When decorating your garden, you’re thinking about what furniture to buy, which flowers to grow, and where to position your barbecue. Regardless of the size or layout of your garden, these questions tend to be at the top of your list. But, one thing you should be thinking about is what kind of outdoor lighting you should install.
It goes without saying but it’s extremely important to have outdoor lights in and around your garden. Firstly, it’s vital for safety reasons, especially if your garden is uneven or doesn’t get much natural light. Secondly, for garden parties or movie nights, it’s fun to set the mood with different colours and softer brightness levels. Finally, it’s always a good idea to have some illumination, so you can see your guests, read a book or view your garden in all its beauty.
As a garden expert, I think the best way to bring light, colour and ambiance into your outdoor space is with smart lighting. Not only do the best smart bulbs look beautiful inside and outside your home, but they tend to use less energy than traditional bulbs and let you customise every aspect of them, including colour, brightness and how long they stay on for.
Arguably, the best smart home brand to make outdoor lighting is Philips Hue. As I’m set to move soon, I’ve been coming up with ideas on how to decorate my new home and I’ve decided that this is how I’d decorate my garden with the best Philips Hue outdoor lights.
Line steps and doors with the Impress Outdoor Pedestal Light
To line the steps and doors in my garden, I’m choosing the Outdoor Pedestal Light. Measuring at 40cm x 10cm x 10cm, the Outdoor Pedestal Light stands tall and brightens any outdoor space while adding a touch of elegance. The light is capable of reaching 1200 lumen and can be toned down when the evening calls for it. For colour, the Outdoor Pedestal Light can show off multiple colours but looks its most chic with the black exterior contrasting the solid white light. When installing the Outdoor Pedestal Light in my garden, I’m choosing to put two either side of my back door so people can see outside and step down from the house into the garden. I’m also going to put two around the steps so no one falls over when it gets dark!
Brighten my outdoor cinema with the Amarant Linear Outdoor Light
Mood lighting is one of the many essentials you need to make an outdoor cinema and for this, I’m picking the Amarant Linear Outdoor Light. By positioning the light against the back wall of my garden (which serves as the backdrop for my movie projector), the Amarant Linear Outdoor Light brightens up what I’m watching. By customising it with different colours and shades, the light sets the tone for the movie, like green for jungle scenes, blue for underwater sequences and red for when the villain enters the frame. Aside from movie nights, the Amarant Linear Outdoor Light also fills up any big empty space you might have in your garden.
Light up the plants with Lily Outdoor Spotlight
In between plant pots and garden furniture, I want to set up a few Lily Outdoor Spotlights. The Lily Outdoor Spotlight is easy to install, blends into the background with its petite size and can be mounted to the walls or placed on the floor. During the summer, it’s so rewarding to see the growing progress of your plants so setting a couple of Lily Outdoor Spotlights around them lights them up perfectly. As they can be moved around easily, the Lily Outdoor Spotlight can be pointed anywhere you want, like towards your outdoor cinema. For more versatility, the Lily Outdoor Spotlight is available to buy on its own, in a pack or in an XL version.
See guests at dinner with the Hue Go Portable Table Lamp
A new outdoor lighting trend that’s been making the rounds this summer is outdoor table lamps. Placing one or more table lamps around your garden table is a fun way to accessorise for your garden party or barbecue, and the Hue Go Portable Table Lamp is the best choice for this. As mentioned in T3’s Philips Hue Go portable table lamp review, the portability of the lamp is a standout feature. After a full charge, the light lifts off its base so it can be placed indoors or moved outdoors, all without wires.
Oversee the garden with the Daylo Outdoor Wall Light
While the above lighting is definitely something I want in my garden, if I could only pick one thing, I’d go for the Daylo Outdoor Wall Light. Having a big ring of light in my garden allows me to oversee the entire outside, even while I’m inside my house. It has a large powerful light that brightens the entire outdoors and can be used to look at the plants, light up a barbecue and give ambiance while I lounge outside. Ignoring the garden for a second, the Daylo Outdoor Wall Light would also make a good fixture for outside the front door, making it a truly versatile piece of kit.
For more outdoor lighting tips, here’s how to introduce smart lighting to your garden.
