# Walkway Lighting vs. Landscape Lighting - Link: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/walkway-lighting/ - Published: 2026-04-07T12:13:07-04:00 - Author: Ken Roginski Walkway – Pathway lighting is a trend you see almost everywhere on middle-class homes these days. **Not only walkway lighting but lights everywhere** – on fence posts, newel posts, around trees, everywhere you could imagine. Just like [black and white houses ](https://www.oldhouseguy.com/black-gutters/), this trend is out of control! **This is a cheap attempt at curb appeal. **Yes,some people actually believe this will improve the curb appeal of their home. Let me explain. There are much better options. Most of these lights are solar. I will show you that using solar walkway lighting fixtures on the walkway, in the landscape, or anywhere, is a beacon to find the unsophisticated homeowner with uncultivated taste. ![tacky walkway lighting](https://www.oldhouseguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/ pathway-indirect-lightinga.jpg) Looks so pretty but in real life so tacky and cheap looking. If you found interest in this website, you evidently care about your home and may just need some guidance, so read this and get with the program! **Exterior lighting is important to have on all homes.** It is needed to avoid tripping hazards, it adds warmth and makes your house look welcoming, and can avoid making your house appealing to burglars. After this, the rest is optional. Additional** lighting must be done right for it can make or break your curb appeal**. So if you like the look of lighting on your house, in your landscape or just for extra light, read on and see for yourself. You will see what to get and what to avoid to give your house the best curb appeal. ## Types of Exterior Lighting. There are basically 3 types of lighting to be used on the exterior of your house. * Entrance lighting (electric hard wired). * Walkway – Pathway lighting (electric hard wired low voltage or cheap looking solar). * Landscape & Architectural lighting (electric hard wired low voltage). ### Entrance Lighting. **All houses should have a light at the front door**. This is a beacon for the visitor to follow as they approach your house. This is the main and most important light. This light should be welcoming and light up the immediate area of the front door. It should be just bright enough to** create a wash of light** onto a portion of the steps but not so bright to create an industrial effect. If the light creates shadows near the steps, the lighting may be too bright. Some people may turn on their front entrance light only when expecting guests. I recommend keeping it on every evening, home or not. Smart bulbs can be set by an app on your phone to select a time for the light to turn on at dusk until a later time in the evening. I have mine go on at dusk and off at 11:30 PM. This and all exterior lights should be warm light – not the cold blue light. ### Walkway – Pathway Lighting. Here is where the problem begins and this is a big one. The focus here are the most popular lights you see that are plastic and solar powered. These are the lights you see that people stick in the ground to light up their walkway or pathway and also stick in other unflattering random places. It seems that homeowners are fearful that their visitors are incapable of walking up to the house and may trip, or they just like the idea of lighting since their neighbors are doing it. Just because they do it does not mean you have to follow their uncultured taste. These lights look awful! I have seen advertisements from Walmart, and actually the pictures they have online don’t look bad. Of course the lighting advertised will never look like the image displayed. **Problems:** * **They are never never never straight and if you do try to straighten them, in a few days they will be crooked again.** * **These lights are solar powered and only glow although some may light up the pathway slightly.** * **You can buy a 12-pack for $36.99. That comes to $3.08 each. Do you really think you are getting something good at this price?** * **You can bet if a homeowner only needs 8 they will find any random place to stick the extras.** * **They can be installed by the homeowner in 30 seconds. Most homeowners are not knowledgeable about curb appeal and end up making a bad situation worse.** First of all there is seldom a need to light the walkway leading to your house.** The front door light should be sufficient**. Most homeowners add them as a tacky decoration and that is all they are good for. If you are in that rare situation with a need for light,** there are other options to be discussed later** but here I just want to convince all homeowners to stop purchasing these lights to use anywhere. The only place they belong is in the trash! Again – do not use these lights for your walkway or landscape at all! **HOWEVER** – I understand there are situations where these lights are necessary and they can add to the curb appeal. The lighting that can add beauty are wired lights that would be professionally installed. Expensive but worth the money. **My purpose here and with most of my articles is to point out, using photographs, the problems and then let you recognize the faults when you see them.** **The challenge:** 1. Drive around and notice if you ever see any lights that are standing straight in the ground. Also notice how the house is kept up and the homeowner’s knowledge of curb appeal. Is the focus the front door? Does the lighting provide a good distribution and balance across the property? 2. Next drive around in the better neighborhoods. Yes even the neighborhoods with ugly McMansions. Still a lot of bad solar and the DIY Malibu lighting sold in big box stores, but you will have more of a chance seeing architectural/landscape lighting professionally installed. My advice is to never under any circumstance use these cheap lights Home Depot and Walmart sell. **Let’s take this to the next step. Never use any lighting on the walkway to your house unless it is incorporated into the landscape around your walkway**. I will address this option later. Before I go into other lighting options, I am going to pause and show pictures of homes with these awful lights. I will then show pictures of houses nicely lit. #### Here are Examples of Badly Designed Lighting. [⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉[ All dark and foreboding.  Walkway lights lead you to a dark door. It is difficult to see but there is a lamppost to the right that is off. This lamppost would nicely light both the walkway and the door. Instead the homeowner wants to show everyone that they finally moved out of the trailer park.   [⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉[ Crooked little walkway lights lead to a dark unwelcoming house. Notice the tacky lights on the tops of the newel posts. Does this really help the handicapped? If you need all these lights to help you enter this dark house you should stay home where you belong.   [⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉[ There is a narrow walkway to the front door with high hedges on each side and dangerously dark. The house is also in complete darkness, but the landscape in front is lit up like a circus and noticeable from down the street. These lights create a wash on the plantings, with two spotlights on the statue, and two others just stuck anywhere to use them up. All but two lights are crooked.   [⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉[ Dark entrance, with a line of crooked lights and a big spotlight shining outward lighting up a bay window. Does anyone like this?   [⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉[ Eleven lights  – three are not working. The other crooked lights and landscape design create a kitschy look. A circus of lights are waiting for the clown to arrive.   [⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉[ This house has a light over the doorway, creating a welcoming appearance. The cheap crooked lights are stuck in the grass and would have to be removed for mowing, although by the looks of this house, the homeowner probably skips that part.   [⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉⌊walkway -pathway lighting⌉[ A nicely lit and welcoming entrance. The two drunken lights ruin what could be a nice entrance. The design cast on the pavement from the lights signifies the homeowner wants a fancy looking house. So classy!   [⌊walkway pathway exterior lighting⌉⌊walkway pathway exterior lighting⌉[ A very nice house with a nicely lit entrance. Why in God’s name would this homeowner put these walkway lights here? One may move into a nice home but still take the trailer park with them. Money has nothing to do with class as you see.   [⌊landscape lighting⌉⌊landscape lighting⌉[ Entrance is nicely lit. There appears to be a barricade around the plantings, with every light being crooked. Just because the owner is a doctor does not mean they are design professionals.   [⌊landscape lighting⌉⌊landscape lighting⌉[ Drunken lights are adding to the sloppy look. Notice the plastic shutters on each end! Have you ever seen a light fixture such as these that are straight in the ground? How sloppy can people be? I have been driving all over and never have I seen a house with walkway lighting that looks good. **Walkway lighting is merely cheap clutter. **It is just a gimmick to make homeowner think that there could be a tripping hazard and buy something new. People are always looking for “stuff” they wrongly convince themself will will improve curb appeal. [⌊pathway lighting⌉⌊pathway lighting⌉[ A prime example of lack of pride of ownership.   [⌊walkway lights⌉⌊walkway lights⌉[ A different style, but does anyone really like how this looks? [⌊pathway lighting⌉⌊pathway lighting⌉[ Do you want to be classified with people like this? Both the lights and the homeowner belong in the trash. [⌊silver walkway lights⌉⌊silver walkway lights⌉[ Silver walkway lights like flying saucers will hopefully take these homeowners far away. **All this lighting does is distract the viewer from looking at the house.** Some houses need this distraction. It takes your eyes away from the entrance and makes you look at these lights. Why not get pink flamingos instead? All they do is make a house look cheap and tacky and that reflects on the homeowner. Not much different than my parents telling me that if I am bad in school it makes them look like bad parents. A home is a reflection on the person who lives there. Enter the Clampetts! The Clampett family was the quintessential “hillbillies” in the TV series [_The Beverly Hillbillies_ ](https://youtu.be/OvE9zJgm8OY?si=aOjfgVVdu_NhfXBm)( 1962–1971). However, the house they lived in was a beautiful well-designed mansion. Even so, If someone calls you Elly May, they are saying you do not fit in with the suitable neighbors. OK – enough of my rant! [[ #### Now for the Good Houses. [⌊exterior landscape lighting⌉⌊exterior landscape lighting⌉[ Nice job. Notice the plantings are washed with a soft accent of light. They even provide sufficient light for the steps. My only suggestion would be a light at the door. Even in the best neighborhood, there should be an interior light for both safety and appearance. Also notice how the plantings balance and ground the house. [⌊McMansion architectural lighting⌉⌊McMansion architectural lighting⌉[ Bad architecture, but nicely lit. You can tell the lighting was done by a professional.   [⌊exterior landscape and architectural lighting⌉⌊exterior landscape and architectural lighting⌉[ Tasteful architectural and landscape lighting softly brings the right amount of attention to the architecture. There is no need to go overboard with walkway lighting.   [⌊landscape lighting⌉⌊landscape lighting⌉[ This Tudor Revival is gently lit with two spotlights. Although the house looks great, I would recommend a light at the entrance.   [⌊exterior lighting house and landscape lighting⌉⌊exterior lighting house and landscape lighting⌉[ This house has it all. Just the right amount of brightness to show the architecture, lights in the landscape, and a nicely lit and welcoming entrance.   [⌊exterior architectural and landscape lighting⌉⌊exterior architectural and landscape lighting⌉[ Lastly my house which is on a corner. Lights on the house and a few trees. The house looks less bright in real life. ## Walkway Lighting Option. I hope I convinced you to stay away from the stick-in-the-ground solar lights.** No walkway lighting at all is best**. If you really need your walkway lit and the entrance light isn’t enough,** a lamppost will do the job**. Lampposts were first used in the later Victorian period on more substantial homes, but really became popular on Ranch houses in the 1950s. **The last option is to use hard-wired low voltage electric lighting**. These lights can be installed by the homeowner. There are options for the amount of brightness and they are constructed of metal and can be inserted deeply into the ground to avoid becoming crooked. One brand name is Malibu lighting. I strongly advise, even though these are a better quality light, **do not place them individually along your walkway unless you have plantings.** This is important. The lights should light both the plantings and the walkway using direct light – not indirect. The lights will look their best when light is directed down towards the walkway and the plantings nearby. Landscape lights are direct lighting. The light is directed onto plantings creating a nice warm appearance. The goal is to see the effect of lighting not the light itself. This is not always as easy as it seems and the best results will come from hiring a professional. [⌊walkway lighting within landscape⌉⌊walkway lighting within landscape⌉[ This lighting is low-voltage electric set within the landscape nicely bordering a walkway or pathway. [⌊bad walkway pathway lights⌉⌊bad walkway pathway lights⌉[ NO! Amazon image shows solar lights neat and straight but we know they will never look this way. The kitchy starlike effect further cheapens the house. Would you want to remove them each grass cutting? [⌊direct landscape lighting⌉⌊direct landscape lighting⌉[ YES. Direct landscape lighting is good. This low-voltage electric light casts direct light onto the walkway and the plantings. [⌊20 Brennig Place⌉⌊20 Brennig Place⌉[ Not this! These are junk lights – even so, don’t just stick them in between plants. ## Architectural and Landscape Lighting is the Best Option. **While the tacky solar lights discussed in depth above provide indirect light which is seldom more than a glow, low voltage electric lighting provides direct light**. This type of lighting can create a soft wash of warm light on a house or areas of the house to display the architecture. It can softly light up a tree, be placed in a bed to light up shrubs,  etc. It can also point downward in a walkway or pathway. Yes you can use these lights to light up the walkway to your house but to look right they should be incorporated into the landscape. You never want the lights to look like little soldiers standing in a row, straight or crooked. There are low voltage lighting systems you can do yourself but a professional would do the work of a professional instead DIYer. [If you want to be a Do It Yourselfer, read this article. ](https://www.thisoldhouse.com/landscaping/all-about-landscape-lighting) **As for my house**, I have been wanting to do this lighting for about ten years. I read a lot and drove around many NICE neighborhoods looking at examples. It is, well at least I thought it was more complicated for a house with a wrap-around porch. Each light also requires a specific type of fixture and amount of power depending on the area and brightness desired. My plan was to use the Malibu lighting system and the cost would have been about several hundred dollars for fixtures, wire, and transformer. With all my research I still was not comfortable that I would be satisfied with my own lighting plan to achieve the look I wanted. I wanted it to be as perfect as possible so I hired a professional. The lights are set via an app on my phone to go on at dusk and off at midnight. Yes, $8,000 was a lot of money but after all my research and agonizing I did over this I am happy with the result. ## Conclusion. Be sure to read the How-To link above. Lighting can really be expensive. For most homeowners, this is a drastic change from the crooked solar lights but your house is a huge investment and should look as best it can. My outlook is that if you cannot do it right, don’t do it at all. I’m not saying that a Malibu system is bad. It was just difficult for me to do with what I wanted and had to work with. Just stay away from the stick-in solar lights.