Investing in your landscape can be costly, but it is an investment. Anything that makes your home more beautiful, more functional, and more safe is good for your home, and good for you. Take lighting, for instance. Proper landscape lighting illuminates your home’s external space, lighting the way when it’s dark and drawing the eye to the most eye-catching elements of your house. It’s enough for many homeowners to set up some lights around the house and call it a day, but if you’re really looking to make your home pop, it’ll take a little more effort than that.
To help you figure out the ins and outs of landscape lighting, here’s a short list of tips to steer you in the right direction. Remember, it’s not just about having enough light, but using it properly.
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Focus on your house first
This may sound counterintuitive, but it’s a good idea to avoid focusing on your landscape first when it comes to setting up your landscape lighting. Lighting your trees and pathways is important, but first things first: focus on your home. Your home is the “star” of your property, and it makes sense to start with it.
Consult a reliable landscape lighting company to help find the right lights to illuminate your home. The right fixtures will go a long way toward setting your home in the best light and offer security at night. While you’re at it, consider positioning your fixtures to highlight specific features of the house you want to draw attention to, like columns or windows. This lets you put those architectural elements front and centre, the better to impress guests with.
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Avoid overlighting
A common mistake for many rookie homeowners is to set up too many fixtures in one place. The typical logic in that decision is to emphasize a specific object or space, but the actual effect is to draw attention to the lights themselves. Like anything else, the usual rule of thumb for your landscape lighting is “less is more.”
Instead, if you’re really intent on singling out one element of your landscape, what you can do is layer your lighting. Rather than use all the lights, you instead use a few lights set at different angles toward the object you want to illuminate. This approach reveals different silhouettes and layers that create a more dramatic effect on your target.
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Get creative with your path lighting
Another common mistake is setting path lights in a straight line. It is an obvious approach to take, but it creates a runway-esque effect for your paths. The secret to truly interesting landscape lighting is being creative. For example, you can stagger the lights on the path. The mingled light and shadow can provide an eye-catching effect for those walking along that path. Alternatively, you can set up motion-activated lights that turn on automatically when they detect someone passing by. Either approach is far more interesting than just setting the lights in a straight line. This way, you have something you can show off to your guests and make an impression.
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Opt for LED lights
An ever-present factor in any lighting system is energy-efficiency. It’s vital you choose the right bulbs for your home, not just for the effect it has on your aesthetics but also for the sake of your wallet. Incandescent bulbs are typically energy-inefficient, and burn out too quickly to make them a worthwhile investment. It also pays to pay attention to the wattage of your bulbs. Too high a wattage and the lights create a harsh glare that can look off-putting to guests.
Your best bet for cost- and energy-efficient lights is LED lights. These days, there are a number of quality LED lights to choose from, particularly if you’re going for a warmer tone. To help you avoid any glare, use soft, downward-focused lighting.
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Make use of accent lights
One more common mistake is neglecting to light the small, out-of-the-way areas around the house. Avoiding these places means you miss out on the chance to let these places contribute to the overall effect of your lights on your house.
As these smaller places are indeed smaller, it can help to use accent lights to illuminate these areas. Accent lights are smaller lights that offer a proportionate amount of light, which is just right for these out-of-the-way areas. Not only are these places getting their time in the sun so to speak, but that additional light also keeps your house a little brighter and a little safer.
When it comes to improving your landscape design, you can’t really go wrong with landscape lighting. But to get the full effect of that lighting, it pays to know what you’re doing. Always keep this guide in mind to take full advantage of your landscape lights and help your house look its best.
When you need help with your landscaping projects, look no further than Augusta Green Sprinklers. We have a wealth of experience working with clients like you, and making their landscaping ambitions a reality. Give us a call now at (416) 227-1666 to give your landscape the TLC it deserves.
