How to Light a Patio for Evenings
Light the edges, not the middle. Wash the surrounding walls, planting and any pergola structure with low, warm light, add discreet step and level-change lighting, and keep everything dimmable. The single biggest mistake is one bright floodlight on the house wall pointing at the table.
The four layers of a good terrace
- Boundary layer. Soft wash on the walls, fence or hedge that encloses the space. This defines the room and stops the terrace ending in blackness.
- Planting layer. Two or three small uplights on pots, ferns or a shrub at the terrace edge, for texture and shadow.
- Safety layer. Brick lights or recessed fittings in step risers and at changes of level. Low output, shielded, never in the eyeline.
- Table layer. Candles, a portable rechargeable lamp, or a very low pendant under a pergola. Nothing fixed, nothing bright.
Glare is the enemy
You sit still on a terrace, so any fitting in your field of view is looked at for two hours rather than glanced at. Every fitting around a seating area should be shielded, recessed, or aimed away from where people face. If you can see the lamp itself from the chair, it is wrong — regardless of how good the light on the wall looks.
Coastal terraces
Terraces on exposed plots above Hastings and along the front at St Leonards take the full weight of the salt wind. Fittings here should be solid brass or 316 stainless, and anything freestanding needs to be genuinely heavy or properly fixed down. Recessed fittings in the paving are often the best answer because there is nothing for the wind to catch.
| Terrace | Typical scheme | Guide cost |
|---|---|---|
| Small (up to ~15m²) | Wall wash, 2 uplights, step lighting | £1,400–£2,600 |
| Medium (15–35m²) | Layered scheme, 8–12 fittings, 2 zones | £2,600–£5,000 |
| Large with pergola or steps | 12–20 fittings, 3 zones, dimming | £5,000–£9,000 |
Please note: all prices here are estimated guide ranges for illustration only, not fixed quotes. Your actual price is confirmed in writing as part of a design visit.
Put the terrace on its own zone
The terrace is the zone you will use most and want at a different level from the rest of the garden. Separating it means you can have the seating area low and intimate while the tree at the end of the garden stays at full brightness.
Design the terrace around how you use it
A design visit starts from where you sit and what you do out there, then builds the scheme around it — with a fixed itemised quote and no obligation.
Book a Design Visit
Hastings Garden Lighting Co.
