This garden lighting trend will give your space a boho look by day and turn it into an enchanted fairytale garden once the sun sets
Add some whimsy to your outdoor space this summer
Outdoor lighting is becoming just as important as the lamps and light fixtures you put in your home. This summer, fairytale-inspired outdoor lighting has exploded in popularity. However, if light-up mushrooms and floral stakes aren't for you, I've recently spotted a more boho-inspired style emerging as a playful way to turn your outdoor space into an enchanted garden - solar-powered hanging lanterns.
Garden lighting ideas should be both practical and beautiful, and these lovely paper-lantern style garden lights are just that. Cluster a couple of these lamps together, and when the sun goes down, it will create a magic look, reminiscent of the paper lantern festival scene in Tangled.
Solar-powered hanging lanterns
These popular lanterns are perfect for injecting a little bit of colour into your garden. And they come in other colourways, too.
If a classic paper lantern look is what you're after then you can't go wrong with these ones.
This style of hanging lanterns comes with perforated shades creating light patterns which will turn the level of whimsy right up.
If you want to recreate the look of a beautiful Moroccan garden at home then investing in these colourful, patterned lanterns of various shapes is a great place to start.
If you're after Japanese garden lighting ideas then this style of lantern is perfect for you. It comes in various prints but this one is my favourite.
If the classic round or oval lantern shapes are not quite to your liking, you can opt for a less common alternative like this diamond shape.
These garden lanterns have a similar look to the classic IKEA paper lantern that casts a lovely diffused glow at night, except they're made from more sturdy, weather-proof fabric so that they can withstand the wind, rain, heat, and anything in between. And most of them, such as the Lights4fun tassel lanterns, available at Amazon, come equipped with solar-powered lights.
A huge driving force behind these emerging outdoor lighting trends is that so many of them are now solar-powered. This means that you don’t have to worry about batteries or recharging them. Instead, the incorporated mini solar panels collect power from the sun during the day and automatically turn on in the evening when it gets dark. They're effective, low-maintenance and magical looking.
During the day, the paper lanterns will give your garden a relaxed, boho look. But once the sun sets and the lights turn on, they will look extra magical.
The Light4fun versions are my current favourites, and while I haven't tried them yet, they come with glowing reviews from customers. ‘Beautiful when set up and easy to put together. Endured rain, thunderstorms and a heatwave and still looking great,' wrote one.
‘These lanterns are very beautiful, well-made and well worth the money. Everyone who comes to the garden admires them. Definitely recommend,’ writes another.
My top tip for styling these lanterns would be to hang them in clusters from a pergola or in a tree. If you can, I'd weave in different sizes too to create a beautiful graduated effect.
Alternatively, if you only have a small space, this lantern style of lamp is often available as mini string lights that can be hung along a fence or woven through the spokes of a parasol.
How are you lighting your garden this season – are you investing in some chandeliers like Amanda Holden? Or are you recreating Nigella Lawson's magical garden lighting set-up?
For me I'll be embracing the boho look with these lovely lanterns.
