Collection: Outdoor Lighting

The Approach

Entry, path, and the walk from the curb. This is the only outdoor lighting that is genuinely functional, so it gets specified first and lit lowest.

• Atlantis LED Path Light by Hinkley: Aluminum and glass on a 12V line, 15.63" or 22" tall, in Bronze, Hematite, Matte Bronze, Satin Black, Titanium, or Cedar. 150 lumens at 2700K from a 1.5W mini wedge lamp, MLV dimming on the transformer primary, wet rated and CSA certified, on showroom display. Mood: low, warm, and repeatable down a walkway.
• Bowman Outdoor LED Wall Light by Visual Comfort Modern: Sean Lavin's die-cast aluminum sconce with frosted acrylic lensing and a marine-grade powder coat, 4.5" or 6" tall, in Black, Bronze, Charcoal, or White, at 120V or 277V and 2700K or 3000K. 697 to 1163 lumens, downlight only, ELV dimming, wet rated to IP65, Dark Sky, Title 24, five-year warranty. Mood: a clean band of light on the wall beside the door.
• Turbo Outdoor LED Path Light by Visual Comfort Architectural: Also Sean Lavin, a finned cylinder in steel and aluminum with stainless hardware and impact-resistant acrylic, 6" across and 10.9" tall, in Black, Charcoal, or Bronze, with a concrete mount or stake kit. 1009 lumens at 2700K or 3000K, MLV dimming, wet rated to IP65, Title 24, five-year warranty. Mood: geometry projected onto the ground.

Rooms Without Ceilings

A covered patio is an interior room with weather in it. These are the fixtures that make it read as a room rather than as the outside of a house.

• Barbary Oval Outdoor Chandelier by Currey and Company: Hand-woven wicker and grass in an elongated oval, 52.75" wide and 13.25" tall, with milk-glass globes suspended inside and a drop adjustable from 18.5" to 60.5". Three E26 sockets, dimmable, wet rated, two-year warranty. Mood: alfresco dining, with a fixture that earns the term.
• Ansel Outdoor Flush Mount Ceiling Light by Z-Lite: An aluminum dome inside a curved cage, 10.9" across and 10.7" tall, in Black or Galvanized. Single E26 socket, dimmable, damp rated, three-year warranty. Mood: the porch light your porch already wanted.
• Capsule Outdoor Pendant Light by Crystorama: Brian Patrick Flynn's Art Deco dome in glass and steel on a chain-link suspension, 8" or 12.25" across, dropping to 87.25" or 95". One or three E26 sockets taking incandescent or LED lamps, wet rated, CSA certified, Title 24. Mood: retro, and rated for a truly open patio.

The House at Night

Facade, uplighting, and the shape of the building against the dark. Restraint matters most here, because the failure mode is a house that looks like a used car lot.

• Spot Light with Long Cowl by Hinkley: Cast aluminum and glass, 9.75" wide and 3.25" tall, on a 12V line with a long cowl to shield the source from view. Takes a 50W MR16 halogen lamp, dimmable, wet rated and CSA certified. Mood: aim it at a tree, not at a window.
• Hartwell Outdoor Pier Mount Light by Z-Lite: A tapered aluminum frame with textured glass for a column or garden wall, offered as a 4-, 5-, or 6-light at 24.63" to 34.63" tall, with a round or square mounting base. E12 candelabra sockets, dimmable, wet rated, three-year warranty. Mood: the gatepost, formalized.
• Shadow Box Outdoor Vertical Wall Light by Hubbardton Forge: Hand-forged metal and glass made in Vermont, 7.5" wide and 21.2" tall with a 4" extension, in nine metal finishes with eight accent options, and a Dark Sky Friendly version with an uplight inhibitor. Two E26 sockets, wet rated, ADA compliant, lifetime limited warranty, custom backplates available including house numbers. Mood: the piece you specify once and never replace.

Layered Outdoor Lighting Plan

Outdoors, the three layers are not decorative categories. They are three different problems.

The restraint rule: Pick two or three things worth lighting. A specimen tree, the entry, one wall texture. A yard with everything lit reads flat, and the neighbors notice.

Voltage, the decision that shapes the install: Atlantis, Turbo, and the Spot Light all run 12V off a transformer, meaning a single low-voltage run can serve the whole landscape and you can add fixtures later without new conduit. Mixing both is normal; knowing which is which before the electrician arrives is not always.

Ratings Cheat Sheet

The mistake to avoid: a damp-rated fixture on an exposed wall. It will work for a season and then fail at the gasket. If the fixture can be hit by rain blowing sideways, it needs wet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need low voltage, or can I just run line voltage everywhere?

Line voltage is simpler for anything mounted to the house, since the junction box is usually already there. Low voltage is dramatically easier for anything in the ground: one transformer, one buried cable, fixtures tapped in wherever you want them, and no conduit or permit complications for the run itself. Most complete plans use both, with the house on 120V and the landscape on 12V.

How warm should outdoor light be?

2700K, and warmer if you can get it. Cool light outdoors reads institutional and makes planting look grey. Atlantis runs 2700K only, Turbo and Bowman offer 2700K or 3000K, and the incandescent-socket fixtures here will land near 2700K with a standard warm lamp.

Is Dark Sky compliance just about the neighbors?

Partly, but it is also increasingly a code question. Many California jurisdictions now require dark sky compliant, full-cutoff exterior fixtures, and the practical effect is better light, because a shielded fixture puts its output on the ground instead of into the air.