Outside lighting is just as essential to your home as your lights indoors. Proper lighting out on your deck provides ambiance to set the mood on summer evenings. It also provides safety to ensure nobody trips and falls once the sun sets. Just like with many aspects of your deck, you have tons of options when it comes to choosing the deck lights for your property that meet your needs and your budget. Read on to find out more about a few of the different types of lighting you can choose for your deck.
Lighting is essentially divided into two different categories: practical lighting and ambient lighting. The first category is practical lighting. These lights are meant to illuminate everything on your deck and provide safety during the night. The second kind is ambient lighting. Ambient lights aren’t really necessary, but they highlight certain aspects of your deck that you’d like guests to see:
- Door lights: Since you’ll probably be in and out of your house while you’re hosting guests, you want to make sure you have good lighting around the door (or doors) leading into your home. Door lights are a good example of practical lighting that can also provide a nice ambiance if they’re installed correctly.
- Ceiling lights: You’ll want to make sure the lights in your ceiling are set up nicely if your deck is partially roofed. Great ceiling deck lights provide ambiance to really set the mood during summer nights.
- Floor lights: Lights on the floor of your deck sit flush with the deck floor and provide excellent lighting for everyone walking around your deck. Since they’re installed right on the deck, they come in all different styles to match any deck. They’re also made out of heavy-duty materials to withstand heavy foot traffic and harsh weather. Recessed lights are usually meant to serve as practical lighting.
- Stair lights: If your deck has multiple levels, or even a small step to the door, you need to have proper lighting on each of the stairs. Installing poor lights on your stairs (or no lights at all) is a surefire way to cause people to trip and fall while walking around. It’s especially dangerous for kids who are running around playing. Installing stair lights on the vertical risers also enhances your deck’s ambiance.
- Post lights: The posts along your deck could also use some lights. They’re usually larger lights that are meant to provide a greater lighting radius that enhances your vision on dark nights. They also clearly define the outline of your deck. And just because post lights provide good lighting, that doesn’t mean they can’t look great, too! We carry a variety of post lights that are designed to match your deck design and material.
With all of the different styles and brands out there, choosing the right deck lights can be a challenge. We encourage you to give Moonlight Decks LLC a call and let one of our knowledgeable professionals help you pick out the perfect deck lights for your home!