Landscape lighting is an extremely important element of your overall landscape design. You should devote as much time to it as you would to maintaining your plants or mowing your lawn. The lighting on the outside of your house affects everything from the look and feel of your property to your safety and security after it gets dark. Though landscape lighting can be expensive at times, it has become a lot more affordable in recent years. Furthermore, there is a wide array of options that are currently on the market for you to pick from. You need to have a solid understanding of the benefits of landscape lighting and how to best use the tools you have at your disposal so that you can get the maximum amount of value out of it. Here is some information on how a landscape lighting system increases the home value as well as some tips on how to design it.
Does Landscape Lighting Increase Home Value?
Like jewelry for the exterior of your house, outdoor lights can greatly increase the value of your residence. You can incorporate lighting into your landscaping in various ways. Some landscape lighting ideas include placing solar path lights along walkways, area lighting in outdoor spaces, low-voltage landscape lighting in gardens, and floodlights over entrances as well as at corners or your home. Since there are a plethora of affordable options at your disposal, landscape lighting is an inexpensive way to add a stylistic flair to the external part of your home in addition to ensuring your safety and security during the night. Some current trends include:
- Energy efficiency: New technologies in solar-powered and LED landscape lighting have increased in popularity because they’re convenient to install, easy to maintain, and affordable. However, low-voltage lighting kits are still a suitable option for homeowners as well.
- Quality finishes: There are a plethora of different styles of lighting fixtures, meaning you can customize a look for whatever space you’re using. If you want a high-end look, copper and solid brass are great options.
Landscape Lighting Tips
On a Budget
While landscape lighting used to be very expensive and complicated to put in and maintain, it’s much more affordable these days. You can affordable pre-packaged lighting kits costing as low as $40 and only taking approximately an hour or so to install. Even though these products are plastic and don’t last very long, they work well.
Mid-Range
If you’re looking for strong and appealing outdoor lighting but can’t afford to spend a ton of money on professional work, you should look into getting a system that costs around $300 and lasts between three and four years. After, you can upgrade to a new model if you wish to.
High-End:
Seek advice from a landscape lighting professional on creating a system that is comprehensive and works for your overall landscape lighting design. This person can offer solutions for outdoor garden lighting, deck lighting, walkway lighting, driveway lighting, and patio lighting.
Remember Outdoor Lights
Though it may be easy to forget about your outdoor lights after you’ve installed them, you should replace the batteries every year. After all, lights do not work forever.
Research Lighting Types
Research the different types of lighting, such as solar, LED, low voltage, and electric, as this will help you find which is option best for you. The way in which the lights are powered determines, to an extent, the way they are installed. For example, hardwired electric lights require the electrical wiring to be installed, as well as for there to be modifications to the installation areas in your yard.
Pick Matching Landscape Lighting
Your landscape lighting should blend in with the surrounding area, as well as the style of the architecture of your home. Furthermore, the lighting should not be a distraction from the beauty of the environment around it.
Be Consistent
Blending an array of styles between your lamposts, mounted fixtures, and walkway lights may cause the overall design or your landscape lighting to look disjointed. Don’t forget that the goal is for the lights to blend in with everything surrounding them. They should be aesthetically pleasing when you look at them closely but should look coherent when you’re looking at them from the street.
Placement Is Important
Consider sketching a picture of the front and/or back of your home and think carefully about which areas need lighting. Keep in mind the different purposes of having lights outside, such as enabling guests to see paths and walkways, creating ambient light for lounging spaces, or creating spotlights in feature areas.
Switches
You can link the landscape lighting wired to your house to your standard wall switches, enabling you to easily turn on the outside lights. Some lights that run on solar and battery power require different switching mechanisms. Thus, make sure you have a solid understanding standing of how the landscape lights work together and can be connected so that you can use them more easily. Otherwise, you may be stuck wandering around your yard nightly to turn on every single light individually.
Seek Advice From a Designer
Consulting a designer will help you make sure that your choices of landscape lighting are cohesive and fit with your current landscape design plan. Though this will cost more, you can also ask the design to give you important insight into the long-term use of landscape lighting, how it might have an effect on the curb appeal of your house, and how it can add value to your house when it’s installed and designed properly.
Looking for landscape lighting in Toronto, Canada? Search no further than Augusta Green Sprinklers! We highly value our customers and seek to provide them with nothing but the best products, services, and expertise in the landscape and lighting industry. Contact us at 416-227-1666 and admin@augustagreen.ca or visit our office at 42 Industrial Street Unit 127 Toronto, Ontario M46 1Y9 if you’re interested in knowing more about our services.
