Decorating With Outdoor Patio Lights

I fell in love with the effects of outdoor lighting at a wonderfully romantic restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. As I recall, the restaurant was called Cafe Des Artistes. We sat in the garden amongst whimsical art sculptures while carefully placed outdoor patio lights snaked up and down the trees. It was likely the first time I had seen rope lights before. I was enchanted. Since that night I have eaten in many other romantic restaurants and have admired the outdoor lighting but nothing compares with my first experience.

I always try to capture the idea of bringing my living room outdoors. I been inspired by the efforts of others and I love to continue experimenting with the effects of outdoor patio lights. In choosing outdoor lights there are a few things you might keep in mind. I have listed 3 important factors below.

1. Determine the purpose of your outdoor lighting. Is the lighting going to be primarily functional and safety oriented or will it be more atmospheric? Some amount of outdoor lighting is needed for general safety. These bright outdoor patio lights should be placed at every door including your garage door. Other types of lighting can be simply for atmospheric effect. Lighting for effect can be dimly illuminated. Mood lighting should be changed about for greater dramatic effect.

2. Placement of the lights. As mentioned above the safety feature lights need to be by each door of your house at a minimum and it must be relatively easy to change the bulbs. If the light is in an awkward location, you might go months with a burnt out bulb and that is dangerous. Lights for effect can be placed in trees shining down or at the base of trees shining up. You can use rope lights to highlight trees in the distance or often simple white Christmas lights make a year-round romantic setting.

3. Type of light. There are numerous types of outdoor patio lights available these days. Of course the most popular and energy efficient are LED lights. The cost of LED lighting has really come down and these are the lights most recommended. There are also solar lights. Solar lighting has also become less expensive but these lights are slightly less reliable and often don?t give off enough light. Placement of solar lights is critical to their function and shouldn't be counted upon in cloudy or rainy areas. Solar lights likely work best as atmospheric lights and shouldn't be used as safety lights.

Read more articles about patio lighting design, at outdoor lighting options.