Types of Landscape Lighting to Add to Your Home
Great landscaping lights turn your yard into a nighttime showplace you want to share with family and friends. They add to the visual interest of your home and landscape by highlighting features, creating shadows and contrast and adding depth.
Highlighting is a common landscape lighting technique that works well for manicured plants and simple structures. It also looks great when applied to walls. Other techniques include silhouetting, wall washing and moonlighting.
Pathway and Walkway Lights
Pathway and walkway lights, often referred to as low-voltage or solar pathway lighting, are perfect for accenting paths, garden beds, driveways and patio areas. These small fixtures project downward and have a glare guard to keep light from shining into people’s eyes. There are many different styles of these types of fixtures that vary by size, shape and finish. Some even have a color-changing option.
When used properly, these kinds of lighting can really elevate the look and feel of your home. Illuminating pathways helps your guests safely navigate your property at night. It also prevents them from stepping on plants and other landscaping features.
It’s important to note that walkway lighting should be a part of your overall landscape lighting plan and shouldn’t be added as an afterthought. This is because the wrong type of path lights can create a jarring visual experience for your guests.
Pathway lights are typically spaced about 5-15 feet apart, depending on how large your pathway is. The larger the pathway, the more lights will need to be spaced out to ensure the proper amount of coverage and prevent overtaxing a single fixture. A landscape lighting professional will help you design a layout that provides the perfect amount of coverage while still keeping your pathways looking beautiful and inviting. If you are looking to take your pathway lighting up a notch consider adding smart LED color changing bulbs that can be controlled with a remote or app.
Postmount Lights
Ensure the safety and security of your home and surrounding landscape with outdoor post lights. These versatile and attractive lamp posts can be placed along driveways, near back patios, in front of a garage or anywhere else that extra lighting is desired. These fixtures are available in a wide range of styles, so you can find the perfect match to your home and garden design.
Modern and contemporary post lights offer a variety of style options to suit your outdoor decor. Some designs emphasize simplicity and minimalism with straightforward structures and materials while others use unconventional shapes, structures and materials to create an artistic statement.
Many of these lighting pieces have a classic lantern-like appearance to give your home’s exterior an updated look. They can also serve as a focal point for your yard or garden, adding a striking feature that impresses guests and neighbors.
Choose from a selection of different wattages, color temperatures and beam angles to match the brightness and coverage needed for your space. Then, decide whether you want your fixture to be a direct burial or surface-mounted lamp post. If you opt for a direct burial fixture, consider an option with a built-in electrical outlet. This allows you to run power to the post without having to run additional wires through your yard. If you’re looking for a more secure lighting solution, you can opt for motion sensor or security light designs. These features trigger automatically to provide an effective glare that helps deter criminals and unwanted intruders from your property.
Hardscape Lights
Adding in ground lights to pathways is one of the most cost-effective ways to add light to a pathway and also helps with safety by eliminating tripping hazards after dark. You can choose from a variety of options for in ground lighting, including low voltage lighting that is safe to work with and easy to install.
Another great way to illuminate hardscapes is to add lights to retaining walls. This highlights the textured beauty of the wall while helping your customers find their next step safely at night.
When installing these types of lights in retaining walls it is best to do so during the construction process before the top cap is placed on the wall. This ensures the lights are in the correct position so they illuminate properly. For the best results, use a 12V hardscape light with a swivel so that you can adjust the angle. Also, when installing the fixture be sure to leave a little extra wire so that you can service it in the future. This will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
Uplighting
When it comes to landscape lighting, the options are nearly limitless. But there are a few key things that should be kept in mind when planning your lighting system:
Highlighting – Use spotlights or well lights to light statues, planters and other garden features. These fixtures come in a wide range of beam widths and wattages, which make them ideal for a number of landscape lighting techniques like silhouetting, grazing and shadowing.
Achieve a stunning grazing effect with your landscape lighting by shining a light on a wall and letting it create soft shadows on the surface. This technique can draw attention to a textured or architectural feature of your home, such as a stone or brick wall, or it can add dimension to a greenery or planter. Spotlights, well lights and low-voltage flood lights are often used to achieve this look.
Decorative lighting – Add a touch of whimsy to your landscape with decorative lights like lanterns, string lights and glow-in-the-dark orbs. These lights are available in a number of styles, from chic classic lanterns to elegant white orbs that complement any decor style.
Decorative lights are a great way to highlight your favorite flowers, plants or trees without breaking the bank. For the best results, choose lights that are designed to withstand harsh weather conditions. Many of our landscape lights are crafted from copper or solid brass, which are more durable than aluminum and can better resist rust or corrosion over time.
