Brighten Up Your Fall Evenings: Porch Lighting Tips

Lighting plays a critical role in any design scheme, and this is certainly not limited to the interior of your home. Outdoor porch lights can impact the way that you entertain, as well as set the mood for a relaxing evening on your screen porch. There are a number of factors you should consider before selecting your outdoor porch lights, and we want to outline a few of them for you below:

• Placement: You can add lighting to just about any space on your screened porch (wall mount, the ceiling fan, the ceiling, and even the floor). Think about the setting that you want to create first. If you want your screened porch to be your relaxing oasis, it’s best not to go overboard with lighting. A simple string of Christmas or globe lights provides a relaxing, soft light that can be enough for playing cards or other games on your porch.
• Style: These days, there is such a wide variety of styles for screened porch lighting, and the lighting that you choose can be a great opportunity to add some character and personality to your home. However, it’s important to consider the architecture style of your home and select lighting fixtures that compliment this look.
• Size: A common challenge that many homeowners have in regards to outdoor lighting is selecting fixtures that are the appropriate size for their space. As a rule of thumb, an exterior wall mount light should be balanced with the size of your doors. If you add a lantern to only one side of the door, the piece should be approximately one third the height of the door. If you add two lights on either side of the door, the pieces can be slightly smaller, approximately one quarter the height of the door. Chandeliers above dining tables should have a diameter of 1/2 to 2/3 the width of your table, while chandeliers in the center of your porch should have a diameter (in inches) equal to the length plus the width of your porch (in feet). (example: 12′ by 12′ = 24′ requires a 24″ diameter chandelier)

With all that said, a simple option is to use basic task lighting, like lamps, to create a calming mood, read or play games on your porch. While we aren’t necessarily specialists in outdoor lighting at Weather Queen Shades, our outdoor screen porch shades help to keep your porch protected. Please contact us to learn more.