Decorative Outdoor Thermometers
Buy the best decorative outdoor thermometers selected and recommended by interior designers. By Tara Gosselin.
Outdoor thermometers are a handy way to check the temperature without leaving the warmth and comfort of your home. Back in the day, when you looked outside to check the temperature, everyone seemed to have the same long, skinny white one with red numbers. Today, there are such a wide variety of decorative outdoor thermometers it’s hard to choose just one. Our design team chose eight different styles — one of them is sure to suit your house!
Decorative Outdoor Thermometers
Buying Guide
Tara Gosselin
Interior Design Expert
Tara is a San Antonio-based award-winning landscape architect, writer and educator, passionate about eco-friendly solutions and growing her own food. She knows all it takes to help you create a sustainable backyard retreat that combines blissful charm with a modern take on landscaping.
An item that’s decorative, functional, and even necessary for patios and yards is a trusty outdoor thermometer. Decorative thermometers that can withstand the elements come in various styles to fit various tastes.
Since choosing the right one requires a bit of a process from all the aspects that need to be considered, we’ve listed a couple of buying tips below.
A good decorative thermometer has lots of great qualities like how it can easily be installed without needing the help of a handyman. So, look for one that you can set up in a snap as you wouldn’t want to go outside to set install a thermometer only to find out that you need specialized tools for the process.
Some units can be hung or stuck into walls to get a reading of the area’s temperature. They are easy to mount, but you would want a unit with a sticky substance added at the back of the device for installation if you want a thermometer that’s portable. On the other hand, you may want a decorative device for telling the temperature that’s more permanent. If that’s the case, then you can get one that will allow you to screw the unit into a post or wall.
Among the things you’d have to consider is whether you want a model that’s wired or wireless. A wired thermometer requires you to place a probe in one area of your home to get a direct temperature reading. A wireless, on the other hand, just requires attaching to a wall, which makes the process of installing the unit and getting a reading a lot easier.
Also, it’s a great idea to get a wireless decorative thermometer as you can easily move it wherever in your property you need a temperature reading. This means a wireless thermometer can be used both indoors and outdoors.
- Display size. Watch out for the display size of a unit as a small display will make it difficult to read or understand what the thermometer says. As much as possible, get the largest display that your space can accommodate not just to get a much clearer reading, but also so you get a decorative element that makes a lot of impact in your outdoor space.
- Backlight. This is a feature that you’d if you want a thermometer that can be easily read regardless of the lighting condition. Even if it’s nighttime and you did not switch on your patio lights, you would still be able to get a temperature reading and see it clearly because of the backlight. You also won’t have to be concerned about glare and sunlight during the day.
- Quality. It's also important that you make sure your thermometer is one that’s made to last. Anything that’s placed outdoors will be exposed to harsh weather conditions. So, get the device that’s enclosed using a weather-proof or waterproof housing. Although water is your number one concern, you’d also have to ensure that your thermometer doesn’t get blown away by heavy winds.