With patio season upon us, now is a better time than ever to upgrade your outdoor space. Creating a fun and comfortable outdoor entertainment area is easy with the right furniture and equipment. With any entertainment area, lighting plays a major part in setting the scene. Since you’ll be outside, you’ll want to have your outdoor lighting ready to go once the sun sets. Whether it’s a patio or a garden, you’ve got plenty of options at Best Buy to set the mood with beautiful and practical outdoor lighting. Enjoying the outdoors from the comfort of your own home also means you can include smart outdoor lighting to effortlessly control all settings. 

You’ve got plenty of choices depending on your space and your needs. You can select from a number of smart outdoor wall lights, spotlights, pathway lights, and string lights. First things first, consider your area and what’s needed to make it practical and safe to hang out in during the night hours. From there, you can have fun and get creative with decorative string lights and more. The best part? All the available smart lighting options can be easily controlled from your phone through an app—safe and trouble free. Let’s look over some more great ways you can use smart outdoor lighting to juj up your outdoor space.  

Guide the way with smart pathway lights 

Philips Hue Econic LED Outdoor Pathway Light Base KitSafety always comes first, and spending time outdoors at night requires some extra precautions to ensure everyone’s well-being. Whether you’ve got an outdoor space with pathways that aren’t properly covered by spotlights, or a big garden that can be easy to lose your way in the dark, pathway lights are essential. The Philips Hue Econic LED Outdoor Pathway Light Base Kit will light the way with 600 lumens of light. 

This fixture is easy to install, and bright. You won’t need too many to provide a suitable amount of light, but you can pair it with as many Philips Hue Econic LED Outdoor Pathway Light Extension as you desire. Plus, you have 16 million (yes, 16 million) colours to choose from, so you can personalize it to suit your area perfectly. These lights are compatible with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and IFTTT.

Embrace your space with a smart floodlight 

Philips Hue Econic Discover LED Smart Outdoor FloodlightIf you’re chilling out in the yard, chances are you’re right by the exterior of your home. You have a few options when it comes to what type of lighting you can install on your exterior walls. A floodlight like the Philips Hue Econic Discover LED Smart Outdoor Floodlight will give you a ton of outdoor light coverage. You can play around with the settings to change the colours and brightness. They’re waterproof, sleek and chic, and easily fit in with any exterior. 

Give your exterior walls a makeover with smart wall lights

Philips Hue Econic LED Smart Outdoor Lantern Up Wall LightFor tighter spaces that don’t require the power of a floodlight, a wall light like Philips Hue Econic LED Smart Outdoor Lantern Up Wall Light is a great choice. This wall light is definitely stylish, and it has all the same colour changing capabilities as the floodlight. With full control on your phone or tablet, you can turn them on and off even when you aren’t home. These are perfectly suited for right outside the door(s), on balconies, or patios. They have a classic mod design, but they can turn the party up or set a romantic tone as you desire—all you need to do is pick your colour. 

Smart string lights to make any area a dream 

winkly Smart LED Light SetNow that you’ve secured the safety of your space, you can start having fun with it. Every outdoor gathering is made better by string lights; it’s just a fact. Contrary to belief, string lights are not exclusive to the winter holidays! There’s nothing like sitting outside and enjoying the night with your loved ones in a pretty space. String lights just have a special way of creating a dreamy vibe—especially when they’re twinkly. The Twinkly Smart LED Light Set will definitely make your summer nights feel like fantasy. You can wrap them around fences, furniture, or hang them along railings and walls. The Twinkly App connects your phone to the lights, allowing you to play around with their settings. You can even synchronize the lights to your music. Truly a fantasy setting. 

Save energy and ensure safety with smart motion sensors 

Having a motion sensor installed and connected to your outdoor lights has many benefits, including keeping animals and intruders away from your property. They’re also great for welcome guests and yourself to ensure everyone can find their way around upon arrival. Motion sensors are big energy conservers, so you can rest assured your outdoor lights aren’t being used unnecessarily. The Ring Smart Motion Sensor not only connects with your outdoor lighting, but also doorbells and cameras. 

Create an outdoor sanctuary with furniture and ambient lighting

Philips Hue Calla Add-On Smart Outdoor Pathway LightNow that you’ve got a handle on the lighting, it’s time to set the rest of the scene. For some excellent tips on choosing the right furniture for your outdoor space, check out the Best Buy Blog’s latest outdoor furniture guide. You can decorate your space around the lighting you already have set up, and then add on more as needed. Once you’ve got all your furniture placed out, you can add accent lights like the Philips Hue Calla Add-On Smart Outdoor Pathway Light. This stylish pathway light not only gives you more luminosity, but it’s also perfect for creating more ambiance right where you need it. It can wonderfully accent your plants or trees, creating beautiful colourful light for your garden to be enjoyed in the dark too. 

Just have fun with it

The best part of summer is finally being able to sit outside, relax, and breathe in the fresh air. Warm months are meant to be enjoyed outdoors, and when you create your own entertainment space, you can do that with ease. The day is for adventure, and the evening is for relaxing and fun. Once you’ve got your lighting and furniture all set up, now you can find fun ways to make the most out of your space. Whether you’re entertaining, projecting a movie onto a sheet, or just sitting back and taking it all in, your outdoor area can become your new favourite place, day or night. 

For more on the Philips Hue outdoor lights, check out Leo’s feature on the Best Buy Blog.

Shadi Bozorg
Originally a Vancouverite, Shadi is a freelance writer and social media coordinator now surviving the winters of Toronto. She spends her free time reading, doing creative writing, and trying to make her Fitbit proud. Shadi can also be found in the kitchen as she trains for the next round of Masterchef tryouts.