Who This Is For: Anyone choosing outdoor wall lights for a front door, a courtyard, a patio or a garage who wants the house to look composed at dusk and feel safe after dark.
Key Takeaways
- The Short Answer
- Lanterns for Character
- Modern Sconces for Clean Lines
- Up and Down Beams for Texture
- A Sensor for the Side Door
- Scale, Height and Spacing
- Colour of Light and Finish
- Installation and Care
- Is It Right for Your Space?
The Short Answer
Choose the shape that matches your architecture, then size it to the door. Lanterns suit traditional and arched entries, slim sconces suit modern facades, and up and down beams suit stone and textured walls. Mount them with the centre about 66 inches (168 cm) above the ground, and flank the door with a matched pair.
Outdoor wall lights do two jobs at once. They are the jewellery of the house, seen from the street at dusk. They are also the first thing a guest relies on at the step. When both jobs are done well, the house looks settled, expensive and welcoming before anyone has touched the door.
Lanterns for Character
A lantern brings warmth and a sense of history. It is the right choice for brick, painted clapboard and arched doors, where a pair on either side feels like a quiet greeting.
The Pembroke arrives as a matched pair, in aluminum with semi transparent glass panels and a coffee gold finish. The glass softens the glow, and the scrolled arm gives the lantern a graceful outline. It is offered in two sizes. The small is 18.5 inches tall, 6.3 inches wide and projects 9.4 inches from the wall (47 by 16 by 24 cm). The large is 24.8 inches tall, 8.1 inches wide and projects 11.8 inches (63 by 21 by 30 cm). It uses a standard E27 socket, so the choice of bulb is yours.
Modern Sconces for Clean Lines
A slim sconce is the right answer for a modern facade. It removes decoration and leaves only light, shaped as a clean line or a soft block.
The reeded sconce
The Reeded is a rectangular sconce with a reeded shade in acrylic and stainless steel. Warm white or white light glows through the ribbed surface. It is offered in four heights, from 17.7 to 39.4 inches (45 to 100 cm), and it is 5.12 inches (13 cm) wide. It suits a porch, a patio or an entry wall, and it looks especially fine against limestone.
The linear gate light
The Portal is a slim stainless steel line of light that mounts flat on a gate or a facade. It is offered in five lengths from 23.4 to 94.5 inches (59 to 240 cm), in white, warm white, dimmable or RGB. It is a waterproof, hardwired exterior fixture. Used in pairs, tall and vertical, it frames an entrance like a pair of columns.
Up and Down Beams for Texture
Stone, stucco and timber all look better when light grazes them. An up and down fixture throws narrow beams in both directions and draws patterns on the surface, which is why it is a favourite of many architects.
The Column is a long square black aluminum tube with clear glass lenses. It sends narrow beams straight up and down, and it is rated for exposed walls and open patios. It is offered in four lengths, from 11.8 to 31.5 inches (30 to 80 cm), and in 3000K, 4000K or 6000K light. At 3.1 inches (8 cm) square, it repeats along a facade without clutter.
For a more compact option, the Volta is an aluminum sconce with narrow dual beams, up and down. It is waterproof and hardwired, and one fixture lights both the wall and the ground. The asymmetrical version is 3.15 inches wide and 7.09 inches high (8 by 18 cm).
A Sensor for the Side Door
Not every light needs to glow all night. For side paths, garages and back doors, a motion sensor is the sensible choice. The Sentry is a black stainless steel bar in three lengths, 12.6, 23.6 and 31.5 inches (32, 60 and 80 cm). The sensor version stays off until someone approaches, and an always on version is offered too.
Scale, Height and Spacing
Scale is where outdoor lighting most often goes wrong. A fixture that is too small looks lost on the wall, and one that is too large crowds the door.
- Choose a fixture about one quarter to one third of the door height. For an 80 inch (203 cm) door, that is 20 to 27 inches (51 to 69 cm).
- Centre the fixture about 66 inches (168 cm) above the ground, or one third of the way down from the top of the door.
- Use a matched pair on either side of a front door, placed 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) out from the frame.
- On a wide wall, space repeating fixtures evenly, roughly every 6 to 8 feet (183 to 244 cm).
If the door is double width or the wall is very tall, go up a size. Always check the projection from the wall, so that the lantern clears the door when it opens.
Colour of Light and Finish
Choose warm white light, around 3000K, for the entry. It flatters stone, brick and wood, and it feels like candlelight from the street. The Column is offered at 3000K, and the Reeded in warm white. Cooler light has a place on a garage or a utility wall, but it can make a front door feel clinical.
Finish should echo the hardware on the door. Black is graphic and timeless. A coffee gold, like the Pembroke, warms brick and clapboard. Whatever you choose, repeat it across the facade so that the house reads as one composition.
Installation and Care
Outdoor fixtures are exposed to rain, sun and temperature swings, so installation matters as much as the choice of fixture. Have a licensed electrician fit them, with the power switched off at the breaker. Ask them to seal around the backplate, so that water cannot track behind the fixture and into the wall.
Plan the wiring before the wall is finished if you can. A junction box set at 66 inches (168 cm) for each fixture, and a switch inside the door, will save a great deal of trouble later. For a pair, keep the two boxes at exactly the same height.
Care is simple. Wipe the glass and the body with a soft, damp cloth a few times a year, and clear any cobwebs or dust from around the shade. A clean lens gives a noticeably brighter, warmer glow.
Is It Right for Your Space?
If your house is traditional, start with lanterns. If it is modern, choose slim sconces or beams. If your walls are stone or stucco, choose up and down light. For a side or service door, add a sensor.
Browse our outdoor wall lighting, outdoor wall sconces, outdoor lanterns and motion sensor wall lights to compare shapes.
Questions about sizes, finishes or wet location use? Write to us at info@norafurnish.com and our team will confirm the details for your chosen fixture.
