany a dominant floor lamp with a few path lights leading the way outwards. 

However you choose to execute layered lighting, the effect is as much about style as it is about function. So, should your lighting features match? As ever, it depends on your personal taste, but consistency helps to create a unified feeling across your outdoor design. This doesn’t mean all your outdoor porch lights need to be identical, but you can pick up on mutual patterns, textures and tones shared across fixtures, and exploit the satisfaction of this.

Do I Need To Choose Diffusers?

You want a well-lit porch, sure, but not too well-lit, not blinding. That’s where filtering is important, a service provided by light shades, plates or heavy diffusers. You don’t want a light that doesn’t offer you this kind of protection, forcing you to look directly into the light source and damage your eyes. So, for safety, make sure your wall lights and overhead lights are covered somehow.

What Are The Best Bulbs To Use?

The best bulbs to use for outdoor lighting fixtures are LEDs, wherever possible. They’re long-lasting, energy-saving and able to light up immediately, unlike standard eco-friendly light bulbs that take a while to get going.

As these bulbs are operating outdoors, though, it’s important to choose waterproof outdoor lights, fixtures with at least IP65 protection (and therefore splash-proof, for resilience through the wettest of winters).

How Do I Install An Outdoor Light?

Once you’ve decided on your waterproof porch lights, it’s time to get them up and running. If you know what you’re doing, installation is pretty easy. If you don’t, that problem can be solved easily, too. All of houseof’s lights come with instructions for installation (and we’ve many other blog posts that provide details on this), so you’ll just need to follow the step-by-step instructions provided. That said, if you don’t trust yourself, or want the job to be done by an expert, you can consult a qualified electrician who will happily do it for you. 

With everything in place, your home looks 10x brighter from the outside, and you might just feel that way inside, too. All you need is a bit of time, planning, and a few tools for installation, for your porch to come to life. Take a look at our collections of ceiling lights, wall lights and outdoor lights to get equipped.