LIGHT YOUR PATH

BUILD BOLLARD LIGHTS TO CREATE A STYLISH GLOW

- GLENN HANSEN

You might be familiar with those short, stout posts used around buildings, as roadway dividers, or in harbors to moor large vessels. They're called bollard posts because, as the story goes, they resemble tree trunks, which are also known as "boles." You might need that knowledge for a trivia contest someday.

For me, the bollard idea presented design possibilities for both woodworking and lighting, which are combined in these plans for decorative path lights.

UMBRELLA LIGHT

I worked on a few versions of this umbrella light (long curved legs, stout 2x4 uprights, etc.), but I ended up making relatively short 1x2 cedar arms and capping them with a simple cedar square with a light in the middle. These lights are quick to build and uniquely stylish. And the low lumen solar lamp casts a subtle, pleasing light on your path.

HIDDEN-LED SANDWICH

It's just a wooden sandwich made to glow with LED light strips. This one is so easy and so striking that you should make it with kids so they can see the simplicity and power of DIY. If you're making several of these, go with low-voltage power. We used adhesive LED light strips that had individual solar arrays.

VALANCE POST

It's not all about cedar for outdoor projects. For this bollard light, you can choose a wood with interesting grain, like teak. I had a few eucalyptus boards in my home shop, and I like the unique tone and the way this woodcuts and sands. With this style of lighting, you can make the posts tall for path use or short for mounting to a porch wall.

CHUNKY LANTERN