Porches and decks without light scan tend to seem dark and dreary. Your home’s exterior is like the face of your home, and you’ll want to put your best foot forward when it comes to your house’s face so you can put forth a welcoming and comforting vibe for your visitors, neighbors, and (most importantly) for you and your family!

Here are a few things that you’ll want to take into consideration when choosing the best lighting and light fixtures for your porch, entrance, deck, etc.

First of all, you’re going to want to take into consideration the size of the lights you want. You’ll want something that provides enough light for dark nights but isn’t too overpowering and allows the charm of your home to shine through. There’s a general rule for choosing a good light for your entrance; make sure the light fixture is about 1/3 or ¼ the size of your front door.

Next on the list is figuring out what color and style of light fixture you want. This will, of course, be greatly dictated by what the décor and makeup of your house is already. You’ll want to find something that doesn’t clash with you already established colors and style in your home.

The amount of illumination provided by your porch lights is also important. This depends on the size of the light, the strength of the bulbs, and the placement of the light fixtures. All these things will determine how much light will be provided.

Now that we’ve got those few things to take into consideration, where should your lights be placed? Well, front doors and entryways look great with two sconces or light fixtures on either side of them while for deck lighting a great choice is covered lights. Garage lights greatly depend on how many stalls you have and their size.

For all of these jobs, you’re going to need a professional electrician to get things set up for you just right so you can fully enjoy and bask in the light of your new exterior light fixtures.