If you have a deck or patio, they are one of the best areas for you to add outdoor lights to.  But if you’re just slapping up a few floodlights on the top of your house to provide the lighting that you want, you’re really missing out on the opportunity to make your deck look great and be an expression of who you are.  One great way that you can make your deck unique and set it apart from others is to use nautical outdoor lighting.

Nautical outdoor lighting fixtures are lights that are either lights that were previously used on ships or replicas of those lights.  These lights can come from any time period from the dawn of sailing to the modern era.  They usually all have a basic, functional design that is weather resistant and designed to hold up to the ravages of the sea.  To do this, the lights usually have a guard around them and are made of a durable material like stainless steel or copper.

These lights can be used on your patio to create any number of great, unique looks.  Make sure that you paid them with a few pieces of nautical décor as well to create an even better atmosphere.  Objects such as life preservers or life jackets with ship names on them or rustic steering wheels or other ship parts can really add to how your deck looks and make it uniquely yours.

If you’re installing lighting on your deck or patio, you shouldn’t be just trying to install the same bland lighting that everyone else does.  Instead, try to make you deck a unique extension to your home and have fun with the process.  One way to do this is by installing nautical lights.  These lights are sleek an d functional, but also look great on nearly every deck.

photo credit: elisfanclub

Putting lights on or in your decking is the ideal way to enhance your garden at night and solar decking lights are the ideal solution for this area of the home. Although the initial cost of the lighting unit may be high, you will quickly recoup that cost by saving on the cost to run them – they cost nothing – all they need is a bit of daylight to charge up their batteries and they’ll run through a good part of the night. There are many other advantages to solar deck lights such as you can fit them your self – no need for a professional and you can put them wherever you want because you don’t have to worry about getting power to them. The light output from them does vary, so check this before you buy them.

One of the more important things when installing your outdoor deck lighting is installing the switch controls. Sometimes this item is last on everyone’s list, but should be considered first. Placing the switch to operate your deck lighting needs to be centrally and conveniently located. It is important once you have placed the lights to have the switch easily accessible. More than likely if you place the switch where it is out of reach, the lighting will not be used. If your back yard deck light control switch is in the garage 150 feet away, the switch location is not convenient. Make sure to place switch in an area protected from water and weather. Typically this type of switch works perfectly just inside your home, near the back door. Being able to access the switch from the inside is not only more convenient, but much safer.