Today I am sharing my 5 FAVORITE inexpensive or cheap ideas for outdoor patio lights including how to hang outdoor string lights to light up your patio, deck or backyard at night.
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5 Inexpensive Ideas for Outdoor Patio Lights
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It’s hard to believe that it has been a whole year since we completely remodeled out backyard patio. (you can check out the full reveal here)
One thing we still wanted to do was add some outdoor patio lights so we could enjoy our sunken patio long after the sun goes down.
#1 Outdoor String Lights
)How to Hang Outdoor String Lights without Trees
We ordered 2 strands of these 25 foot long outdoor string patio lights for our back yard patio.
In order to hang them, Jason & the boys dug 2 holes against our wood retaining wall.
After adding (2) 8 foot pressure treated posts to the holes we screwed them to the wall with metal brackets & outdoor screws.
We attached 2 finials left over from our former deck so the posts will match our wooden arbor & look pretty at the same time.
Using black cable we attached the string lights to each post & wrapped them around our brick fireplace chimney.
These over head string lights do a fantastic job lighting up our patio.
How Long will Outdoor Patio Lights (String Lights) Last
*update 7/2020 Believe it or not our patio lights have been going strong for 3 Summers now & we have kept them up ALL YEAR LONG!
#2 Oil Lanterns/ Lamps
Oil lamps & lanterns are wonderful patio lights.
They oil lanterns do a great job casting light in the dark outdoors or in.
Whenever I go thrift shopping or flea marketing I am always on the hunt for more oil lanterns.
These lanterns are easy to move around & place anywhere on your patio & also come in really handy when the power goes out.
And…the oil is inexpensive and lasts for a long time!
Here is the clear oil I typically get, (Lamplight Ultra-Pure Lamp Oil, 32-Ounce, Clear
#3 Battery Powered Candles
Most of us have battery powered or real candles all around our house.
The nice thing about battery powered candles are that they do not blow out when it gets windy & give a nice warm glow to whether you place them making them fantastic patio lights.
Especially if you are outside when it gets windy.
My miracle flame LED wax Candles from Balsam hill are beautiful & look just like the real thing.
I am constantly moving these battery powdered candles all around the inside & outside of our farmhouse on special occasions.
#4 Battery Powered Greenery
My boxwood topiaries from Balsam Hill look beautiful day and night.
They are battery powered and work on a timer so I never have to turn them on at night. I have 2 matching boxwood wreaths to move out here soon.
There warm glow looks really pretty at night & they make great patio lights when it gets windy outside.
#5 Fire Pit
What could be more magical than an outside fire?
Our family is always up for an outside fire whether it is on the patio or around our benches on our outside fire pit.
Fire pits makes great patio lights while also keeping you warm on a chilly night.
I hope my 5 inexpensive ideas for outdoor patio lights will inspire you to light up your outside backyard & front yard spaces!
by Tara Lehman
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