You’ve spent the time investing in your home and putting all the final touches on the landscape of your home. Everything is perfect…almost. It still lacks something right? Landscape lighting is an often overlooked piece of the puzzle that can help all of the hard work you put into your landscape truly be appreciated, both day & night. Not only will landscape lighting help you highlight all of your beautiful work well after the sun goes down, but you can enjoy it outside too.
Landscape lighting is much more complex than just putting a few lamps in your landscape and calling it a wrap. There are general rules that are important to consider before you install your new lighting system. So we decided to put together this little list of tips and things to consider as you create a strategic landscape lighting plan for your home.
Take time to make a list of all the different things you want to feature – What are your favorite parts of your landscape? What things, when featured, will complement each other achieving the desired ambiance? If you are like most people, your landscape is made up of so many various pieces that it might be hard to choose which parts you want to highlight when the sun goes down. As you take a look at the following tips it should become easier to pick and choose based on the other dependent factors.
Take time to make a list of all the different things you want to feature – What are your favorite parts of your landscape? What things, when featured, will compliment each other achieving the desired ambiance? If you are like most people, your landscape is made up of so many various pieces that it might be hard to choose which parts you want to highlight when the sun goes down. As you take a look at the following tips it should become easier to pick and choose based on the other dependent factors.
Landscape lighting generally has 3 separate functions – think about what you want for each piece that you are interested in. Overall: This is lighting up an entire overall space. Possibly a patio or pergola. Task: task lighting serves a very specific purpose such as illuminating a pathway, or your driveway. Lastly accent lighting: this lighting will draw any person’s eyes to a specific feature items or area that you want to be very intentionally highlighted.
Think about your “other” light sources. This specific tip should help you focus on which items you want to or need to highlight in your landscape. Outside house lights such as entryway lights, porch lights, or even strong lights from INSIDE the house can seriously affect different aspects of your landscape lighting. You don’t want your landscape lights to have too much glare or to become at all washed out – so be strategic as you plan the various aspects of your landscape lighting.
Consider your bulb options: There are various bulb types & options today but most people will agree that LED may have a poor reputation, to begin with as time has gone on, there are many more options as far as lighting types go & LED’s are well known for being low energy & having a long life giving you the best bang for your buck. If you choose to go a different route than LED’s various options include incandescent, halogen, & fluorescents – all 3 have different pros & cons including efficiency and ambiance.
Think about the security that landscape lighting will bring to your home: If you aren’t already sold on installing some new landscape lighting around your house, think about the positive aspect of your home security that landscape lighting brings you. With your home & surroundings lit up, it’s much more difficult for anyone trying to take advantage to succeed.
Our last tip for today is to not go too harsh…there is a very large difference between the bright harsh lights of a carnival and classy lights that provide ambiance & culture to an area. It will ALWAYS be better to go more towards the simple side – your landscape should always be HIGHLIGHTED, not blinding. With that in mind, it’s always a good idea to take a look at your landscape lighting from inside the house as well, it will give a different perspective & you might even see something that you haven’t before!
If you at any time are unsure of how to move forward with your landscape lighting or need help creating a classy space that highlights all of the positive aspects of your home & surrounding landscape, please don’t hesitate to reach out & contact one of our designers for help. We are here to help you with your projects & can’t wait to see your home come to life, day & night.