Most people see a house from the curb before they reach the door. These are XiXi Yang's picks from the MOD LIGHTING outdoor range, eight IP65-rated designs chosen so a front door, a facade and a patio end up lit as deliberately as the rooms inside.

The eight-piece edit

Six wall sconces and two linear lights. Haven and Ember are stainless steel sconces offered in solar as well as wired versions, and Harlow and Dawn pair steel with glass. Haylen is the linear piece, a waterproof wall light in eight lengths from 12 to 94 inches, with an RGB version adding seven colors and 358 effects by remote.

Heights, lengths and temperature

Mount wall sconces 66 to 72 inches off the ground, roughly eye level, and flank a front door in a matched pair where the frame allows. Size the linear lights to the architecture, short lengths for a door surround and longer runs for a garage or a stretch of facade. The sconces run warm white at 3000K; the linear light adds three color temperatures and remote dimming.

Layers beyond the front door

A sconce at the entry is the first layer, and many exteriors stop there. Path and step light comes next, low and frequent rather than one bright source, which is what our pathway lights are for. Accent light grazing stone or planting is what turns a lit house into a designed one, and the full outdoor lighting range covers the rest.

Take the door guests actually use as the starting point, get the height and temperature right there, then work outward.