Exterior Home Lighting: How to Light the Outside of Your House Like an Architectural Lighting Designer

There is a particular moment on a winter evening, somewhere between half past four and five o’clock in Sussex, when the sky turns a deep inky blue and a house either comes gently to life or quietly disappears into the dark. Good exterior home lighting is what decides which of those happens. It is the difference between arriving home to a front door you can barely find and arriving home to a place that seems to welcome you, with the texture of the walls softly revealed, the steps clearly marked and the garden beyond the kitchen window glowing like a painting.

At Todd Roberts Lighting we design and install garden, landscape and architectural lighting across Sussex, Surrey, Kent and South West London, and much of our work begins right here, at the walls of the house itself. Lighting a house exterior well is not about brightness. It is about deciding which parts of the building deserve to be seen after dark, how they should be seen, and just as importantly, which parts should be allowed to rest in shadow. Our own line for it is simple: the best lighting isn’t seen. It’s felt.

This guide is written for homeowners who are planning exterior lighting for their own property, whether that is a Victorian villa in Hove, a flint cottage on the edge of the Downs, a 1930s semi in Worthing with a brand new extension at the back, or a contemporary oak-framed home in the Surrey Hills. We will walk through how an architectural lighting designer reads a building, the techniques we use on facades, entrances, soffits, driveways and garden rooms, how to choose exterior light fixtures that will last in our salty coastal air, and the gentler practical matters of controls, wiring, regulations, neighbours and budget. If you are thinking more about the planting and the wider garden, our sister article on garden lighting ideas covers that ground, and our piece “Designing with darkness: what a garden lighting scheme should leave unlit” explores the dark sky side of things in more depth.

Why exterior home lighting matters

It is easy to think of outside lighting as a purely practical matter: a lantern by the door, a sensor light over the garage, perhaps a bulkhead by the bins. Those things have their place, but a considered approach to exterior home lighting does a great deal more than help you find your keys. It shapes how your home is perceived, how safe it feels, how much you use your outdoor spaces and even how the rooms inside feel in the evening.

Kerb appeal and first impressions

Kerb appeal is usually discussed in daylight terms, yet a large share of the times anyone actually sees the front of your home in winter happen after dark. When the HomeOwners Alliance commissioned a YouGov survey of more than 2,000 UK adults, 68 per cent said kerb appeal was important to them when buying a home [18]. A well-lit house appeared in their top ten kerb appeal features, named by 26 per cent of respondents, alongside windows, the roof, a tidy front garden, the path or drive and the front door [18].

What we find interesting about that list is how many of the other features are themselves things that lighting can reveal or conceal. A handsome front door, a well-laid path, a tidy front garden and good windows all disappear at night unless something draws the eye to them. Thoughtful exterior lighting does not compete with those features; it presents them. A beautifully restored Edwardian porch with encaustic tiles and a stained glass fanlight deserves to be seen on a December evening just as much as on a June afternoon.

Safety and a confident welcome

The most fundamental job of external lighting is to help people move around safely. Steps, changes of level, uneven flint paths, a gravel drive with a dropped edge, the threshold of a porch: these are the places where a misplaced foot in the dark becomes a twisted ankle. The RHS recommends focusing garden lighting on steps and paths precisely because that is where it does the most good [13], and the same principle applies around the house.

There is also an emotional side to safety. A well-lit approach feels calm and cared for. Visitors, delivery drivers and family members arriving late all feel more at ease when the route to the door is clear and gently lit rather than plunged in darkness or blasted by a floodlight. We often say that a good entrance should feel like someone has left a light on for you.

Longer evenings outside

In the South East we are fortunate to have long summer evenings, and many of our clients have invested heavily in terraces, outdoor kitchens, garden rooms and bifold doors that open the house to the garden. Without lighting, all of that investment is only usable for part of the day. With a gentle, layered scheme, a terrace becomes somewhere to linger after supper, a garden room becomes a genuine evening retreat, and a path to the hot tub or studio becomes a pleasure rather than a hazard.

Lighting also extends the shoulder seasons. On a mild October evening, a softly lit terrace with a fire bowl and warm light on the brickwork invites you to step outside with a cup of tea, where a dark one would keep you firmly indoors.

The view from inside looking out

This is perhaps the least appreciated reason to invest in exterior lighting, and it is one we talk about at almost every first consultation. When the garden and the outside of the house are completely dark, large windows and glazed doors turn into black mirrors after sunset. You see your own reflection, the ceiling lights and the kitchen worktop, and the room feels smaller and more enclosed.

Add a few carefully placed lights outside, on a wall, a tree, a pergola or the edge of a terrace, and the glass becomes transparent again. The room borrows space from the garden. This is why we design the view from inside the house outwards as a priority, rather than as an afterthought.

"Most of the people I meet are thinking about how the house looks from the street, and that matters, but I always ask them to stand at the kitchen sink or sit on the sofa with me first. Once you’ve seen a black wall of bifold glass turn into a view of a softly lit garden, you never want to go back. In winter here you can be looking out at the dark from half four onwards, so that view earns its keep for months of the year. "

What an architectural lighting designer actually does differently

Many homeowners reasonably assume that exterior lighting is something an electrician handles as part of a wider job: a couple of wall lanterns by the door, a PIR floodlight on the garage and perhaps a string of spike lights along the border. A good electrician will install those safely and neatly, and safety is never something to compromise on. But fitting lights and designing light are two quite different disciplines, and understanding the difference will help you decide what kind of help your project needs.

Fitting lights versus designing with light

An electrician is usually briefed to install fittings in particular positions. The questions are practical ones: where is the nearest supply, how will the cable be run, is the fitting rated for outdoor use, is the circuit protected. An architectural lighting designer starts somewhere else entirely. The first questions are about the building and the people who live in it. What is beautiful about this house? What do you want to see from the kitchen? How do you arrive home? Which rooms do you sit in during the evening? Where do guests park? What should stay dark?

Only once those questions are answered do we start thinking about fittings, and even then the fitting is a means to an end. We are designing the effect: a soft wash across a rendered gable, a sparkle of grazing light on knapped flint, a pool of light on a doormat, a silhouette of an olive tree against a pale wall. The fitting is chosen, positioned and aimed to create that effect while remaining as invisible as possible. That is the essence of architectural lighting design, and it is why the same house can look completely different depending on who has lit it.

At Todd Roberts Lighting, our background combines the two. As TNR Electrical Ltd we are qualified electricians, and as designers we are affiliates of the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers and members of the Society of Light and Lighting [20]. That means the design is never divorced from the practicalities of getting cable safely to where it needs to go.

Seeing the house at night before drawing anything

One of the most useful things a designer does is simply to visit at night. A house that looks one way at noon behaves very differently after dark. Street lights, a neighbour’s security light, reflections off a car or a conservatory roof, the glow from your own windows: all of these form part of the existing night-time picture. We often find that a front garden is already partly lit by a street lamp, which changes how much new light is needed and where it should go.

A night visit also shows us what the house looks like from the places people actually stand: the pavement, the drive, the front door, the kitchen window, the end of the garden. Those viewpoints shape everything that follows.

Light what matters, leave the rest dark

If there is a single principle that separates designed exterior lighting from fitted exterior lighting, it is restraint. The instinct when lighting a house is to light all of it, evenly, so that nothing is dark. The result is usually flat and glaring, and the building loses all its character. Contrast is what gives a lit facade depth and drama. John Cullen Lighting puts it memorably: darkness is just as important as light [6].

So we choose. Perhaps the flint gable and the front door, but not the pebbledash side return. Perhaps the oak frame of the new extension and the multi-stem birch outside it, but not the whole back wall. This selectivity also keeps energy use down, keeps light out of neighbours’ windows and sky, and keeps the scheme feeling calm.

" People sometimes expect me to arrive with a catalogue and a list of lights. I’d much rather arrive with a torch and a cup of tea and walk round the house with you after dark. Nine times out of ten the best scheme is the one that lights fewer things, more carefully. "

Reading the architecture: lighting house exterior styles across the South East

Every house has its own language, and lighting should speak it. Before we decide on techniques or fittings, we look closely at the materials, proportions and details of the building. The South East has a wonderfully varied housing stock, and each type rewards a slightly different approach to lighting the house exterior.

Victorian and Edwardian villas

Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Tunbridge Wells, Guildford and the leafier parts of South West London are full of Victorian and Edwardian villas: bay windows, decorative brick or stucco, sash windows, porticos with columns, tiled paths, ornate bargeboards and generous front gardens behind low walls. These are houses designed to be looked at, with strong vertical rhythm and plenty of relief.

The architectural features themselves suggest the lighting. Columns and pilasters on a portico can be gently uplit to emphasise their height. A tiled path can be picked out with discreet low-level lights. Bay windows benefit from a soft wash that shows their shape without glaring into the room. Stucco and painted render take a wide, even wash beautifully, while exposed brick and decorative terracotta come alive with light from a shallow angle that brings out texture. The key is proportion: these facades are often tall, and a single overbright uplight at ground level can make the upper storey feel top-heavy or throw long, harsh shadows across the window heads.

Flint and brick cottages

Across the Sussex Downs, in villages such as Steyning, Findon, Ditchling, Alfriston and Amberley, and along the coastal plain, flint is the defining material. Knapped or cobbled flint set in lime mortar, usually with brick quoins and window surrounds, is one of the most rewarding surfaces to light in the whole country. Under a grazing light, each flint catches a tiny highlight and casts a tiny shadow, and the wall becomes a shimmering tapestry.

Cottages tend to be lower, more intimate buildings, often with small windows, deep reveals, climbing roses or wisteria and front gardens that sit right against the lane. Here the lighting should feel gentle and domestic. Grazing a flint wall, lighting the doorway softly and adding a little low-level light to a path is often all that is needed. Overlighting a cottage is the fastest way to make it look like a pub car park.

1930s semis and interwar homes

The 1930s semi is perhaps the most common house type in Sussex towns, from Worthing and Lancing to Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill. Typical features include a two-storey bay with a tile-hung or rendered upper section, a recessed porch, pebbledash or render, and often a driveway and garage to the side. Many have been extended at the back with a single-storey kitchen extension, often with rooflights and wide glazing.

These homes are sometimes dismissed as unremarkable, but they have charming details that lighting can draw out: a curved bay, an Art Deco inspired front door with a sunrise pattern in the glass, a recessed porch with a quarry tile floor. The recessed porch in particular is a gift for lighting, as a single well-placed downlight can make it glow like a lantern. At the back, the extension is usually where the real opportunity lies, because that is where the family spends its evenings looking out.

Contemporary oak frame and glass extensions

Over the past two decades, oak-framed garden rooms, porches and extensions have become a much-loved feature of South East homes, as have crisp contemporary extensions in glass, zinc, timber cladding and render. These structures bring their own lighting challenges and opportunities.

Oak frames have wonderful texture and colour, and their posts, braces and trusses can be picked out with narrow, carefully aimed light, much as John Cullen Lighting used accent light on timber beams at Chelsea [3]. Large areas of glazing, on the other hand, need careful handling to avoid reflections and to make sure outdoor light does not bounce straight back into the room. Contemporary cladding in cedar, larch or charred timber responds beautifully to grazing light, while flat render and zinc usually prefer a soft wash or no light at all, allowing the planting and the view beyond to take the lead.

Coastal homes

Along the coast from Bosham and West Wittering to Worthing, Shoreham, Brighton and Seaford, homes live with salt-laden air, driving rain and strong winds. Architecturally they range from Regency terraces and Victorian seafront villas to 1930s modernist houses with flat roofs and curved walls, and contemporary homes with large glazed elevations facing the sea.

Coastal lighting has two special considerations. The first is durability, which we cover in the section on exterior light fixtures: marine grade materials and careful detailing are essential. The second is the view. Many coastal homes are designed around a view out to sea or across the shingle, and exterior lighting must never compete with it. The house can be lit gently at the entrance and on key architectural features, while seaward elevations are often kept very low key so that the dark horizon, the moon on the water and the lights of passing ships remain the main event.

" On the coast I plan for salt from day one. I’ve seen cheap fittings along the seafront in Worthing go green and pitted in a single winter. We specify marine grade materials, we think about where spray and wind actually hit the building, and we keep the seaward side low and quiet, because nobody wants a light competing with the moon on the water. "

The layering principle applied to the house

Layering is one of the oldest ideas in lighting design, and it works as well on the outside of a house as it does in a living room. Rather than relying on one bright source to do everything, a layered scheme combines several gentle sources, each with a distinct job. John Cullen Lighting describes three layers for outdoor spaces: ambient, accent and task [6]. Lighting experts interviewed by Livingetc for their 2026 predictions made much the same point, favouring gentle layering over a single bright source [8]. Here is how we apply those layers to the architecture of a home.

Ambient light: the gentle background

Ambient light gives a general sense of the space, so that the eye can read the shape of the house and garden without anything feeling spotlit. Outside, ambient light rarely comes from a dedicated fitting. It is usually the soft spill from lit vertical surfaces: a washed wall, a lit hedge, a tree canopy glowing overhead. John Cullen Lighting notes that lighting vertical surfaces such as trees and walls makes spaces feel larger [6], and this is exactly why a softly lit boundary wall or the back of a garden room makes a terrace feel more generous at night.

For the house itself, ambient light might mean a gentle wash across the rear elevation, or light reflected from a pale terrace, or the glow from a lit pergola. It sets the stage and should be the quietest layer of all.

Accent light: revealing character

Accent light is where the architecture comes to life. It is the grazing light on a flint wall, the narrow beam up a portico column, the silhouette of a multi-stem tree against a rendered gable, the highlight on a front door or a piece of sculpture. Accent light creates focal points and gives the eye somewhere to rest.

The trick is balance. Too many accents and the scheme becomes busy, with nothing standing out. Too few and the house feels flat. On a typical family home we might choose two or three accents at the front and three or four at the back, each carefully related to the viewpoints we identified on our night visit.

Task light: getting around safely

Task light is the practical layer: light on steps, paths, the front door lock, the bins, the garage door, the barbecue and the outdoor kitchen worktop. It needs to be sufficient for the job but no more, and it should be positioned so that it lights the surface rather than shining into people’s eyes. Pools of light along a path, rather than a continuous line of bright points, give good guidance while leaving pleasing contrast in between [6].

Balancing the layers with darkness

The final layer, and in some ways the most important, is darkness itself. Unlit areas give the lit areas their meaning. When we draw a lighting plan for a house, we mark what will be dark as deliberately as we mark what will be lit. A dark side passage, an unlit expanse of lawn, a shadowed corner of the drive: these are not omissions but choices, and they make the scheme feel calm, intimate and in keeping with the character of Sussex villages and towns at night.

We also think about how layers behave together over the course of an evening. Early on, when the family is arriving home and the children are coming and going, the task and ambient layers might be at their fullest. Later, when the adults are sitting in the kitchen looking out, the accent layer might take over with the task lighting turned down. Late at night, most of it can switch off, leaving only a little light at the door. This is where controls come in, which we cover later.

" I think of layering a house a bit like a stage set. You’ve got the backdrop, the characters and the bits the actors need to find their way. The mistake is lighting the whole stage at full brightness. Pick your leading characters, let the backdrop glow softly, and give the practical lights just enough to do their job. "

Architectural lighting techniques for walls and facades

With the layers in mind, we can look at the specific techniques an architectural lighting designer uses on the outside of a home. Each one produces a different effect on a different kind of surface, and choosing the right technique for each material is where much of the craft lies.

Grazing textured walls

Grazing means placing a light very close to a wall and aiming it almost parallel to the surface, so that the beam skims across it. Every bump, recess and irregularity catches light on one side and throws a small shadow on the other. The result is a dramatic emphasis of texture.

Grazing is ideal for knapped flint, cobbled flint, rough stone, reclaimed brick, oak cladding, board-marked concrete and dry stone walls. On a Sussex flint cottage, a row of small linear fittings or closely spaced uplights set a few centimetres from the wall base can transform a dark facade into something shimmering and tactile.

The distance from the wall matters enormously. Place the fitting too far out and the texture flattens; place it too close and you get a bright hotspot at the base with the light fading too quickly up the wall. We usually test positions on site at night before fixing anything, because every wall behaves slightly differently. Grazing is also unforgiving of poor surfaces: a patched or damaged render will look much worse under grazing light, which is why we reserve it for materials that genuinely reward it.

Washing render and smooth surfaces

Washing is the opposite of grazing. The light is placed further from the wall and spread widely and evenly across it, so that texture is minimised and the surface glows with a soft, uniform light. Washing suits smooth render, painted brick, stucco, lime-washed walls and the pale rendered facades common in Regency and Victorian Brighton and Hove.

A wall wash can be done from below, from above or from the side. From below, recessed ground lights or discreet spike lights with a wide beam work well, as long as the wash stays on the wall and does not spill upwards past the eaves into the sky. From above, a fitting tucked under the eaves or a soffit can wash downwards, which is often the better choice for sky and neighbour considerations. Side washing, from a fitting concealed in a border or behind a pier, can create a lovely graded effect that fades gently across a long wall.

A washed wall is also one of the most useful backdrops in exterior lighting. Plants, sculpture or furniture placed in front of it are seen in silhouette, and the wall reflects soft ambient light back into the space.

Uplighting columns, piers and porticos

Many South East homes have vertical features that lend themselves to uplighting: porch columns, brick gate piers, pilasters, chimney breasts on gable ends, timber posts on oak porches and the corners of bay windows. A narrow beam placed at the base of the feature and aimed straight up emphasises height and form.

Beam angle is critical here. A narrow beam of around 10 to 15 degrees keeps the light on a slim column; a medium beam of 24 to 36 degrees suits a wider pier or a chimney breast. John Cullen Lighting describes using narrow uplights to reveal contours and wider ones to wash, a distinction that applies just as much to architecture as to sculpture [5]. We always check where the beam goes above the feature. An uplight on a porch column should ideally terminate on the underside of the porch roof, which catches the light and glows softly, rather than shining past into the sky.

Downlighting from soffits and eaves

Outdoor soffit lighting is one of the most elegant ways to light a house, and one of the most neighbourly. Small recessed downlights set into the soffit, the underside of the eaves, or the underside of a porch or canopy, cast light down the face of the wall and onto the ground below. The source is tucked out of sight and the light travels downwards, so there is very little glare and very little upward spill.

The effect can be subtle or dramatic depending on the beam angle and spacing. Narrow beams spaced along a brick or flint wall create a rhythmic series of scallops, which can look wonderful on a long, plain elevation. Wider beams give a softer, more continuous wash. Soffit downlights over a front door or a set of French doors double as task lighting, lighting the threshold for anyone arriving or stepping out.

A few practical points are worth mentioning. Soffit depth varies a great deal, and older homes with timber soffits need careful attention to fire safety, ventilation and access for cabling. Newer homes with uPVC soffits need fittings designed for shallow installation. The downlights should have a well-recessed source and good glare control, because they are often seen from below at close quarters. And the colour temperature should be matched carefully to any other lighting on that elevation.

Silhouetting and shadowing

Silhouetting places a lit surface behind an object so that the object appears as a dark shape against it. A washed rendered wall behind a clipped box ball, a sculpture, an olive tree or a pleached hornbeam creates a crisp, graphic effect that looks especially good from indoors.

Shadowing is the reverse: a light placed in front of an object throws its shadow onto a wall behind. A light at the base of a multi-stem tree or an acer, aimed through it onto a pale wall, projects a large, soft shadow of the branches onto the house. When the breeze moves the branches, the shadows move too, which brings a gentle sense of life to the facade. We use this sparingly, but when it works it is one of the most magical effects in the whole repertoire.

Accenting doors, windows and details

Some of the most satisfying architectural lighting is also the smallest. A narrow beam on a carved datestone, a light on a stained glass fanlight from outside, a soft glow on a beautiful front door, a highlight on a wall-mounted sculpture or a wisteria trunk: these small accents add richness and charm without adding much light overall. They are also a good way to celebrate details that make a house unique, and that the owners are often rightly proud of.

" Flint is my favourite wall in the world to light. Put a small fitting right at the foot of it, turn the angle so the light just skims the surface, and every stone lights up like it’s been polished. I always test it with the client standing on the lane, because two or three centimetres either way makes all the difference. "

The arrival: lighting the front door, porch and steps

The route from the pavement or drive to your front door is the part of your exterior home lighting that you, your family and your visitors use most. It deserves particular care, because it has to be safe, welcoming and flattering to the house all at once.

Framing the front door

The front door is the natural focal point of most facades, and lighting should draw the eye to it gently. The traditional approach is a pair of wall lanterns either side of the door, which can look lovely on a period house if the lanterns are well proportioned and fitted with warm, low-output lamps. The problem with many lanterns is glare: a bare bright lamp at eye level dazzles anyone approaching and actually makes the doorway harder to see.

A designer’s approach often combines a decorative lantern, chosen mainly for its daytime appearance and run at a very low level, with a concealed source that does the real work. That might be a small downlight in the porch ceiling or canopy, a discreet fitting above the door lighting the step and doormat, or a pair of narrow uplights grazing the door surround. The door is framed, the threshold is lit and nobody is dazzled.

We also think about colour. A deep green, navy or black door can absorb a great deal of light and look almost invisible at night unless the surround is lit. A pale door or a timber door with a natural finish reflects more light and may need very little. Door furniture in polished brass or nickel will catch any light nearby, which can add a lovely sparkle.

Lighting the porch

Porches come in many forms across the South East: the recessed porch of a 1930s semi, the tiled and pillared porch of an Edwardian villa, a lean-to glazed porch on a Victorian terrace, a traditional oak porch on a cottage, or a contemporary flat canopy. Each suggests a slightly different treatment.

A recessed porch can be lit from a single small downlight set into its ceiling, which makes the whole alcove glow and lights the quarry tiles or mosaic floor beautifully. An open oak porch can be lit with uplights at the foot of each post, with the light terminating on the underside of the roof. A glazed porch is best lit from inside, with a soft pendant or wall light that makes it glow like a lantern when seen from the street. A contemporary canopy lends itself to a linear LED concealed along its edge or a pair of recessed downlights.

The house number and letterbox

It sounds like a small thing, but a clearly visible house number is a gift to visitors, taxi drivers, delivery drivers and, most importantly, emergency services. Many house numbers in Sussex streets are simply impossible to read at night. A small, dedicated light on the number, or a number positioned within an existing pool of light, makes a real difference. Illuminated house number plaques are available, but we usually prefer to light a well-chosen number with a discreet fitting so that it reads as part of the architecture.

The letterbox and parcel box, if you have one, should also sit within the lit area so that post and deliveries can be managed easily after dark.

Step lights and outdoor ground lighting

Steps are the single most important place for task lighting around a house. Each tread should be clearly visible, and the edge of each step should be distinguishable from the one below. Recessed step lights set into the riser or the side wall, with a louvred or hooded face that throws light down onto the tread, are the classic solution. They are low glare, low level and very effective. The RHS highlighted exactly this kind of soft, unobtrusive low-level lighting for paths and steps as one of its take-home trends from Chelsea 2024 [1].

Outdoor ground lighting more broadly covers recessed uplights, marker lights set into paving, and small path lights. Recessed ground lights are wonderful for uplighting architecture from a paved area, as they sit flush with the surface and disappear by day. They do need careful specification: they must be rated for the loads they will bear (a drive light needs to withstand vehicles), they must be able to cope with standing water, and the glass can get hot on some older designs, which matters where children or pets walk barefoot. Modern LED ground lights run much cooler, and many have anti-glare optics or tilted light sources so that the beam can be angled onto a wall without anyone looking straight into it.

Marker lights, tiny points of light set flush into a path or the edge of a terrace, are useful for guidance without lighting the whole surface. We use them sparingly, because a long runway of bright dots can quickly look like an airport.

" In Brighton and Hove a lot of the villas have steep front steps up from the pavement, and they’re often the darkest part of the whole house. A couple of step lights set into the side wall, hooded so they throw light down, make an enormous difference to anyone carrying shopping or a sleeping child. It’s the one bit of lighting I’d never leave out. "

Garage exterior lighting and driveways

The side of the house given over to cars is often the least loved part of a property, and garage exterior lighting tends to consist of a single bright security light that switches on every time a cat walks past. It does not have to be this way. Driveways and garages can be lit safely and practically while still looking considered.

Garage exterior lighting that works

A garage needs practical light at the door so that you can see to open it, park, unload the car and find the side door. A pair of wall lights either side of the garage door, or a downlight in the soffit above, usually covers this well. Where a garage has been converted, or is a detached structure in the style of the house, it can also take accent lighting: an oak-framed cart lodge with its posts gently uplit looks wonderful, for example.

We usually recommend that garage lighting is controlled separately from the decorative front lighting, and that at least some of it responds to a sensor or to the car’s arrival through a smart control, so that it is there when you need it and off when you do not.

Lighting the driveway edges

A driveway is often a large area of gravel, block paving or tarmac, and lighting the whole surface would need a great deal of light. It is usually far more effective to light the edges: a low wall, a hedge, a line of planting or a kerb. Light on the edges defines the space, shows where the drive begins and ends, and gives enough ambient light to move around safely.

Low bollards, if well chosen and well spaced, can mark a long drive, and recessed drive-over uplights can pick out the trunks of trees or the face of a wall. Where cars will turn or park, the fittings need to be robust and positioned so that tyres, wheels and snow shovels cannot damage them. We are always careful to avoid lights that shine directly at drivers as they turn in, because being dazzled at the moment of manoeuvring is the last thing anyone needs.

Security without floodlights

Many homeowners install a floodlight for security, often a 4000K or cooler LED with a wide beam and a motion sensor. The intention is good, but the result is often counterproductive. A harsh floodlight that switches on suddenly creates deep shadows beyond its beam, dazzles anyone looking towards it, and causes annoyance for neighbours and wildlife. Council guidance on light nuisance suggests using fewer fittings, beam angles below 70 degrees, motion sensors and switching lights off when they are not needed [16].

A gentle, layered scheme with warm light on the facade, the entrances and the drive edges tends to make a house feel more obviously occupied and cared for. Where security lighting is genuinely needed, we prefer to design it as a separate scene: well-shielded fittings aimed downwards, triggered only when needed, and perhaps linked to cameras or an alarm. Smart controls also allow you to raise the level of the existing decorative scheme when a sensor is triggered, rather than switching on a separate floodlight. We talk more about this in the controls section.

Boundary walls, gates and trees near the house

The immediate surroundings of the house frame the architecture and are often seen at the same time as the facade. Boundary walls, gates and trees close to the building need to be considered as part of the same composition.

Boundary walls and gates

Front boundary walls in the South East are often beautiful in their own right: flint with brick copings, knapped flint with rounded tops, Victorian brick with stone caps, or clipped yew hedges. A low flint wall along a village lane, softly grazed from the garden side, creates a lovely sense of arrival and gives the house a frame without lighting the house itself very much.

Gates and gate piers are natural points of emphasis. A pair of brick piers can be uplit with narrow beams, or fitted with a pair of pier cap lanterns if the style suits. A timber or iron gate can be lit from behind, so that its outline is silhouetted against a lit path or wall. Electric gates need their own practical lighting for keypads and intercoms.

Rear boundaries matter too. The back wall or fence of a garden is often the furthest thing you see from the kitchen, and lighting it softly pushes the perceived boundary of the garden outwards. Contemporary walls in rammed earth, gabion and reclaimed brick featured strongly at Chelsea 2025 [2], and these textured materials take grazing light wonderfully. Where the boundary is shared with a neighbour, we take particular care that no light spills over the top.

Moonlighting from trees near the house

Moonlighting is a technique in which fittings are placed high up in a mature tree and aimed downwards through the branches. The light filters through the canopy and falls on the ground, a terrace or the side of the house in a dappled pattern that resembles moonlight. It is one of the most natural-looking effects in exterior lighting and works particularly well near a house, where a mature oak, beech or chestnut can cast soft, moving shadows across a lawn, a drive or a terrace.

Moonlighting needs a suitable tree with enough height and structure, careful attention to the health of the tree (fixings must never damage the bark or restrict growth), and good access for maintenance. Because the light points downwards, it is inherently more sky-friendly than uplighting. It is, however, worth being mindful of wildlife in mature trees, particularly bats, which we discuss in the section on neighbours and the law.

Uplighting trees close to the building

Trees near the house can also be uplit, which creates a glowing canopy that becomes a focal point from indoors. A multi-stem birch, an amelanchier or a Japanese maple near a terrace or extension can look beautiful uplit from one or two concealed spike lights. John Cullen Lighting uplit multi-stem trees and used discreet spike fittings within the foliage for a soft glow at Chelsea in 2024 [3], and cross-lit trees from two directions at Chelsea in 2023 to give a more three-dimensional effect [4].

The RHS notes that uplighting trees can pose a risk to night-flying wildlife [13], so we think carefully about which trees to uplight, keep levels low, aim precisely into the canopy rather than past it, and use timers so that lights are off for most of the night.

The best tree to light is often the one right outside the kitchen window, not the grand one at the bottom of the garden. It’s what you see every evening. A multi-stem birch with a bit of soft light up through it looks beautiful against the dark, and it makes the room inside feel twice the size.

The back of the house: extensions, terraces, garden rooms and water

The rear of a house is where most families actually live in the evening, and it is where exterior lighting has the greatest effect on daily life. It is also where modern extensions, terraces and outbuildings create both opportunities and challenges.

Glass extensions and the problem of reflection

Large areas of glazing are wonderful by day and can feel like a black wall at night. The key to overcoming reflection is balance. When the light level outside is reasonably close to the light level inside, the glass becomes transparent again. That does not mean flooding the garden with light; it means turning down the interior lighting a little in the evening and placing enough light outside, on vertical surfaces at various depths, for the eye to read the view.

We avoid fittings that are visible directly through the glass from the main seating areas, as bright points outside are distracting and create their own reflections. Soffit downlights over the doors, lighting the terrace immediately outside, are often a good starting point, followed by accents further out: a tree, a wall, a sculpture, the garden room at the end. The effect is one of depth, drawing the eye out into the garden in stages.

It also helps to think about the interior and exterior lighting together. Where we can, we coordinate the colour temperature and control of the kitchen or living room lighting with the lighting outside, so that one scene can dim the interior and bring up the garden at the same time.

Terraces and outdoor living areas

A terrace next to the house needs enough light to eat, talk and move around, but not so much that it feels like a stage. Downlights from the soffit or a pergola, low-level lights set into walls or steps, and soft light on surrounding planting usually combine to make a comfortable space. For dining, we like a pool of warm light over the table, which can come from a pendant under a covered area (a growing trend identified by Lights.co.uk for 2026 [9]) or from a carefully aimed downlight from above.

Outdoor kitchens need proper task lighting on the worktop and grill, just as an indoor kitchen does. We usually use a small, well-shielded downlight or a linear light under a shelf or canopy, on its own circuit so that it can be turned up while cooking and down while eating.

Garden rooms and outbuildings

Garden rooms, studios, home offices and summerhouses have become a feature of many South East gardens, and they are often the furthest point you see from the house. Lighting them well creates a destination and a focal point, and lighting the route to them makes them safe to use on a winter evening.

A garden room can be lit from inside, so that its windows glow warmly when seen from the house, and from outside, with soft light on its cladding, its entrance and any planting around it. A path to a garden office needs guidance lighting that is gentle and low level, perhaps a few bollards or step lights, so that the walk to and from work in the dark months is pleasant rather than a stumble. Where garden rooms have deep overhangs or canopies, these are ideal for concealing small downlights. The electrical supply to an outbuilding needs careful design, which we touch on in the section on wiring.

Water near the house

Rills, reflecting pools, water walls and fountains close to the house add sound and movement, and they can be beautiful at night. Still water acts as a mirror, and a softly lit wall or tree beyond a reflecting pool can appear doubled in its surface. Moving water catches light and sparkles. John Cullen Lighting used water feature lighting to create drama and backlit water at Chelsea [3][4], and water featured strongly again at Chelsea 2025, with rills, rain chains and shallow pools [2].

We generally prefer to light around water rather than into it. Lighting the wall behind a water wall, or the stonework around a rill, creates the effect without the fitting being visible and without attracting insects to the water. The RHS specifically advises against lighting ponds because of the effect on insects [13]. Where lights are placed in water, they must be rated for continuous immersion (IP68) and installed on circuits designed for the purpose.

" A lot of our work around Brighton is in smaller gardens where the back of the house and the garden are really one space, like our Tiered Courtyard on Lyndhurst Road. When the garden’s that close, the extension, the steps and the planting all have to be lit as one composition. Otherwise you end up with the house shouting and the garden whispering. "

Exterior light fixtures: fittings, finishes and specifications

Once we know what we want to light and how, we can choose exterior light fixtures to achieve it. This is where many schemes succeed or fail over the long term, because an outdoor fitting in the UK climate has a hard life. It must survive rain, frost, sun, salt, soil, strimmers, snails, clay, lawn feed and curious dogs, and still perform years later.

Warm metals: brass, bronze and copper

Solid brass, bronze and copper fittings are the traditional choice for high-quality exterior lighting, and for good reason. They are durable, they weather gracefully, and they develop a natural patina over time that helps them blend into planting and stonework. A solid brass spike light or wall light will darken to a soft brown within a season or two, and a copper fitting will move towards brown and eventually verdigris.

Warm metals are also very much in fashion. Lights.co.uk identified brass, bronze, copper and galvanised steel among the 2026 garden lighting trends [9], and John Cullen Lighting named vintage and Art Deco brass among its 2025 design trends [7]. For decorative wall lights and lanterns on period homes, an aged or antique brass finish can look particularly at home against brick and flint.

Black, anthracite and coloured finishes

Black and anthracite powder-coated aluminium fittings are widely used for contemporary homes, where they sit discreetly against dark window frames, charred timber and zinc. They are cost-effective and can be very good quality, but the coating must be well applied, and on the coast in particular aluminium needs a high-quality marine specification.

Coloured finishes are also emerging. Lights.co.uk notes fixtures in apricot, blue, deep green and brick red joining the usual anthracite [9]. At Chelsea 2024, the Boodles National Gallery Garden painted its lights to match the planting so that they disappeared by day [1], and John Cullen Lighting used olive green fittings to hide within planting [3]. The principle is useful at home: a fitting that matches the surface it sits against, whether that is a flint wall, a painted render or a clipped hedge, will vanish in daylight.

Marine grade for coastal air

For homes within a few miles of the sea, and certainly for anything on the seafront, we specify marine grade materials. That usually means solid brass, bronze, copper, 316 grade stainless steel, or aluminium with a specialist marine coating. Standard 304 stainless steel and ordinary powder-coated aluminium can corrode surprisingly quickly in salt air. Screws, fixings and cable glands need to be of compatible materials too, as mixing metals can cause galvanic corrosion.

We also think about exposure. A fitting in a sheltered porch facing inland has a much easier life than one on a south-facing wall catching spray and wind off the Channel. Regular gentle cleaning with fresh water helps, and we build this into our aftercare advice for coastal clients.

IP ratings explained

Every outdoor fitting should carry an IP (ingress protection) rating, defined in the international standard IEC 60529. The first digit relates to protection against solid objects and dust, and the second to protection against water. For exterior lighting, the numbers you are most likely to see are IP44, protection against splashing water; IP65, protection against water jets; IP67, protection against temporary immersion; and IP68, protection against continuous immersion.

NICEIC advises a minimum of IP44 for outdoor equipment and IP66 for sockets [19]. In practice, for fittings in exposed positions or at ground level, we usually specify IP65 or higher, and for anything recessed into the ground, where water can collect, IP67 or IP68. Fittings used in water features must be IP68. It is worth remembering that the IP rating applies to the whole installation, not just the fitting: a well-rated fitting connected with a poorly sealed joint will still let water in.

Glare control

Glare is the enemy of good exterior lighting. A bright source seen directly makes everything around it harder to see, and it is uncomfortable and unwelcoming. John Cullen Lighting’s guidance is to aim for low glare so that you see the effect rather than the source [6].

We control glare in several ways. We choose fittings with deeply recessed light sources, honeycomb louvres, snoots or cowls. We position fittings so that they are not in the line of sight from the main viewpoints, including from inside the house. We aim them carefully, and we check them at night. And we keep light levels modest, because lower light levels need less glare control in the first place.

Beam angles and light output

The beam angle of a fitting determines how widely it spreads light. As a rough guide, 10 to 15 degrees is a narrow spot suitable for a slim column, a tree trunk or a small detail; 24 to 36 degrees is a medium beam suited to a pier, a small tree or a doorway; and 60 degrees or more is a wide flood suited to washing a wall. Many good quality fittings have interchangeable optics or adjustable beams, which is very helpful during commissioning.

Light output, measured in lumens, needs to be matched to the task. In general terms, a path bollard might need around 100 to 200 lumens, a small tree uplight 200 to 400, and a large canopy 400 to 800. Architectural features vary a great deal depending on their size, surface and surroundings. A pale rendered wall reflects much more light than dark flint or brick. In a street already lit by a lamp post, less may be needed. We always err on the side of lower output and use dimming to fine-tune.

" Clients often pick a fitting because it looks lovely in a catalogue photograph, but I’m much more interested in what it looks like after five winters in clay soil. Solid brass and bronze just get better with age. By the second summer you can hardly see them among the planting, which is exactly what you want. "

Colour temperature and colour rendering for exterior lighting

Two of the most important, and least understood, qualities of light are its colour temperature and its colour rendering. Getting these right is what makes a scheme feel warm, natural and flattering, rather than cold or artificial.

Why 2700K is our usual starting point

Colour temperature is measured in kelvin (K). Lower numbers are warmer and more amber; higher numbers are cooler and bluer. As a rough guide, 2200K to 2400K is candle-like, 2700K is warm white, 3000K is soft white and 4000K is cool white. John Cullen Lighting recommends 2700K for residential gardens, with 2400K or lower for more intimate areas [6].

For the exterior of homes in the South East, we almost always start at 2700K. It flatters brick, flint, stone, timber and render, it feels welcoming and domestic, and it sits comfortably alongside the warm light spilling from the windows. Warmer temperatures around 2200K to 2400K can be lovely for a terrace, a dining area or a cottage entrance, where a candlelit atmosphere is wanted. Cooler light, 3000K and above, is occasionally useful for particular plants, such as silver-leaved species, or for very contemporary architecture in grey and white, but we use it sparingly around a house.

Warmer light also has environmental benefits. DarkSky International lists warm-coloured light among its five principles for responsible outdoor lighting [12], and the Bat Conservation Trust and Institution of Lighting Professionals guidance on bats recommends warm colour temperatures, with 2700K or lower as the common recommendation [14].

Colour rendering (CRI)

Colour rendering describes how faithfully a light source shows the true colours of objects, measured by the colour rendering index (CRI) on a scale up to 100. Cheap LEDs often have a CRI in the low 80s or below, which can make red brick look muddy, planting look dull and skin tones look grey. John Cullen Lighting recommends CRI 90 or above for outdoor lighting [6], and we agree. The difference is particularly noticeable on warm materials like brick, terracotta, oak and the rich reds of acers and cornus.

Consistency across the scheme

One of the most common problems we see in DIY or piecemeal exterior lighting is inconsistency: a warm lantern by the front door, a cool white floodlight on the garage, a bluish spike light in the border and a slightly green strip light under the pergola. The eye notices these differences immediately, and the house looks disjointed.

A designed scheme uses the same colour temperature and a similar quality of light throughout, unless there is a deliberate reason to vary it. We also choose fittings from reputable manufacturers who control colour consistency between batches, so that a fitting added in a few years’ time matches the originals.

Controls and scenes: Rako, Shelly, timers and dimming

The most beautiful exterior lighting scheme can be spoiled by poor control. Lights left on all night, lights that come on at the wrong time, lights that are too bright for a quiet evening: all of these undermine the design and waste energy. Good controls make a scheme easy to live with and allow it to change through the evening and the seasons. Smart, personalisable lighting has been identified as a key trend by a number of commentators [7][10], and it is now an expected part of any considered scheme.

Zoning and circuits

The foundation of good control is zoning: dividing the exterior lighting into separate circuits so that different areas and layers can be controlled independently. A typical home might have a zone for the front entrance, one for the front facade accents, one for the drive and garage, one for the terrace, one for the rear accents and trees, and one for the garden room and route to it. John Cullen Lighting emphasises the value of dimming and zoning in its outdoor lighting guide [6].

Rako lighting control

We use Rako lighting controls on many of our projects. Rako is a British system that allows lighting throughout the home and garden to be dimmed and controlled from wall keypads, handheld remotes and smartphone apps, and it can be installed without rewiring the whole house. Its real strength is scenes: pre-set combinations of lights at particular levels that can be recalled with a single button. A “Welcome” scene might bring up the front door and path at dusk, a “Dinner” scene might light the terrace table softly and bring up the accents at the back while dimming the kitchen, and a “Night” scene might turn everything off except a low light at the door.

Shelly smart devices

For simpler schemes, or for adding smart control to existing circuits, we often use Shelly smart relays and dimmers. These small devices fit behind switches or in enclosures and allow lights to be controlled by app, schedule, voice assistant or automation. They are cost-effective and flexible, and they integrate with many smart home platforms. They are a good fit for garden rooms, garage lighting and smaller homes where a full lighting control system would be more than is needed.

Astronomical timers

An astronomical timer calculates sunset and sunrise times for your location every day of the year, so lights can be set to come on at dusk and switch off at a fixed time, without the need for adjustment as the seasons change. This is much more reliable than a photocell, which can be fooled by shade, dirt or passing car headlights, and much more convenient than a simple clock timer. Most smart control systems, including Rako and Shelly, include astronomical scheduling.

We usually recommend that decorative exterior lighting switches off at a sensible hour, perhaps 10 or 11 o’clock, with only essential lights remaining after that, and perhaps nothing at all after midnight. The RHS advises switching decorative lights off when they are not in use [13], and the ILP guidance on obtrusive light uses the idea of a curfew, often 23:00, after which stricter limits apply [15].

Dimming

Almost every exterior lighting scheme we design is dimmable. Dimming allows us to fine-tune each zone during commissioning, so that the balance between layers is just right, and it allows you to adjust the mood through the evening. It also extends the life of fittings and reduces energy use. It is worth ensuring that the fittings, drivers and controls are all compatible, because mismatched components can flicker or buzz when dimmed.

Security versus ambience

Security lighting and decorative lighting have different jobs and should usually be treated as separate scenes. Rather than a separate floodlight, we often link motion sensors to the existing scheme so that, when triggered, the facade and path lights rise to a higher level for a few minutes before fading back down. This gives the security benefit without the harsh shadows and dazzle of a floodlight, and without disturbing the neighbours every time a fox trots across the drive. Where cameras are used, we coordinate the lighting with them, as many modern cameras perform well in low light and actually struggle with the harsh contrast of floodlights.

" Winter evenings here start so early that lighting on a simple on and off switch just doesn’t work. With an astronomical timer, the front of the house is gently lit by the time the children get home from school in December, and everything’s switched off by eleven. You set it once and forget about it, which is how it should be. "

Wiring, regulations and safety: a gentle guide

Electrical work outdoors carries more risk than work indoors, because water, soil, tools and people are all in close proximity to cables and fittings. This section is not a technical manual, and it is not a substitute for a qualified electrician, but it may help you understand what a safe installation involves and what questions to ask.

Part P and Building Regulations

In England and Wales, Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in dwellings. NICEIC explains that some garden electrical work is notifiable to Building Control, unless it is carried out by a registered competent person who can self-certify the work [19]. In practice, this means that installing new circuits for exterior lighting is best done by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who will notify the work and issue you with the appropriate certificates. NICEIC advises keeping the certificate [19], and it will be useful when you come to sell your home.

BS 7671 and RCD protection

All electrical installations in the UK should be designed and installed to BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, currently in its 18th Edition. For outdoor circuits, this includes requirements for protection against electric shock, most importantly the use of residual current devices (RCDs). An RCD monitors the current in a circuit and disconnects it very quickly if it detects a leak to earth, such as might happen if a cable is damaged or a person touches a live part. NICEIC notes that all outdoor sockets should be RCD protected [19], and in practice we apply RCD protection to all our exterior lighting circuits.

Cable routes and depth

Cables in the garden and around the house need to be protected from damage. Buried cables should be at sufficient depth, suitably protected by armour or conduit, and routed where they are unlikely to be disturbed by digging, planting or future building work [19]. We record cable routes on the lighting plan so that you and future gardeners know where they are. Where cables run along walls or through soffits, they should be neatly fixed, suitably rated for outdoor use and protected from UV and mechanical damage.

Sussex clay soils can make trenching heavy work, and chalk soils on the Downs have their own challenges. We often coordinate cable installation with landscaping works so that trenches are dug once, before new paving or planting goes in. If you are planning a new extension, terrace or driveway, it is well worth installing ducts and cable routes during the build, even if you are not ready to install the lighting yet.

Low voltage versus mains

Exterior lighting can run at mains voltage (230V) or at extra-low voltage (usually 12V or 24V) through a transformer or driver. Each has its advantages. Extra-low voltage systems are inherently safer if a cable is damaged, the cables are thinner and more flexible, and the fittings are often smaller. They are well suited to spike lights in planting and to smaller gardens. Mains voltage systems can run over longer distances without voltage drop and suit larger fittings and more extensive schemes. Many of our schemes combine both, with mains cabling to strategic points and low-voltage drivers serving local groups of fittings.

Whatever the system, the drivers and transformers should be housed in accessible, weatherproof enclosures, ideally in a garage, utility room or a dedicated box, and properly ventilated.

Neighbours, planning and the law

Most exterior home lighting schemes never come near a legal question, but it is worth understanding the framework, because a considerate scheme is also a lawful one. We cover dark skies in much more depth in our article on designing with darkness, so here we keep things brief.

Under section 102 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, artificial light from premises that is prejudicial to health or a nuisance can be a statutory nuisance, and councils can serve abatement notices; ignoring one is an offence [16]. Council guidance suggests talking to neighbours first, using fewer fittings, keeping beam angles narrow, using motion sensors and switching off when lights are not needed [16]. The Institution of Lighting Professionals’ guidance on obtrusive light divides places into environmental zones, from E0 (protected dark landscapes) to E4 (urban centres), with stricter limits on light into windows and upward light in darker zones and after a curfew hour, often 23:00 [15]. A village on the South Downs sits in a very different zone from central Brighton, and the scheme should reflect that.

Wildlife matters too. All UK bats are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and lighting near a roost could be an offence; the ILP and Bat Conservation Trust guidance recommends keeping roosts and flight corridors dark, using warm light, low mounting heights, shielding and timers [14]. Old Sussex houses with clay tiles, barge boards and nearby mature trees are exactly the kind of place bats like, so we keep an eye out for signs of them. And the wider picture is worth remembering: CPRE’s 2023 Star Count found that only 5 per cent of participants enjoyed truly dark skies [17]. DarkSky International’s five principles, that light should be useful, targeted, low level, controlled and warm-coloured [12], are a very good summary of how we approach every house.

Listed buildings and homes in conservation areas may need consent for fittings fixed to the building, so it is always worth checking with your local planning authority before drilling into a historic facade.

" The easiest way to keep neighbours happy is to aim light down and at something, never out into the street or over the fence. I’ll often stand in next door’s garden, with their permission, while we commission, just to check nothing’s shining into their bedroom. It takes ten minutes and saves a lot of awkwardness. "

Common exterior lighting mistakes to avoid

Over the years we have been asked to rescue a good number of exterior schemes. The same handful of mistakes comes up again and again, and most are easy to avoid at the planning stage:

• Too much light. Overbright fittings flatten the architecture, create glare and annoy neighbours. Less light, well placed, almost always looks better.

• Lighting everything evenly. Without contrast there is no drama. Choose what matters and leave the rest dark.

• Visible, glaring sources. Bare lamps at eye level and uplights you can see from the sofa draw the eye away from what they are meant to reveal.

• Mixed colour temperatures. Warm lanterns, cool floodlights and bluish spikes on one house look disjointed.

• Cheap fittings in exposed places. Poor quality coatings and seals fail quickly, especially near the sea.

• Uplighting into the sky. Beams that shoot past the eaves waste energy and add to skyglow.

• Forgetting the view from indoors. Designing only for the street misses the viewpoint you use most.

• No zoning or dimming. A single switch for everything means the scheme is always either too much or off.

• Retrofitting after the landscaping. Lifting new paving to lay cable is expensive and disruptive; plan ducts early.

  
  

Costs and budgeting for exterior lighting

Every house is different, so it is difficult to give meaningful prices without seeing a property, and we do not publish set prices for design and installation. It may help to know that the Federation of Master Builders puts the cost of a single exterior light, fitted by a qualified electrician, at somewhere between £250 and £750 [18]. A designed architectural scheme involves many fittings, controls, cabling, groundwork and commissioning, so the overall budget is naturally a larger undertaking.

The main things that influence cost are the number and quality of fittings, the distances cables need to travel, whether groundwork is required (and whether it can be coordinated with other landscaping), the control system chosen, and access to soffits, walls and trees. Solid metal fittings cost more at the outset but last far longer, and quality LED sources use very little energy, so the running costs of a well designed scheme are usually modest.

If budget is a consideration, a phased approach works well. We can design the whole scheme at the start, install the cabling and ducts while the ground is open, and then add fittings in stages. Starting with the entrance and the view from the main living space usually gives the greatest benefit for the first phase.

From design to aftercare: how we work

Our process has four stages: Design, Installation, Commissioning and Aftercare [20]. Each one matters, and the last two are often where a good scheme becomes a great one.

We begin with a conversation about how you use your home, followed by a visit, ideally including time after dark. We then prepare a lighting design showing what will be lit, how and from where, together with a fitting schedule, control zones and cable routes. We are happy to work alongside architects and garden designers, and we regularly collaborate with partners such as Fern & Pine Design Studio, Studio Fitzpatrick and Your Garden Design.

Design

We begin with a conversation about how you use your home, followed by a visit, ideally including time after dark. We then prepare a lighting design showing what will be lit, how and from where, together with a fitting schedule, control zones and cable routes. We are happy to work alongside architects and garden designers, and we regularly collaborate

Installation

Our team installs the cabling, fittings, drivers and controls, working carefully around existing planting and hard landscaping. As qualified electricians, we test and certify the installation and notify it where required.

Commissioning

Commissioning is where we return after dark to aim, adjust and balance every light. We change beam angles, move spike lights a few centimetres, set dimming levels and programme scenes and timers. This is the stage that turns a set of correctly installed fittings into a finished design, and we would never skip it.

After care

Gardens grow and seasons change. Shrubs swallow uplights, trees mature and homeowners’ routines shift. We offer aftercare visits to re-aim fittings, adjust scenes, clean lenses and check the installation, so that the scheme continues to look its best for years.

" Commissioning is my favourite night of any project. The fittings are all in, but it’s only when we’re out there in the dark, nudging each light a few degrees and turning the levels down, that the house really comes to life. Clients are usually standing on the lawn saying “oh” by the end. "

Two illustrative Sussex examples

To show how these ideas come together, here are two short illustrations. They are fictional composites, drawn from the kinds of homes and briefs we see regularly, rather than real named clients. For real projects, our case studies include the Moroccan Courtyard in Brighton and the Tiered Courtyard on Lyndhurst Road, Brighton [20].

A flint-fronted cottage near Steyning

Imagine a nineteenth century flint and brick cottage on a lane just outside Steyning, with a low flint front wall, a brick path to a small timber porch, a climbing rose over the door and a chalky garden rising towards the Downs behind. The owners want a warm welcome, a safe path and a gentle presence in the lane that does not spoil the dark village night.

In a scheme like this, we would graze the flint facade from the base with a few small fittings set close to the wall, lighting only the ground floor and letting the light fade softly before the eaves. A single downlight in the porch ceiling would light the step and doormat, while the existing lantern would be fitted with a very warm, low-output lamp purely for character. Two small hooded path lights would guide the way from the gate, and the front wall would be left largely unlit, apart from a soft glow on the gate piers. Everything would run at 2700K or warmer, on an astronomical timer that switches the decorative lighting off at ten. At the back, a single mature tree might be gently moonlit to create dappled light on the lawn seen from the kitchen, subject to checking for bats.

A 1930s semi in Worthing with a new rear extension

Now imagine a 1930s semi in Worthing, with a rendered bay, a recessed porch and a driveway to one side, plus a new single-storey kitchen extension at the back with wide sliding doors onto a porcelain terrace. The family want the front to feel cared for, the drive to be practical, and the kitchen to look out onto the garden rather than their own reflection.

At the front, a recessed downlight in the porch would make the alcove glow and light the house number, and a soft wash from the soffit would reveal the curve of the bay. Garage exterior lighting would come from a pair of wall lights either side of the garage door on a separate sensor-linked scene, and the drive edge would be defined by light on the low boundary hedge rather than bollards. At the back, soffit downlights over the sliding doors would light the terrace, a multi-stem birch would be uplit a few metres out, and the rear fence would be washed softly to push the garden’s boundary outwards. Rako or Shelly scenes would link the kitchen lighting with the garden, so that one button dims the interior and brings up the view.

Exterior lighting trends for 2025 and 2026

Trends come and go, and we always encourage clients to choose timeless designs that will outlast fashion, a point Homes & Gardens also makes about choosing neutral designs [10]. That said, several current trends align closely with good architectural lighting practice.

Minimalist architectural lighting

John Cullen Lighting identifies minimalist architectural lighting, with recessed, cove and hidden LED sources, as a key trend [7]. Outside, this translates into light built into the architecture itself: linear LEDs in soffits and under steps, recessed ground lights and fittings that disappear into the fabric of the house.

Warm metals, earth tones and organic finishes

Brass, bronze and copper are enjoying a revival [7][9], alongside earth-toned finishes [9]. Livingetc’s 2026 predictions highlight organic forms and natural materials [8], and there is a noticeable move away from faux-Edison styles [10]. These finishes sit beautifully against flint, brick and oak.

Smart and adaptive controls

Smart, adaptive and personalisable lighting features across many trend reports [7][8][10], including biophilic lighting that follows daylight rhythms [8]. At Chelsea 2026, the Soho Lighting stand, inspired by a Victorian orangery, featured kinetic battery-free switches [11], a small but charming sign of how control is evolving.

Low-level lighting from Chelsea

Low-level lighting was one of the RHS’s seven take-home trends from Chelsea 2024, with soft, unobtrusive light for paths and steps [1]. Lighting at Chelsea itself relied on dark sky friendly downward fittings for paths and discreet fittings hidden in planting [3], and John Cullen Lighting notes that lighting at the show requires precision and sensitivity [5]. We think that is a lovely description of good exterior home lighting too.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best colour temperature for exterior home lighting?

For most homes in the UK, 2700K warm white is the best starting point, with 2200K to 2400K for intimate areas such as terraces and cottage doorways [6]. Warm light flatters brick, flint and timber and is kinder to wildlife [12][14].

Do I need planning permission for outside lighting?

Most domestic exterior lighting does not need planning permission, but listed buildings and homes in conservation areas may need consent for fittings on the building. Lighting that causes a nuisance can be dealt with under statutory nuisance law [16].

Can I install exterior lighting myself?

Some plug-in low-voltage products are designed for DIY use, but new outdoor circuits may be notifiable under Part P and should be RCD protected [19]. We recommend using a registered electrician who can certify the work.

What IP rating do exterior light fixtures need?

NICEIC advises a minimum of IP44 for outdoor equipment [19]. We usually specify IP65 or above for exposed fittings, IP67 or IP68 for ground-recessed lights, and IP68 for anything in water.

How do I stop outdoor soffit lighting from looking like a runway?

Choose deeply recessed downlights with good glare control, space them to suit the wall and windows rather than at rigid intervals, use warm light and dim them. Scalloped light on the wall should be the feature, not the fittings themselves.

How much does exterior lighting cost?

It depends on the size of the scheme, the fittings, groundwork and controls. As a general reference, the Federation of Master Builders puts a single exterior light fitted by an electrician at £250 to £750 [18]. A designed scheme is best priced after a site visit.

Bringing your home gently to life after dark

Exterior home lighting, done well, is quiet. It reveals the texture of a flint wall, frames a front door, guides a foot onto a step and turns a black pane of glass back into a view. It respects neighbours, wildlife and the night sky, and it changes softly through the evening. Above all, it is designed around your house and the way you live in it.

If you would like to explore what architectural lighting could do for your home in Sussex, Surrey, Kent or South West London, we would love to hear from you. You can book a lighting consultation at toddrobertslighting.co.uk/contact, and we will arrange a visit, ideally after dark, to see your home as it really is at night.

Contact Us

References

1. RHS, “Seven take-home design trends at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024”. Royal Horticultural Society. https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/news/2024/take-home-design-trends

2. RHS, “Design ideas to inspire you from RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025”. Royal Horticultural Society. https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show/news/2025/chelsea-design-ideas

3. “Illuminating Chelsea Flower Show 2024”. John Cullen Lighting. https://www.johncullenlighting.com/illuminating-chelsea-flower-show-2024

4. “Shining a light on Chelsea Flower Show 2023”. John Cullen Lighting. https://www.johncullenlighting.com/shining-a-light-on-chelsea-flower-show-2023/

5. “Lighting sculptures at RHS Chelsea Flower Show”. John Cullen Lighting. https://www.johncullenlighting.com/lighting_sculptures_at_rhs_chelsea_flower_show

6. “Expert Outdoor Lighting Guide”. John Cullen Lighting. https://www.johncullenlighting.com/lighting-tips/garden-lighting-ideas/

7. “Lighting Design Trends 2025”. John Cullen Lighting. https://www.johncullenlighting.com/lighting_trends_2025

8. “The 5 outdoor lighting trends experts predict will rule in 2026”. Livingetc. https://www.livingetc.com/ideas/outdoor-lighting-trends-for-2026

9. “Lighting trends for the garden in 2026”. Architect Projects (from Lights.co.uk). https://architectprojects.co.uk/lighting-trends-for-the-garden-in-2026/

10. “Garden lighting trends 2025”. Homes & Gardens. https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/garden-lighting-trends

11. “RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026: inspiration beyond the gardens”. Elle Decoration. https://www.elledecoration.co.uk/design/events/a71349705/rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2026/

12. “Five principles for responsible outdoor lighting”. DarkSky International. https://darksky.org/resources/guides-and-how-tos/lighting-principles/

13. “How to light your garden without disturbing wildlife”. Royal Horticultural Society. https://www.rhs.org.uk/garden-design/how-to-light-your-garden

14. “Bats and artificial lighting at night: ILP Guidance Note GN08/23”. Bat Conservation Trust and Institution of Lighting Professionals. https://www.bats.org.uk/news/2023/08/bats-and-artificial-lighting-at-night-ilp-guidance-note-update-released and https://theilp.org.uk/gn08-bats-and-artificial-lighting-at-night/

15. “GN01/21 The reduction of obtrusive light”. Institution of Lighting Professionals. https://theilp.org.uk/resource/gn01-ilp-guidance-note-1-the-reduction-of-obtrusive-light-2021.html

16. Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, section 102. legislation.gov.uk. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/16/section/102 ; and “Statutory nuisance: lighting”. West Lindsey District Council. https://www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/environment-climate/environment/pollution-control/statutory-nuisance-lighting

17. “Only one in 20 of us can enjoy a starry sky: Star Count results”. CPRE. https://www.cpre.org.uk/news/only-one-in-20-of-us-can-enjoy-a-starry-sky-star-count-results-find/

18. “Top 10 kerb appeal features”. HomeOwners Alliance. https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/for-owners/kerb-appeal/

19. “Gardens and electrics: what you need to know”. NICEIC. https://niceic.com/householders/gardens-and-electrics-what-you-need-to-know/

20. Todd Roberts Lighting, website and case studies. https://www.toddrobertslighting.co.uk/case-studies