It's time for a party.
And for no other reason except its summertime and you want to show off your new patio furniture.
The neighbors are arriving and people are starting to chat; sitting around on your deck, talking, laughing, and having a great time, and its time to turn on the mood lighting.
Not too sexy, but nonetheless, you need some outdoor lighting with a view towards keeping the party rolling.
Not slamming to an abrupt halt because you switched on the fluorescent overhead lights and the bugs start arriving.
That would quickly ruin your party.
One of the things that makes a patio deck a truly delightful place for lounging and chatting at a party is the ambient lighting.
During the day when you are out sunning yourself, the lighting effects don't make a lot of difference.
But when the sun goes down, you want a particular sort of mood on your patio.
Peaceful, quiet, intimate, but still easy to see so your guests don't rip over themselves.
That is where some design planning comes in handy.
The two most common types of outdoor lamps to choose from are the standing floor variety and table lamps.
Patio floor lamps are generally between four and six feet tall and are designed to be placed directly on your deck or patio floor.
If you want to go with this sort of system, you will need enough lamps so that the circles of light they throw intersect each other without leaving darkened areas on your patio deck.
Subtle lighting is nice, but you sure don't want your guests falling over themselves.
Table top lamps come in a great variety of style sand you can often get them to match the style and material of your patio furniture.
These lamps can be placed on your patio end tables, your bar or even on your coffee table if you happen to have enough space for one of these on your patio.
Sometimes a combination of floor lamps and table top lamps works the best to keep your patio safe and well lit, while at the same time keeping the mood of a small private party intact.
Online, you can often find great bargains on outdoor lighting, both the floor lamps and the table top models.
All it really takes is a few minute of your time to search around the internet to scoop up some great deal on outdoor lighting.