An outdoor wall sconce is the first light a visitor meets, and the one that frames your front door in every photo of the house. It also helps you find your keys, see who is knocking and step safely onto the porch. Our sconces cover modern and traditional tastes: up and down cylinders and squares, marble look and alabaster rectangles, galvanized and perforated steel, European wall lanterns in cast aluminum, reeded and bubble glass designs, and solar sconces for spots without wiring.

Getting Size and Style Right

• Scale to the door: A sconce about a quarter to a third of the door's height looks right from the street. When in doubt, go a size up, since fixtures tend to look smaller on the wall than they did in the box.
• One or two: A single sconce works on the latch side of a narrow door; a matched pair suits wider doors and double doors.
• Glass and glare: Frosted, reeded or alabaster panels hide the LEDs and give a soft glow, which is kinder to guests standing right beside the light.
• Motion option: Several designs come with or without a built in motion sensor, so the same style can serve the front door and a side entry.

Placement tip: Mount a pair so the center of each sconce sits slightly above eye level, around 66 inches above the porch floor. The light then reaches faces and the lock instead of the porch ceiling.

Our front porch lighting guide walks through sizing in detail. For security coverage, add motion sensor wall lights by the side door.