Outdoor Gooseneck Barn Lights

As a rule of thumb, choose a projection that puts the centre of the shade over the thing you're lighting — a doorway, a sign face or a walkway edge — rather than flat against the wall. For signage, that usually means an arm that reaches about halfway across the sign's depth so light washes down the face evenly. Every gooseneck arm we make lists its projection in centimetres on the product page, from compact arms for narrow eaves through to long-reach arms for wide signs and deep verandas, and most families include a projection diagram so you can compare arms at a glance. Measure from the mounting point to where you want the light to land before you order — it's the single measurement that decides whether a gooseneck looks intentional or an afterthought. If you're between two arms, take the longer one; light falling short is the more common regret.

Match the shade diameter to the scale of the wall, not just the brightness you want. Our shades are sized in centimetres — the number in the product name is the shade diameter — and the honest guide is: small shades suit single doorways and paths, mid-size shades suit garage doors and shopfronts, and the largest shades are for sheds, barns and commercial façades where a small shade would disappear. Two mid-size lights either side of a garage door usually look better than one oversized shade in the middle. Ceiling height and viewing distance matter too: a shade you'll walk under wants to be tighter to the wall, while one viewed from the street can afford more presence. If you're stuck between sizes, go one size up — barn lights read smaller once they're mounted high on a wall than they do in your hands.

Yes — sign lighting is what the gooseneck was originally designed for, and it's still the best tool for the job. The curved arm positions the shade above and in front of the sign face, and the deep bowl directs light down and across it, so the sign stays evenly lit without glare spilling into the street or windows above. Unlike internally lit signage, a gooseneck-lit sign keeps its daytime character at night and costs a fraction to run — one E27 LED globe per fitting. For wide signs, space multiple goosenecks evenly across the top edge rather than pushing one big light to do the job. We also make dedicated angle-shade sign lights if you want a sharper cut-off. Because everything is powder-coated to order, the fittings can match your brand colours exactly — a detail shopfitters and sign-writers make good use of.

They do — our goosenecks are aluminium with a baked powder-coat finish, which is the right combination for salt air: aluminium doesn't rust the way steel does, and powder coat seals the surface against corrosion far better than paint. For homes within direct reach of salt spray — surf-front positions and exposed headlands — choose from the IP55-rated fittings in our Weatherproof range, which are sealed against dust and water jets rather than just splashing rain. Whatever the rating, coastal fittings last longest with an occasional freshwater rinse, the same habit you'd apply to aluminium window frames near the beach. It's worth saying plainly: a barn light on a coastal home is a natural pairing, not a compromise — the style grew up on farm buildings and boat sheds, and the hardware we build in Carrum Downs is made for exactly this climate.