Types of Outdoor Landscape Lighting

20 May

Written by admin
Category
Luxury Real Estate

The right lighting for your yard’s landscape can transform the outside of your home into a nighttime paradise. There are so many lighting options to choose from for your backyard, and the best fit for your home depends on architectural styles, landscaping, and personal preference. A few key considerations for your landscape lighting is determining what in your property you want to accent with light at night and types of landscape lighting. The best landscape lighting balances light and dark. An artful use of light to accent key features of your yard while throwing other parts of it into shadow can result in a whole new landscape. For example, nighttime may offer the opportunity to spotlight aspects of your property that are less noticeable during the day such as certain shapes, plants, and structures. In most cases, only a few items in your yard should be highlighted with lighting — you don’t want to wash out your yard with too much light.

As you decide what kind of outdoor lighting will best fit the property landscape, it’s helpful to recognize the yard’s best features — whether a natural feature like a tree or flower bed, or something like a fountain or statue. Other things to consider with your lighting includes outdoor stairs, pathways, and entrances. Not only will the lighting be beautiful, but it’ll be functionally helpful to guests as well.

1. Spotlights

Lights that only point in one direction are considered spotlights, and they are the perfect option for highlighting specific areas within your yard. Spotlights, when pointed up, are also considered an “uplight.” Spotlights are often used to illuminate plants, walls, patios, statues, and more. These lights are often standard-voltage installed at ground level.

2. Flood Lights

A very practical lighting option, floodlights brighten large areas such as driveways or patios so residents can play basketball at night or enjoy an evening outside. Many can be set as motion sensors so that they only turn on when needed, saving energy and reducing the electricity bill.

3. Outdoor Wall Lighting

Low-voltage but bright, outdoor wall lighting offers a pretty accent lighting for recessed areas of a property. These can be mounted to any vertical surface as well as the interior of a pergola, stairway, or pool area. One of the best options for your outdoor wall lighting is an open-bottomed design, such as a wall sconce, because it casts the most light into recessed areas.

4. Step Lights

While lights for your steps are practical, they also can offer a nice visual as well. Lights can be placed on the walls beside the stairs or the actual stairs. Practical and visually appealing, step lights offer the perfect landscape option.

5. Garden Lights

Gardens are beautiful during the day, but they can be just as pretty at night, especially if they are lit appropriately. Mushroom-shaped lights can bring a fairy-like quality to your garden, offering a halo of light to specific plants. Garden lights offer a wonderful way to highlight the hard work put into the garden landscaping for all hours.

6. Path Lighting

One of the best outdoor landscape lighting to consider is path lighting. Small lamps can be placed alongside the walkways around the home to ensure the safety of guests and residents during the night. Solar LED options of path lighting means energy-saving with no extra wires.

7. String Lights

A Summertime option for lighting a patio or outdoor space is a string of lights. A more subtle type of light and less direct than spotlights, string lights romanticize any space. This ambiance is perfect for areas where you intend to entertain family and friends. String lights hang gracefully from the home’s eaves, an outdoor pavilion, or on strategic posts around the backyard.

Outdoor landscape lighting makes the yard a wonderful place to relax or entertain. As you plan your home space, consider what types of outdoor landscape lighting you’d like to incorporate into the landscape of your property.

At Fairfield Homes, we want to bring you home to the home of your dreams that fits the stunningly austere beauty of the Arizona terrain. Speak with an industry expert today to discover your home options!