10 Stunning Retaining Wall Lighting Ideas

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Retaining walls are an important part of garden landscaping and are often a distinguished element in the garden adding a touch of class and sleek lines. However, retaining walls become invisible at night without their own dedicated lighting.  Here are some ideas for brightening up your garden retaining wall using different garden lighting options.

• Solar Retaining Wall Lighting Ideas
• Wired Retaining Wall Lighting Ideas

Solar Retaining Wall Lighting Ideas

The use of solar lights enables you to light up a retaining wall without adding anything onto your electricity bill. Here are some ideas for lighting up a retaining wall using solar lights.

Using solar deck lights on your retaining wall

Solar deck lights are typically used on either decking, steps or pathways. However, their angular outer shell also makes them ideal for use on a retaining wall. These solar deck lights are ideal for this purpose due to the large number of lights included in a pack.

These solar deck lights can be spaced along the edges of a retaining wall to provide even lighting along its length. The lights come with double-sided tape and screws meaning that they can be attached easily to both stone and wooden retaining walls.

The lights are very durable because the outer plastic parts are manufactured from durable ABS & PS shells. This makes them weather resistant, water resistant, long lasting and resistant to rust or fading due to exposure to the sun. These lights will tolerate the extreme weather the edges of retaining walls are exposed to including snow, rain, thunderstorms and subzero temperatures.

The lights need 6-8 hours of direct sunlight for a full charge and will remain lit for up to 8 hours throughout the night. Positioning them on the step edges of a retaining wall will ensure they receive adequate sunlight. They require no additional electricity from the mains, meaning no cables will be visible on your retaining wall.

Adding some garden glamour

If you want to add a little pzazz to your retaining wall, consider these swaying solar lights. One in position, they will move in the wind giving them a life-like feel. The soft, flexible branches give them a unique and encapsulating appearance. These lights are installed via a stake in the ground and can therefore be placed at evenly spaced intervals in the ground in front of a retaining wall.

Both the solar panel and the lights themselves are constructed from IP65 waterproof material. These lights will therefore withstand heavy rain and other weather conditions. After a full charge, these solar lights will work for 8-10 hours. 

Brighten your garden using uplights

These solar outdoor uplights can be used to light up the area of your garden in front of your retaining wall. They can be inserted into the ground in front of the retaining wall. They come in cool white, warm white or multi color, and will stay lit for between 6 and 20 hours after a full charge. 

If installing via the spikes, consider pointing the lights in an irregular way to create contrast against the straightness of the wall. Some of the lights can be pointed at the wall itself, and others into the garden. If fixing the lights to a wall with more than one level, try staggering the lights on different wall heights for a pleasing appearance.

Put your lighting exactly where you want it

These solar garden spotlights are rotational, enabling you to position your garden lighting exactly where you want it. They rotate 90 degrees vertically, enabling you to point them to the exact point in the garden you want illuminated. They come in daylight white or multi color lighting and two brightness levels lasting between 8-10 hours on a low brightness setting and 4-6 hours on high brightness.

Due to their rotational heads, these spot lights are good to use on high retaining walls. The lights can be installed above human height and pointed downwards to ensure that the light reaches the ground. Consider pointing the lights at a range of angles along the length of the wall to provide lighting right across the garden.

Clean, crisp wall lighting

Solar string lights can also be used to brighten up a retaining wall, either by attaching them to the wall itself or hanging them from above. These dimmable solar string lights are ideal for adding a nice clean even light on a retaining wall. They have three different color temperatures and four different brightness settings allowing adjustment to other garden lighting.

The casing used in these string lights is industrial grade, the cord is thicker and more flexible than most domestic string lights and the bulbs are shatterproof. They will therefore withstand the harsh conditions a retaining wall may be exposed to. Up to three of these string lights can be joined in series to brighten up particularly long retaining walls.

Another option might be to use string lighting attached to the top of a high retaining wall. The lighting string could be attached to the top of the wall, with each bulb hanging from the side of the wall. The lights can be attached using the cup hooks provided, using guide wires or even simple zip ties.

Wired Retaining Wall Lighting Ideas

Wired retaining walls can appear a little bleak and unattractive. Lighting can be used to turn wired retaining walls into a feature rather than an eyesore. Here are some ideas for doing just that.

Directional strip lighting for a sophisticated look

These directional strip lights will add a level of sophistication to your wired retaining wall, and have a rotational capacity of 120 degrees enabling you to position where the light falls. They would be ideal on a stacked stone retaining wall due to their modern and sleek appearance.

Turn a wired retaining wall into a lighting feature

These dimmable step lights are ideal for using on a wired retaining wall. Their rectangular panels and recessed LEDs add a layer of finesse to any outdoor garden feature. The panels come in oil rubbed bronze or white depending on the colors used for the rocks of your wired retaining. The lights are incredibly easy to install, and their rectangular shape is ideal for fitting the lights into the gaps of some wired wall retaining wall installations.

Adding seamless deck lights for an ambient glow

You can turn a wired retaining wall into a source of warm ambient light using these aluminum deck lights. The casing of these lights is designed so that fixations such as screws are hidden giving a clean and modern appearance. The lights have a black powder coating making them best suited to wired retaining walls containing darker stones such as black or gray.

Make your wired retaining wall shine bright

You can use uplighters on your retaining wall to light up both the wall itself and the garden. These uplighters are ideal for lighting up both a retaining wall and the garden. The lights come with a 56 foot cable allowing you to space them along the length of a wall. The heads on these lights are adjustable over 360 degrees enabling you to position the light exactly where you want them. Try using them both on the retaining wall itself and on the house to create seamless lights across the front or rear of your property.

Powerful retaining wall lighting

If you need high-powered lighting for your wired retaining wall, these security-style lights with an adjustable angle of up to 90 degrees are a go-to option. These lights are available as 40W, 60W and 100W depending on how much light you need. They are ideal for use on retaining walls intended to form part of a property’s security due to their brightness and adjustable heads. Try integrating them into the rest of your property’s outdoor security lighting to help keep unwanted visitors out.