Brass Outdoor Wall Lights

What brass means on an outdoor wall light

Brass is a warm, golden metal that has trimmed front doors, ships and street lamps for generations. Every light in our range has a brass finish, but they differ in what lies beneath it. Some are solid brass, meaning the body is brass through and through, so a knock or a scratch shows more brass rather than another metal. Others are made of metal and finished in brass, which gives the same warm colour. Check the material on the product page to see which kind you are choosing.

The finishes vary as well. Many have an antique finish, darkened when it is made, so the light looks settled on an older house from its first evening. Some lights carry a more golden tone, and a few pair brass with black for a crisper outline against dark window frames.

Nautical, traditional or modern: choosing a brass outdoor wall light

Nautical designs are the largest group we stock, with the look of a ship's fitting or a harbour lamp. They look at home on a seaside cottage, yet just as right beside a painted front door in town. Traditional and vintage designs follow the shapes of older outdoor lamps, and with an antique finish they sit quietly against the weathered walls of a period house. For a recent build, our modern and industrial designs use brass in simpler forms, letting the metal carry the look rather than ornament.

You can choose single lights or designs with two lights. A two-light design suits a wide doorway or the wall beside a double garage, while a single light is enough for a back door, a side gate or a narrow porch.

Reading the IP rating on a brass outdoor wall light

An IP rating has two digits: the first for solid objects and dust, the second for water, which is the figure to check first on an outside wall. You will find IP44 and IP64 ratings across our brass wall lights, and a few rated IP65.

A second digit of 4 means protection from splashing water from any direction, which covers rain on a wall by a door or along a path. In IP44 the first digit, also 4, keeps out solid objects larger than a millimetre; in IP64 the 6 means the light is sealed against dust, which also keeps out the small insects drawn to outdoor lights. In IP65 the 5 adds protection from low-pressure water jets, so the few rated IP65 suit a wall you hose down or one that takes the weather head on. Check the rating on the product page before you choose.

Bulbs for brass outdoor wall lights: E27, GU10 or G9

Many of our brass wall lights take an E27 bulb, the large screw cap common in household lamps. Others take a GU10, with two pins that push in and twist, or a G9, a small capsule with looped pins, and a few have the LED built in, so there is no bulb to change. A good many are sold without a bulb, so check the fitting on the product page and buy the bulb to match. A bulb that gives a warm light suits brass, picking up the gold in the metal rather than turning it cold.

Size, depth and cable entry on our solid brass outdoor wall lights

Each product page gives its width and depth, the depth being how far a light stands out from the wall. A slim, shallow light suits a narrow porch or a path where people pass close by; a wider one holds its own beside a broad front door or across a large stretch of wall.

On some, the cable can enter at the end or at the rear, with a brass blank to close the opening you do not use; others take the cable in at the rear. That matters if your cable runs along the face of the wall rather than straight through it. As with any mains light, a qualified electrician should fit it, and they can tell you which cable entry suits your wall.

Caring for a brass outdoor wall light through the seasons

Brass left bare outdoors darkens and mellows over the years, a look many people want on an older house, and an antique finish starts out that way. To clean a light, switch it off, let it cool, then wipe the brass with a soft, damp cloth and dry it. Clean any glass the same way. Avoid scouring pads, and keep brass cleaner away from antique finishes, as it lifts the darker colour that gives them their character.

Placing brass outdoor wall lights around the front of the house

A pair either side of a front door frames it evenly, and a run of matching lights along a garden wall leads the eye down a path. Brass picks up a door knocker, letterbox or house numbers in the same metal, so the front of the house reads as one. If your other outdoor fittings are black, one of the few lights that pair brass with black can bridge the two, or our black outdoor wall lights may sit better.