Eight DIY Outdoor Lighting Projects to Make the Shorter Days Less Dark

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Credit: VOLISUN stair lights product image / Amazon

If you're anything like me, the end of Daylight Saving Time has hit you like a truck, and you're depressed every time you look outside after 5 p.m. to see nothing but a whole lot of dark.

Making your outdoor areas a little brighter and more inviting won't necessarily cure your seasonal affective disorder, but it can give you a little relief from the shorter days, and make the longer nights feel a little cozier. Here are eight outdoor lighting projects you can DIY, with little to no wiring involved.

Add some lights to your stairs

Adding some solar-powered lights to your stair steps is a way to make them safer while chasing away some of the gloom. Stair lights can be installed without any wiring and are charged by the sun during daylight hours. These lights are a simple way to brighten up the night and help prevent falls on exterior stairs.

Add a lamp post

Adding a lamp post doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Solar lamp posts can be installed without any wiring and can add a charming, cozy feature to your yard. Some newer posts are installed using a corkscrew-style anchor and don’t require a concrete base or a post hole. (Make sure to call your local authorities before you dig to avoid puncturing utility lines.)

Hang some sconces

Outdoor sconces can help shed light onto parts of your home’s exterior where other lighting isn’t feasible. Solar sconces can be installed using a screw gun along with the included mounting hardware and can be hung on any exterior that gets at least 4 to 5 hours of sunlight a day. Most outdoor solar wall sconces will have a solar cell you can aim to allow for maximum sun exposure.

Try a lantern

If you have a porch or patio that could use some ambient lighting, a lantern is a good choice. Hanging solar lanterns can be installed anywhere you can screw in a hook or find a surface to place them on, and they require no wiring to set up.

Deck out your deck

Fence post lights can add a warm detail to your deck or porch without needing to do any wiring. Fence post cap lights are installed using the included mounting hardware and a screw gun onto a four-by-four deck or fence post. Larger profile post lights can be used to vary the height of your lighting scheme to add some more visual interest.

Add a starburst

Adding ornamental lighting just for fun can help stave off a gloomy evening just as well as practical lights. Adding solar firework lights can bring some illumination to a dark part of the garden or patio, and they are installed by driving a positioning stake into the ground and aiming the solar cell at the sun.

Dress up your fence

Adding some decorative lights to your fence can allow you to spruce up a dull space in the backyard as well as give you increased visibility. Ornamental fence lights are designed to project a pattern on your wooden fence, but there’s no rule that says you can’t use them on the side of your shed or garage. They can be installed using a screw gun and the included mounting hardware, with no wiring needed—they need a few hours of daylight to charge.

Add solar pavers

Solar pavers are some of the coolest outdoor lighting options to give your home’s exterior an inviting glow. These solar bricks can be used to light pathways and patios by replacing some of your traditional bricks with light-up pavers. There’s no wiring required, but they will need a few hours of sun exposure to get a charge. Adding these bricks in will take some planning if you don’t already have a path with standard-sized bricks, but if you have a brick pathway already, you can swap out existing bricks for glowing ones.