Outdoor lights in a lantern style add character to a home, from a classic coach lantern on a gate pillar to a farmhouse wall lantern on a stoep. Outdoor lights lantern designs suit Cape Dutch, Georgian, Tuscan and country homes. OutdoorLighting.co.za is a free quote service. You fill in one form describing the lanterns you want, and we pass it to independent local lighting suppliers, electricians and installers, who quote you directly. We do not sell, stock, install or repair anything ourselves, and there is no fee or obligation. Tell us the style, sizes and positions.
Wall, pillar, hanging and post lanterns
Lantern outdoor lights come in four main mounting types:
- Outdoor wall lights lantern style: fixed to a bracket beside doors, garages and stoeps (see outdoor wall lights)
- Pillar lanterns: sit on top of gate pillars and boundary wall piers, the classic entrance look
- Hanging lanterns: suspended on a chain under a stoep roof or porch ceiling
- Post lanterns: mounted on a lamp post along a driveway or garden path (see outdoor pole lights)
Coach, Cape Dutch and farmhouse styles
The coach lantern, with tapered glass panes and a pointed top, is the most traditional style and suits Georgian and Cape Dutch homes. Farmhouse lanterns are simpler, often in black or galvanised metal with seeded glass. Modern lanterns use clean box shapes and frosted glass. Match the lantern size to the wall: a lantern roughly a third of the door height looks balanced, and slightly oversized usually looks better than too small, especially on pillars. Keep all the lanterns on one facade in the same family, even if the sizes differ between the door, garage and gate.
Materials, glass and the coast
Outdoor lighting and lanterns take a beating from the weather, so materials matter. Cast aluminium with a good powder coat is the usual mid-range choice. Brass and copper age to a patina and handle salt air well. Cheap steel lanterns can rust within a season near the sea. Clear glass shows off a filament-style LED bulb, while frosted glass hides it and cuts glare. Check the IP rating, as some decorative lanterns are only rated for covered areas. In hail-prone areas, toughened glass panes are a sensible upgrade.
Solar lights lantern options
Solar lanterns need no wiring, which makes them handy for pillars far from the house, and they carry on through load-shedding. They are dimmer than mains lanterns, so they suit marking an entrance rather than lighting a whole driveway. Mains lanterns on pillars need a cable run in a trench and a registered electrician's CoC. Compare options on our solar lights and outdoor lighting installation pages.
What to include in your request
- Say wall, pillar, hanging or post mounting
- Describe the style, such as coach or farmhouse
- Give the size or the wall and pillar dimensions
- Choose the finish and glass, clear or frosted
- Say whether pillars have cable or need solar
Outdoor Lanterns for different properties
- Homes: coach lanterns beside the front door and on top of the gate pillars
- Estates and complexes: matching pillar and wall lanterns on unit entrances, chosen by the HOA
- Farms and smallholdings: farmhouse lanterns on the stoep, gate pillars and along the werf
- Shops and offices: classic lanterns on shopfronts, office park entrances and wine estate tasting rooms
- Industrial sites: simple wall lanterns on the reception building and visitor entrance
- Lodges, guesthouses and venues: hanging and post lanterns along lodge paths, terraces and wedding venue entrances
- Municipalities, schools and clubs: heritage-style post lanterns in historic town squares and parks
Frequently asked questions
Does OutdoorLighting.co.za sell outdoor lanterns?
What bulb should I use in an outdoor lantern?
Are solar lanterns suitable for gate pillars?
How much do outdoor lanterns cost?
Outdoor Lanterns by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester