Whether they serve as an inviting beacon for guests or cast a soft glow on an outdoor gathering, these 20 porch lights are a must-see. Pick your favorite, and shop the look to dress up your home's exterior.
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Nicolas Matheus
Fabric Sconces
Chic fabric sconces light the way to the entrance of Jacques Grange’s summer bungalow in Comporta, Portugal.
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William Waldron
Hanging Lanterns
This neo-Regency pool house at a Sag Harbor home is modeled after a 1930s outbuilding at the former Hollywood home of film director George Cukor. Over-scale trelliswork adorns the walls, and the roof is made of lead-coated copper. The entryway is lit by two delicate hanging lanterns.
On the screened porch of Boston architect Heather Wells’s retreat in North Sutton, New Hampshire, a table lamp adds an unexpected indoorsy element to the screened-in gathering space.
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Dougals Friedman
Frosted White Pendant
At the front door of Candia Fisher’s Connecticut retreat, a frosted white pendant hangs in the entry way.
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Eric Piasecki
Rustic Ceiling light
The porch of a family home in East Hampton, New York, designed by John Kureck and Doug Jones, boasts a rustic wire-frame ceiling light perfect for spending summer evenings outdoors.
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Max Zambelli
Sculptural Lighting
In Salento, a region in Southern Italy, a ceiling sculpture by Scolari doubles as a light, illuminating the ground-floor stairwell. The vintage accent tables came from an Italian café.
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Richard Powers
Black Lanterns
On a porch in Marrakech, the loggia's walls and floor are hand-polished plaster, the bench is by maisonLAB, and the oak side table is a flea-market find. Black hanging lanterns give the regal space a modern edge.
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Douglas Friedman
A Warming Sconce
Greeting guests at the door of this cozy guesthouse in the Montana mountains is Turtle, a golden retriever, and a single country-style sconce providing warm lighting.
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Douglas Friedman
Asymmetric Sconce Lighting
The front door’s shutters at a Victorian cottage on Cape Cod are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Chrome Green, and a vintage sign was made into a bench. The entry way is flanked by a bright white sconce.
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Douglas Friedman
Traditional Sconces
The entrance to a Westchester retreat has traditional sconces to match the home's classic exterior.
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Björn Wallander
Camouflaged Sconces
A path lined with boxwood globes leads to the entrance of an Oakland, California home, the facade painted in Benjamin Moore’s Ashwood Moss. The black sconces perfectly complement the exterior.
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Richard Powers
Hanging Lanterns
In an Upstate New York home, the front garden, the custom benches, planters and widow’s walk are all painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pitch Blue. The lanterns are by Bevolo and the pavers came from a quarry in nearby Rockland County, New York.
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Kristen Grove
Torches
Thie minimalistic home in Palm Springs, California, boasts a bright yellow door flanked by black torch sconces.
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Richard Powers
Egyptian Mosque Light
The side entry of textile designer John Robshaw’s 19th-century cottage in Sharon, Connecticut, which he renovated and designed with the help of decorator Sara Bengur and architect Colby Wong, features an Egyptian mosque light from Sheherazade.
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William Abranowicz
Tin Sconces
At a farmhouse in Los Angeles, California The facade is illuminated with sconces by Rejuvenation, and the front door is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pitch Black.