5 Awesome Garage Lighting Ideas
You may not notice it, but often times your garage lighting is the missing piece to completing the ultimate garage. Many homeowners don't even consider the lighting in their garage when doing a remodel. However, there are garage lighting ideas out there that can completely change how your garage looks.Not only is lighting important for the way your garage looks, but it greatly helps with safety. There are a lot of valuable items in your garage that can also be a safety hazard if they aren't completely visible. Plus, depending on how you plan on using your garage, you'll need to go about lighting it in different ways. For example, you'll want a lot of bright lights if you plan on doing work in your garage or you'll want a more natural feel if you plan on using your garage as a living space. Don't forget about the outside of your garage either. It's important to keep the outside well-lit for safety and security reasons. In this article, we'll go over our favorite garage lighting ideas to help you take your garage to the next level.
Outdoor Garage Lighting Ideas
Lighting the outside of your garage is important to keep intruders away and help guide you in and out of your garage at night. The last thing you want to do is hit something with your car. A simple addition of a light fixture, such as a sconce, next to your garage side door is very common and gives you easy and safe access in and out. For your actual garage door, we have a couple of ideas as well. A common and simple garage lighting idea for the exterior of the door is to do the same thing as your side door - place a light fixture on either side and call it a day. If you want to upgrade your outdoor garage lighting, you can choose to install motion detected lights. These will save you money because they'll only turn on when you need them to and you won't have to worry about turning them off. Nowadays, there are even garage lights that you can control using your smartphone for even more accessibility and customization. You'll be able to turn them on and off from where ever you are.
Garage Lighting Ideas for the Inside
For the interior of your garage, there are many lighting ideas that you can choose from depending on how you use your garage. For many homeowners, their garage features the standard fluorescent tubes that seem to go out or break more often than actually working. When those lights do stop working, they often become forgotten and aren't replaced for a long time. If this sounds like your garage, then we have some solutions for you below.Stick With What You Got
Sometimes you have to go with what you know. Although the fluorescent tubes may not be the most dependable at times, they can effectively light your garage when they're placed efficiently. Plus, they do provide excellent light and show the true colors of paints and stains which is important for someone who does a lot of work in their garage. Depending on the size of your garage, you'll need more or less light fixtures. Also, remember to keep some extra bulbs around in case any of them do go out on you.Compact Fluorescent Lights
If the brightness of fluorescent tubes is too much for you, then a great alternative is compact fluorescent lights or CFLs. Instead of being in long tubes, CFLs come in standard bulb sizes and provide just as much light as tubes - but without the blinding effect. A common lighting strategy for CFLs is to line your garage's interior perimeter with them. This way, your whole garage will be sufficiently lit. Plus, CFLs are very energy efficient and last much longer than ordinary fluorescent tubes.LED Strips
For those that don't do a lot of work in the garage and still need a reliable source of light, LED strips are an excellent garage lighting idea. If you plan on using your garage as an extra living space or an area to entertain guests, these lights do the job just fine. They're not as bright as tube lighting or CFLs, and give your garage a more modern feel.Don't Forget About Natural Light
Natural light is extremely important if you plan on spending a lot of time in the garage. It's proven that natural light helps boost your mood and productivity. For those that work on cars or home improvement projects in the garage, you know that you'll need all the mood boosting you can get. With the addition of windows, or bigger windows than you already have, you'll be able to let more natural light into your garage. Plus, if you choose operable windows, you can let fresh air in which will get rid of that stuffy feeling. You can even choose a garage door that has windows. Also, it's extremely important to have windows in your garage if you plan on using it for an extra living space. You don't want to be stuck in a room with no windows.
Brighten Things Up with these Garage Lighting Ideas
Whether it's inside or outside, you need sufficient lighting in your garage. Garage lighting ideas can stem anywhere from the classic fluorescent tubes to adding windows for natural light. Whatever the case may be, you'll need effective garage lighting in order to get tasks done and move around safely without hitting anything or tripping over something. If you're planning on building a new garage before implementing these garage lighting ideas or you find that your current garage is in poor condition, then you can count on Danley's for your garage building needs. Since 1959, we've been the garage builder of choice for homeowners in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Get a free quote online to start your new garage project and join the over 100,000 satisfied customers who chose Danley's.Get started with a FREE QUOTE
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