Patio Lighting Ideas That Extend Your Outdoor Living Hours

The short answer: the best patio lighting combines soft ambient light from the patio roof, bright task lighting where you cook, and gentle accent and safety lighting on steps, paths and garden features. Plan it all before the patio is built, so the wiring is hidden and the fittings suit coastal conditions.

If you’ve ever had a great evening with family and friends cut short because it got dark and someone nearly missed the deck step, or you’ve found yourself barbecuing by phone torch, good lighting is the fix. It’s what turns a patio you use until sunset into one you enjoy well into the night.

In over 17 years of building patios, decks and pergolas on the Gold Coast, lighting is the detail homeowners most often tell us they wish they’d planned earlier.

4:58 pm

Gold Coast sunset in mid-June, so winter evenings start early

75%

Less energy used by LEDs than halogen bulbs (energy.gov.au)

5 to 10x

Longer life from LEDs than halogen bulbs (energy.gov.au)

17+

Years building patios, decks and pergolas on the Gold Coast

On a Gold Coast summer day, the middle of the day is often too hot to sit outside. The best hours for the backyard tend to be early morning and evening, once the heat drops. That means a big chunk of your outdoor living happens after dark.

Queensland doesn’t use daylight saving, so even in midsummer the sun is down before 7 pm, and in winter it sets before 5 pm. Here’s how early it gets dark through the year:

Sunset times for the Gold Coast on the 15th of each month (Australia/Brisbane time). Red bars are the months with sunsets after 6 pm.

Most patios are designed around daytime shade, yet it’s the lighting that decides whether people actually stay outside after dinner. An insulated roof does its job by day; after dark, the lights take over.

The easiest, neatest time to plan lighting is before the roof goes on. Insulated roof panels and framed ceilings can be set up for downlights, cable runs and fan mounts during construction, so nothing is surface-mounted or retrofitted later.

Think about where you’ll eat, where you’ll cook, where the kids will play, and where the steps, paths and pool edge are. Then plan the light points around those. Use this checklist in your first conversation with your builder:

• ✓  Mark where you’ll eat, cook, relax and walk
• ✓  Note every step, path, level change and pool edge
• ✓  Decide which lights you want to switch on from inside the house
• ✓  Ask for sensor lighting on side paths and near the bins
• ✓  Ask for a spare conduit or power point near the garden for future feature lighting
• ✓  Plan power for the outdoor fridge and appliances at the same time

If you’re planning a pergola or a landscaping job later, a spare conduit now means feature lighting can be added without digging up the lawn.

Good outdoor lighting works in layers, the same way a living room does:

Soft, even light for the whole area, usually from downlights or a fan light.

Typical fittings: Downlights, fan lights, LED strips

Brighter, focused light for cooking, prep and reading.

Typical fittings: Pendants, angled spotlights over the bench

Light that picks out features like a garden bed, a feature wall, trees or pergola beams.

Typical fittings: Up-and-down wall lights, spikes, festoons

Layering means you can turn off the bright stuff once dinner’s done and keep a softer atmosphere for the rest of the evening. Put each layer on its own switch, or use a dimmer, and you’ve got a lot more control.

Recessed LED downlights in an insulated patio roof give clean, even light with no hanging fittings. LED strip lighting tucked along a beam, under a bulkhead or around the edge of the ceiling adds a soft, linear glow that looks great from inside the house too.

LEDs make the most sense for outdoor areas. According to the Australian Government’s energy.gov.au:

Fewer bulb changes up a ladder is a real bonus on a high patio roof.

A ceiling fan with a built-in light gives you air movement and ambient light from one fitting, which is handy on humid summer nights when the air sits still.

• ✓  Choose a fan rated by the manufacturer for outdoor or covered outdoor use
• ✓  Indoor fans aren’t built for moisture and salt air
• ✓  Plan the fan location before the roof goes on, so the mount and wiring are properly supported

Where your patio attaches to the house, the shared wall is a great spot for wall lights or sconces.

• ✓  Up-and-down lights add texture to brick or rendered walls
• ✓  Lights beside the back door help with security and getting in and out after dark
• ✓  Fittings that match your home make the patio look like part of the house

Festoon and string lights, sometimes called fairy lights, are an easy way to add a relaxed, party feel, especially across a pergola or between beams.

If your patio connects to a deck, stairs or the pool, step and path lighting isn’t optional.

• ✓  Recessed step lights so everyone sees each tread
• ✓  Low pathway lights along garden paths
• ✓  Lighting along deck edges where the level changes
• ✓  Sensor lights on side paths and near the bins for security

An outdoor kitchen needs proper task lighting over the cooktop, barbecue and prep bench.

• ✓  A pendant light or a pair of spotlights angled at the bench works well
• ✓  Avoid a single light behind you, because your own shadow will fall across the cooking
• ✓  Plan power for the fridge and appliances at the same time

Light colour is measured in Kelvin (K). The lower the number, the warmer and more yellow the light looks:

For most patios, warm white for ambient and accent lighting, with slightly cooler or brighter task lighting over the barbecue, works well.

Gold Coast sea air, humidity and storms are tough on outdoor fittings. Look for the IP (Ingress Protection) rating on the box. The first number shows protection from dust and solids, and the second from water.

Near the beach, choose fittings with:

• ✓  Marine-grade stainless steel (316 grade)
• ✓  Powder-coated aluminium
• ✓  Other corrosion-resistant finishes

Give them a fresh-water rinse now and then to wash off salt.

In Queensland, electrical work must be carried out by a licensed electrician. That includes installing downlights, fans, wall lights, power points and any hardwired landscape lighting. It’s a safety issue and a legal one, and it keeps your insurance in order.

According to Queensland’s Electrical Safety Office, these all count as electrical work:

• ✓  Installing or moving a power point
• ✓  Replacing a light switch
• ✓  Fitting a ceiling fan in place of a light fitting
• ✓  Connecting any hardwired product, even one you’ve bought yourself

Good to know: the Electrical Safety Office says unlicensed or DIY electrical work is illegal in Queensland, with fines of up to $40,000 for individuals, and much higher penalties where someone is put at risk of death or serious injury.

The bonus of planning with your patio builder early is that we can coordinate the electrician’s rough-in during construction, so cables are concealed in the roof and frame.

1

Plan

We go through where you eat, cook and walk, and mark the light, fan and power points on the plans.

2

Rough-in

Before the ceiling goes on, the licensed electrician runs the cables and fixes the mounts.

3

Fit-off

Once the patio is finished, the lights and fans go in and get tested.