Outdoor Lighting Lamps » Patio Lights

Using Patio Lighting for your Outdoor living Space

Rachel — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:34:25 +0000

Patio lighting is a vital part of creating an attractive and useful outdoor living space. Without adequate lighting, a patio becomes pretty useless after dark as unless you enjoy sitting in the dark, you will not be able to do anything useful out there. With some great lighting installed, you can extend the functional space of your home and create the illusion that your living room is part of the patio area.

With patio lights fitted, you can look outside the French windows or large windows and enjoy the spacious vista of your patio as well as the garden extending beyond. With no lights, all you will see is a mirror reflection of you and the room behind you when you look out of the windows. Good lighting on a patio prevents the interior lights from reflecting back at you—which are the main cause of the unsettling mirror effect at night.

A well thought out lighting scheme can turn your patio into a living area suitable for entertaining during many months of the year. Decorative patio lighting comes in all types and levels of ostentation. Some people choose a few carefully placed wall lanterns to provide some subtle lighting at night, whereas others choose pole lights and LED lights installed around the perimeter of the patio area.

Solar patio lighting is great for homes where all night lighting is not necessary. Solar lighting comes on once it gets dark and then stays on for around eight hours. Because the lights charge up during the day, they cost nothing to run other than requiring a replacement bulb very occasionally. Solar lighting is very environmentally friendly and is suitable for those areas where it might be difficult to extend an electricity supply.

String lights can be used to decorate your patio for special occasions. If you are planning a party on your patio, or you have invited an important person around for a romantic meal, it is very important to decorate the patio and maximize its attractiveness to your guests. Pretty LED string lights are ideal for providing some twinkling lights amongst the shrubs and trees. If you have a gazebo area around the patio, you can wind light ropes through the trellis and it will soon resemble a fairy grotto.

Many people make a feature of the external walls that join the patio and house. If you have attractive stone walls, or perhaps a mosaic or mural as an artistic focal point, you can highlight these with decorative patio lights. LED spot lights are perfect for highlighting a specific feature. With the right amount of targeted light, your patio and home will soon look like it belongs on the cover of an interior design magazine.

If you are lucky enough to have a pool adjoining your patio area, make sure you install some underwater pool lights to maximize usage of this wonderful amenity. With the right lighting, all-night pool parties will soon be on your summer entertainment calendar of events. With the addition of some attractive patio lighting, your home will be party-central in no time at all.

Outdoor Patio Lighting

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:59:58 +0000

Your patio is one of the places where you can relax and entertain. Enhancing these settings with lights will add style and function to any occasions you want. There are a lot of easy ways to illuminate your patio with outdoor patio lights. With the use of proper lighting, your outdoor living space will be livable and enjoyable. Here are a few suggestions you can use:

Step Lights – aside from accenting your stairs, the main function of this type of lights is safety. It helps people see where they are going and prevent them from tripping or falling. You can use vertical posts, or hide them beneath the rails. You can even build them into the patio stairs for safety touch.

Deck Lights – this type of outdoor patio light creates a dramatic effect for the entire patio. It highlights the details of your deck by using lighting fixtures like chandeliers, lanterns, wall mounts and lamps or even candles.

Stand-alone Illumination – this is very useful in large gatherings on your patio. When choosing a stand-alone fixture, make sure that it does not give too much glare to keep your guests from squinting.

Fountain Lights – if you have a fountain, you can still bring it to life when evening comes. The most common way is placing lights under the water. You can use colored lights if you want to add more fun and character. A floodlight may also be used to shine on the fountain.

Shadowing – you can use this technique if you want to cast shadows to certain objects like a statue, tree, fountain, and other interesting shapes. If you want large shadows, place your fixture near the object. But if you put it farther, the smaller the shadow that will be cast.

Silhouetting – use this technique to highlight the shape of an object. To create this dramatic effect, you have to place the light behind the object and aim it toward a vertical structure like the walls of your house.

Moon Lighting – this type of lighting has a very romantic effect. You should place the light high above the patio or maybe above a tree and shine it downwards. It will create the effect like the moon shining down. Patio umbrella lights are useful for this type of outdoor patio light.

These are just a few tips for outdoor patio lighting. But once you start experimenting using these guidelines, you will realize that the choices are endless. Just spend time looking for options and don’t forget to be creative. In no time your patio will bring back to life. Have fun!

Patio String Lights and it’s 3 Basic designs

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:14:53 +0000

Do you like spending more time outside your backyard patio? Then, you don’t have to worry about a thing when evening comes. Outdoor patio string lights may just be what you need. It does not only make your home beautiful, but it also makes your surrounding safer. Patio string lighting can be very useful in a lot of different ways. It can help you enjoy and extend your after-dark events. If you’re planning for a patio makeover with string lights, you will find that it has a wide variety of designs and styles to choose from. However, outdoor patio string lights come in three basic designs:

Rope Lights

These types of string lights are the most flexible. You can decorate them almost anywhere – on your doorstep, rails, walls, light posts, porch and even on plant and trees. They can be easily installed and removed and are available in a different colors and lengths. You can even request for customized lengths. But rope lights are low profile string lights which mean they can only give decreased lighting. However, they can produce a warm and enchanting glow to your patio.

Hanging Bulbs

Hanging bulb lights are brighter than rope lights for they give you increased lighting. These kinds of string lights are popular in restaurants and backyards. They also come in a variety of styles and lengths that will suit special occasions.

Hanging Lanterns

Hanging lanterns, like hanging bulbs, are also a good option if you want higher wattage output. It can provide additional illumination to a particular area. The lantern-style cover is made of different materials (e.g. plastic, glass).

These are only the basics for patio string lighting. But nowadays, you will find that for every occasion, there are string lights that will perfectly match its theme. For example, on a fourth of july holiday, there are star-shaped or American flag lights available if you’re feeling extra patriotic. For Halloween parties, you can purchase string light sets with different shapes – like pumpkins, bats or ghosts. Valentine’s Day can be more romantic with heart-shaped string lights. Bunny-shaped lights will make Easter more fun. The options for outdoor patio string lights are actually endless. You just have to search on your nearest store or maybe online. And you will find that fun and festive lighting can be made possible.

Use a LED Umbrella Light for Patio Illumination

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:39:23 +0000

Your newly decorated patio properly have cost you quite some money and now you want to enjoy it to the fullest. You don't want to be limited to sit on it only during the day and that is why want to install some lighting fixtures on your patio. But what are good patio lights to use and what kinds do you need? Your patio will be n enjoyable place to spend time on and you don't want it to be flooded with ugly bright lights. Small light fixtures like a LED umbrella light are far more suited than a wall sconce or wall lantern. Installing smaller lighting fixtures will be enough for your patio to see where you are going and even read a book and it is much more comfortable to look at.

If you are considering LED umbrella lights than there are different options available. You can choose to install the LED lights on the post of your umbrella or you can choose for an umbrella with integrated led lights pre-installed. Another consideration is the one between solar powered lighting and low voltage led lights.

Integrated umbrella led lights

Visiting some shops will let you notice the availability of integrated umbrella lights. The convenience of this is that you don't have to look for additional lights which you have to attach to your umbrella. The pre-installed led lights fit in neatly in to the design of the umbrella which makes it look perfect for a rustic or modern designed patio. Most integrated umbrella lights will run on solar light and the solar collector is placed on top of the umbrella. When it is charged for a full day it will emit light up to 4 hours. There is an on/off light switch installed in the post of the umbrella so you can easily switch it off when you are not using it.

LED Umbrella Solar Lights

The convenience of umbrella lights powered by solar light is that you don't have to work with wiring and electricity. Because you will only enjoy the downside of the umbrella you will not even notice there is a solar collector placed on top. Most integrated umbrella lights already use sunlight but if you want to install it on your basic umbrella than it might be better to go for string lights or choose to buy a disc shaped light which you can attach to the deck of your umbrella. In both scenarios you have to place the solar connector somewhere where it is facing the sun directly and the best place to put them is the top of your umbrella.

Rechargeable LED Umbrella Light

Low voltage lighting is not really a good option for umbrella lighting but rechargeable batteries are. If you are living in an area where there is not much sun than you won't receive enough sunlight to charge the solar collector and you have to look for something else.There are LED lights available that run on rechargeable batteries instead and these work fine if you want to sit outside for a few hours every night. If you choose high quality batteries than they will operate between 30 and 40 hours which will be enough for a week or 3 before you have to replace the batteries and recharge them.

Decorate your Patio with an Oil Torch

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:05:25 +0000

I really like to sit outside on my patio during hot summer nights. It is often too hot to sit inside but outside it is nice and comfortable. In some way I am always fascinated by everything that uses fire, varying from tea light candles to oil torches. An oil torch is a really nice attribute to use on your patio because it both supplies you with heat and light at the same time. Although you should always be careful with anything that uses fire, a few oil torches will really look nice on any patio and will really set the right mood.

Oil torches are made for outside usage and you should not use them inside. The flame is often too large in order to use it safely inside and you don't want o take the risk burning down your own living room. You should pin your outdoor oil torch down firmly in to the ground so there is no risk that it will fall down when you accidentally bump against it. Install it near your patio so you can enjoy the site of the flames and experience some of the heat it emits.

An oi torch is available in different designs and sizes and the most popular ones are Tiki torches. A tiki torch is made out of bamboo and was originally intended to scare away evil spirits and to bring good luck. Some tribes in Polynesia still use them as a spiritual item but in the Western world it is used to decorate your garden for a party or because you like the design. Bamboo tiki torches come rather cheap and you can usually buy them in a set. The torch always has a reservoir for the oil and you can usually refuel it after it is depleted.

Package of 8 bamboo oil burning Hawaiian style Tiki torches
List Price: ~~$29.99~~

Another popular design is an oil torch made of metals like pewter or copper. These designs have nothing to do with Polynesian tribes and were purely designed because they just look awesome. Because more expensive materials are used you will find that copper and pewter torches are more expensive than torches made of bamboo.

Most torches come on a stick and are meant to stick in the ground but you can also find them with a frame to mount them against the wall. In this way they look like a wall sconce in it's originally form. The design you see here below is made of frosted glass with a top of brushed metal. It is designed in a way that you can hang it on a wall but also stick it in the ground. Because of the frosted glass, this oil torch will look really great in areas with snow or sand.

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The great thing about outdoor oil torches is that you can easily refuel them when their reservoir is depleted. Be sure to check what lamp oil they need but most torches are able to work on all types of lamp oil. If you want to repel bugs than you can also consider to use citronella torch oil.

Patio Oil Lamps

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:44:59 +0000

Oil lamps are probably one of the oldest lighting fixtures around and the usage of oil lamps goes back thousands of years. They were the first lamps which you could carry around and were a very good and safe way to find your way in darkness. Nowadays we don't use them to guide our way but they only have aesthetic purposes. Patio oil lamps are a cheap and subtle way to illuminate your patio and you can either put them on the ground or use them as a table lamp. Designs vary from simple glass shapes lamps to copper and stone decorated lamps.

Antique oil lamps were made out of stone and could be carried around because they had a grip on one side of the lamp. They also had a votive and funerary function besides providing people with light. They were frequently used in temples and religious buildings and served both as a decorative and spiritual item.

You can use a patio oil lamp for much more than for only on your patio. They also serve perfectly as ambiance lighting on your deck or balcony. Because they are made of durable materials like copper, stone and glassm they endure almost all weather conditions and you can easily leave them outside.

The most basic oil lamp you can find is made out of glass and has the shape of a sphere. On top of the sphere there is a shell with a fuse running though it that sucks up the oil from the sphere. You can fill the sphere with ordinary lamp oil that you can buy in most shops. You can find them in many different colors and you can decide on the quality by looking at the thickness of the glass. Cheaper lamps run more risk on breaking when you accidentally run in to them and higher quality glass lamps can withstand a few bruises.

Glass oil lamps are quite popular because they are rather cheap but if you want to showcase something special on your patio than you should look in to copper oil lamps instead. Copper oil lamps became quite popular because of the animation movie Aladdin where he could summit a genie from an oil lamp. You can find such lamps in Arabian shops but look a like designs are available in many local design shops. Copper is much more durable and the designs often look much better than the ones made of glass or stone. They can be used as mood lighting and are comparable to candle lighting. They will form a great supplement if you already have a Moroccan outdoor lantern and you could even decide to decorate your patio Arabian styled.

Stone or ceramic is another material that is frequently used in the design of patio oil lamps. The shape is often spherical and inside the sphere there is a small depot that you can fill with lamp oil. On top of the sphere there is a shell with a fuse running through the shell. Ceramic oil lamps are quite popular because you can easily add all kinds of decorations on the exterior of the sphere. Often it is decorated with flower or plant alike designs and available in all kinds of colors.

Citronella Torch: Repell Bugs!

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:34:46 +0000

Fire has something mystical and intriguing and somehow most people like to watch it close. We like to set close to the fireplace, enjoy guitar songs near a camping fire and zipping our wine while sitting on our patio enjoying our burning torches. You can't start a fire in your backyard but you can use torches and still enjoy the warmth and light it emits. But sadly we are not the only ones who like fire and we are often accompanied with bugs. Especially mosquitoes can be very annoying because of the sound they make and the itching effect of their stings.

Luckily there is a way to still enjoy your torches and repell bugs at the same time. Bugs don't like citronella and if we add this to our torches we can get rid of them. Citronella smells like lemon and it is not harmful or annoying for people but it is for bugs. You can either decide to buy a citronella torch or use citronella torch fuel or oil for your torches.

Citronella torches are often quite inexpensive and they are available in different sizes and shapes. They can actually look pretty cool and be an addition to your home exterior. You can either place them on your table or stick them in the ground near your patio. The closer the torches are the more effect they will have on your environment. Placing them a few feet away from where you are sitting will not have much influence on bugs near you.

You can find nice designs that look quite cool. Amazon has some nice metal tabletop citronella torches available that really look cool. You have to fill them with citronella torch fuel in order to make them work. Another option is to buy small citronella torches and stick them in a flower peat which you can place on your table top. Because they are close by this will have a good effect on repelling bugs.

If you don't like to buy small torches or throw away torches than you can also consider buying citronella torch oil and refuel your own torches with it. It works exactly the same as any other torch fuel but now there is an citronella odor added to it.

Torch Fuel Citronella Insect Repellant CitraScent - 1 gal
Sale Price: $25.95
Eligible for free shipping!
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

In this way you don't have to buy a cheap citronella torch you don't like but use your own torches instead.

Tiki Torches: Cheap Bargains

Mon, 31 May 2010 17:25:01 +0000

You can use Tiki torches for different occasions because they are a very popular way to light up an area. You can use them as a permanent lighting solution on your patio or in your garden but they are also suited as party decoration. Because of the popularity of Bamboo Tiki torches you can find many styles and designs and some of them will cost you more than others. If you don't mind spending a lot of money on your outdoor lighting fixtures than looking for cheap options will not always be on your priority list. But if you want to design your patio on a budget or use them as party decoration than you might want to look for torches that are more affordable. Here are some tips which could save you money on your Tiki Torches.

1) The first thing to look at is the type of torch you want to use. Bamboo tiki torches will be cheaper compared to more exclusive stainless steel torches just to take an example. Torches made out of simple materials will cost you less money than torches made out of more durable and expensive materials like metal.

2) You also want to look at the design of the torch, some of them use a fuel depot where you can add fuel or gas while other torches use a candle instead. Again, simple designs will save you money but keep in mind that their appearance will also be less appealing.

3) Buy them in sets: Instead of buying them a piece you should buy them in a set of 6, 12 or even 24. If you buy them in larger quantities this will save you money.

4) Select the right shop to do your purchase: Did you ever notice that you pay more for the same items at more exclusive stores? Don't buy your tiki torches on expensive stores but try to purchase them in places that are less exclusive. Sometimes cheaper shops offer nice deals and and the quality is often good enough and most people will probably not even notice the difference.

5) Buy them online: Stores that offer them online can offer a discount because they don't have expensive shops to run and staff to hire to work in those stores. If you buy them in a set from an online store than you will probably save yourself some money. Amazon is an example of a store where you can make good deals and sometimes save on shipping costs.

Package of 8 bamboo oil burning Hawaiian style Tiki torches
List Price: ~~$29.99~~

Another place to shop is off course eBay. This is a worldwide market place where a lot of salesmen are competing with each other to offer you the lowest Tiki Torch prices. Because there is no shop to run and no middlemen to pay, prices on ebay are often much cheaper compared to stores in your shopping mall.

6 Luau TIKI Torches Contemporary Stainless Steel Garden Oil Lamp Patio Light
US $75.00

30 BLUE SHARK balloon PARTY fish UNDER sea WATER jaws OCEAN freeshipUS AQUARIUM
US $5.97

TIKI TORCH Set of 2 HAMMERED NICKEL Tiki Torches Citronella Pole Torch 1 PAIR
US $93.95

I hope these tips will help you finding good Tiki Torch cheap bargains and save yourself some money.

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Umbrella String Lights

Wed, 26 May 2010 12:03:07 +0000

Patio lighting let's us enjoy reading our book, playing a game and have a nice conversation with each other while nipping our wine. Lighting is as important outside your house as it is inside. Not only does it increase our visionary but it also adds a nice atmosphere which makes it more cozy and enjoyable to sit outside. Although your umbrella will serve the main purpose to block the sun, at night it can remain the warmth on your patio and light the area beneath your umbrella. Patio umbrella lights are a very common thing because they are easy to install and just look really nice. If you want to add some light to your patio than a good way of doing that is with umbrella string lights. Your options are to go for an umbrella with integrated string lights or adding the string lights yourself.

Integrated Umbrella String Lights

If you like convenience and you don't like to install lighting on your patio than integrated umbrella lights might be a very good solution. Instead of installing them yourself, these umbrella's already have string lights attached to the design. The designs look great and the light they emit is good enough to illuminate a small area beneath your umbrella. Don't expect spotlights, but a soft glowing light that is much more pleasant to look at. The main disadvantage of using these umbrella's is the price as they tend to be quite more expensive than a normal umbrella. If you don't want to spend the money than you better buy a normal umbrella and attach the string lights yourself. But convenience and chic design have a price and although the price will be higher, these umbrella's are surely worth it.

Another limitation is that you will always get "boring" LED lights pre-installed and not other fashion a like lanterns or other designs. If you like to create something unique than you better install the umbrella string lights yourself.

String Lights for your Umbrella

First start with the disadvantages of using string lights under your umbrella. The main con is that you have to hang lights under your umbrella and somehow connect them to a power source. If you are using low voltage lighting than you have to work with wires and electricity and not everybody likes that. You can also choose for solar string lights but than you have to install the solar collector attached to the lights.

The good part is that you can buy the string lights yourself and choose any type of design you like. If you like pink flamingo string lights or colored lantern string lights than that is what you can choose. You can give your patio a personalized, unique look that really stand outs from it's environment.

Solar or low voltage?

If you want integrated umbrella lights than you will most often have to choose for solar powered string lights because they are already added to the design. Integrated umbrella lights have a small solar collector on top of the umbrella placed out of sight, charging the batteries so the lights can shine when it starts to get dark. If you want to customized your patio umbrella with string lights than you can choose both ends although solar string lights are much easier to work with because there are no wires. The main difference between solar and low voltage is that the string lights using electricity are much brighter and not dependent on the sun. The question is how much light do you need and how much trouble do you want to put in to the installation?

Bamboo Torches

Wed, 19 May 2010 07:09:47 +0000

We use torches for thousands of years and our main purpose was to lit our environment to increase our visibility but also to scare away wild animals. In many cultures this is still a common use of bamboo torches. Especially in Polynesian countries a bamboo torch is something to scare away wild animals, but it also performs as a piece of art. When you visit tribes living in Polynesian countries you will frequently see these bamboo Tiki torches. Although conventional lighting that runs on electricity is a much safer and more used source of lighting, torches are still considered as way to increase your ambiance around the house and serve well to lit the area on hot summer nights. They are also frequently used for party themes like an Island themed party or a Luau party.

A true torch uses fire to illuminate it's surrounding but there are more ways to lit your torch. You can use lamp oil or gas to get the fire started, but you can also consider to use candles instead. Another more safer way to use torches is by using solar tiki torches, instead of fueling them they require the sun to charge their batteries and emit light. This is a great option if you have children running around but still want to lit your patio or garden with torches.

Solar Bamboo Torch Lights

We can not go around the possibilities of solar lighting anymore as it does almost resemble the options conventional electricity lighting has. Although a solar bamboo torch light does not use fire and thus is not a real torch in the sense of the word, it is a great alternative if you just don't like to use fire in your garden or on your patio. Many things can happen if you use fire around your house and using solar torches instead will take away all the risks. Instead of continually watching the fire, not leaving it alone, you will not have to worry about those things with a solar torch.

But besides that, they are also a very nice attribute to introduce on your patio or in your garden. Most torches have integrated solar panels on top of them which means you can place them everywhere you like. You can even use them to lit walkways or pathways but they will serve best to light your garden and patio. Once the batteries are fully charged they will automatically start emitting light when it becomes dark and continue doing so for more than 8 hours. They also emit a flickering light to increase the realistic effect of a torch. Yet another advantage is that they are often made out of plastic that looks like bamboo so you can leave them outside on all weather conditions without them getting damages.

Bamboo Candle Torches

There are different ways to lit your torch and one of them is by using candles instead of gas and oil. Candles are considered safer because the fire a candle has is not as large compared to when you use gas or oil. They will look exactly the same as an ordinary bamboo torch but instead of having a reservoir for the gas or oil there is a holder for a candle instead. In most designs the glass will be taller than the candle and this is because of the wind, in this way the candles will not go out that quickly when the wind is blowing. You can also consider placing citronella candles in the torch in order to drive bugs away from your patio.

Bamboo Oil Torch | Bamboo Gas Torch

There is no real difference on how these torches work although I personally don't like to refuel my torches with gas. Refueling your bamboo torches with lamp oil is much easier, and in my opinion, safer too. Some piece of advice when using lamp oil is to check if the torches you want to buy will all work on the same type of oil. This prevents you from having different bottles of oil which is just not that handy.

Your ordinary basic bamboo torch will always have a reservoir where you can place the oil or gas. The torch itself can be made in many different designs. The Tiki torch is a very popular example how a torch can be decorated but there are many more designs available varying from simple designs you can get for a few bucks to designs that will cost you $50 to $100.

When using these torches you have to be sure that you have took enough safety measures. If you are having a party than don't place them near bushes or grass and stick them deep in the ground so they can not fall down. Some piece of advice would be to have a bucket of water stand by just in case something might happen.

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