Landscape Lighting Tips to Highlight Your Home’s Features
Few things make a bigger difference to your home’s exterior than lighting. It can brighten your walkways, help friends and family keep their footing, and add safety and security – while also creating an inviting look and feel for both you and your houseguests. We have put together a helpful guide of ideas to consider when lighting any area of your landscaping. Read on to get inspired!
Landscape Lighting Ideas: An Overview
First, you want to mix various types of lighting, rather than simply using one type throughout your entire yard. Play around with different lighting styles and finishes. Unless they are recessed into the ground or nestled high in treetops, your lighting fixtures will show during the daylight hours, too.
So it’s nice to have a mix that varies shapes, metal finishes, and design styles – as well as a combination of recessed ground lights, path lights, hanging lights and more to help keep things visually interesting while also providing nighttime illumination.
Next, use both cool and warm light. Cool light, with its undertones of white or a blue tint, can make your yard feel brighter and larger. When you add in accents of warm light, with a yellow or amber tone, you will shape welcoming, inviting spaces to gather and linger.
Also, be sure to highlight outstanding features, such as trees, flowers, statues, and water. As a general rule, cool light is best suited for plants, and warm light is best for man made objects.
Ready to jump into a section-by-section idea gallery? Let’s get started…
Landscape Lighting Ideas and Pro Tips for Every Section of Your Yard
Trees
A beautiful, majestic tree should be celebrated and enjoyed not only during the daytime, but also at night. Consider outdoor floodlights, as well as uplights, which are spotlights placed in the ground and directed into the branches, or downlights that are fixed to branches and cast light toward the ground, placed so beams do not intersect.
Pro Tip: Aim ground lights straight up into the foliage, but be certain that you also illuminate the trunk, to create a unified effect.
Gardens
Showcase your blooms and blossoms both day and night. Path lights can be placed throughout your beds, as can solar stake lights, which do not need to be hardwired into your home’s electrical system.
Pro Tip: Position lights to create pools of light, rather than one continuous swath of brightness, to create visual interest.
Pathways
Small lights along your walking paths help people see where they are stepping, adding to the overall safety of your property. Step lights are designed for this exact use, but you can also opt for bollard lights for a more sturdy look, or recessed ground lights for a minimalist effect.
Pro Tip: Space lights evenly around 10 to 15 feet apart to ensure consistent illumination. You can even alternate sides of the path for a balanced look.
Driveways
As with pathways, when it comes to driveways, you want to provide safety and security. But you don’t need to overwhelm the area with brightness: a few carefully placed floodlights or bollard lights can do the trick. You can even install motion sensor lights so that they only switch on when movement is detected.
Pro Tip: Use floodlights for a wide coverage area and enhanced security.
Mailboxes and signs
If you want to feature your mailbox or a sign welcoming people to your home, then it’s best to use a simple spotlight, a post light with a stunning lantern positioned close by, or even solar stake lights which switch on automatically after dusk.
Pro Tip: Illuminate mailboxes or signs from below, to ensure visibility from the street.
Porches and Entryways
You want your front porch or entryway to be welcoming to guests. The soft light of outdoor wall sconces, outdoor wall lanterns, or hanging lanterns can create this effect, as can pendant lights that are hung from the ceiling. Just be sure that they are rated for outdoor use.
Pro Tip: Place lights on either side of the door for a balanced look and adequate illumination.
Stairs and Steps
Walking up or down stairs in the dark can lead to a twisted ankle or slip and fall. Install small but effective step lights into your stairs or at the railing to keep yourself and any guests safe, or install recessed can lights in the ceiling above the stairs.
Pro Tip: Place step lights on the risers of steps to prevent tripping hazards.
Patios and Decks
Designed for outdoor enjoyment not only during the day but on warm evenings or cool nights, make the most of your patio or deck by creating a safe and welcoming environment. String lights hung overhead, wall sconces strategically placed to enable friendly conversation or even reading, and deck lights that are installed on posts or railings will help.
Pro Tip: Mix a variety of lighting sources to create a cozy atmosphere and ambiance, being sure to install them along steps and edges for increased safety.
Fences
Fences can do more than delineate the borders of your yard, they can also become beautiful landscaping features when they are properly lit. Spotlights installed at ground level can uplight a fence, creating a lovely effect, while fence lights that are fixed at the top of the fence will cast a downward glow. You can even position string lights along a fence for a fun and festive look.
Pro Tip: Highlight the lines of your fence to define boundaries in a subtle but beautiful way.
Retaining and Boundary Walls
Retaining and boundary walls create boundaries, but they also can be beautiful. Since they are often made of stone that has a wonderful texture, you can highlight this design feature by using wall wash lights to create a dramatic effect. Or you can use recessed ground lights and spotlights to do the same.
Pro Tip: Position fixtures close to the base of the wall, with their beams evenly spaced to bring textures into sharp relief.
Pergolas and Gazebos
A little bit of carefully planned lighting can make a big difference to your pergola or gazebo, by setting the right mood while also bringing sufficient light for a relaxing solo evening outdoors or an intimate gathering with friends. Consider string lights, hanging lanterns, and subtle spotlights fixed to the beams overhead.
Pro Tip: Drape string lights for a fun and inviting ambiance, or hang a lantern at the centerpoint of your pergola or gazebo for focal illumination.
Arbors and Trellises
Arbors are used to define and create moments of respite along walkways, as a beautiful gateway when entering a garden. Trellises provide support for plants, and can themselves be a fun accent to an otherwise bare wall. For these, think about string lights, spotlights, or even hanging lanterns.
Pro Tip: Weave string lights through arbors and trellises for a whimsical and lovely effect.
Outdoor Kitchens
Designed to be functional as well as welcoming, outdoor kitchens can really be enhanced through the use of pendant lights, which come in a wide variety of designs and finishes, as well as providing overall illumination. Other task lighting is important for focused work when you are chopping or cooking, so you can even benefit from under-cabinet strip lights to ensure safety and efficiency.
Pro Tip: Ensure that your task lighting is bright enough for food preparation and cooking, while not overwhelming the kitchen with brightness.
Outdoor Dining and Seating Areas
As with indoor dining rooms, you want these spaces to be relaxing to encourage family and friends to enjoy themselves over a leisurely meal and conversation. Pendant lights installed over the dining table will set the right tone, yet with outdoor dining spaces you can also use string lights draped overhead. And don’t forget to include a few well-placed rechargeable table lamps to help create the right ambiance.
Pro Tip: Use soft lighting to create an intimate setting, or even choose dimmable lights so you can adjust the mood for different occasions.
Lawns
Lighting can enhance your lawn’s visual appeal by highlighting features that might go unnoticed during the daylight hours. Place fixtures a few feet away from the things you want to draw attention to, and angle them slightly to one side to create a subtle effect that spreads evenly across the lawn. A wide-angle floodlight with low wattage is a great option, as are ground lights that are low and unobtrusive, or even recessed ground lights.
Pro Tip: Recessed ground lights will create a wonderful glow without any visible fixture to obstruct the view.
Outdoor Fire Pits
A fire pit creates its own light, but adding lights around it can emphasize its design features and even make sure that family and friends who are enjoying the fire don’t lose their footing. Use string lights draped around the outer structure, recessed ground lights to bring a soft glow, or set a post light with a lantern close by.
Pro Tip: Use recessed ground lights to define the fire pit’s perimeter and enhance safety.
Swimming Pools
Understated and elegant lighting around your swimming pool will draw attention to it in your yard, as well as set the mood for a night swim. Pool lights installed into the underwater walls are an obvious choice, as are deck lights set into any decking or railings. Even a few well-placed wall lights (rated for outdoor use) can help set the scene, especially if they have adjustable settings that allow them to be dimmed or brightened based on the vibe you want to create.
Pro Tip: Highlight the edges of your pool to create ambiance while also ensuring safety.
Water features
Other water features such as a pond, fountain, or waterfall will sparkle with a few strategically placed lights, accentuating the design features and softly rippling surface. Spotlights and recessed ground lights are great for defining the edges and highlighting the water, and submersible lights can create a wonderful effect from within the feature itself.
Pro Tip: Use submersible lights for dramatic underwater illumination, without overtaking the rest of your landscaping.
Rock Gardens
Emphasize the amazing shapes and textures of your rock garden with recessed ground lights, small low-wattage spotlights, or even path lights to illuminate their edges.
Pro Tip: Use recessed ground lights to highlight unique rock formations with subtle uplighting.
Sculptures and Statues
Outdoors sculptures are art for the garden, while statues can be a lovely way to honor family members, pets, or historical figures that are important to you. Small spotlights or bullet lights are perfect for drawing the eye to these artworks, providing directional and accent lighting to highlight them. Recessed ground lights are also a good option, uplighting the sculpture or statue from below.
Pro Tip: Use small, low wattage spotlights to create dramatic shadows and highlights.
We’re Here to Help with Your Landscape Lighting Needs
No matter what features you want to highlight in your landscape, at Visual Comfort we have lighting options that will create a wonderful overall effect. Visit visualcomfort.com to find classic and on-trend selections that will make your landscape shine.
FAQ
How much will landscape lighting cost?
The price will range depending on how big your project is, what fixtures you choose, and whether you engage a professional designer or installer. Solar stake lights are cost-effective and do not need to be hardwired into your home’s electrical system. String lights are also inexpensive, while creating a wonderful effect, but they require an extension cord and access to an outlet. For a full scale installation of landscape lighting, you might want to invest several thousand dollars.
Does landscape lighting need maintenance?
A couple of times a year, it’s worth checking wires and connections to make sure that they’re in good shape, and of course you will need to replace bulbs as necessary. To clean your lighting, use a soft cloth to remove loose dirt, then gently use soapy suds to wipe down the fixture and post, avoiding any electrical connections. Dry with a towel before applying metal polish. But be sure to avoid harsh abrasives or chemicals, as they can damage the finish.
How do I protect my lights from weather damage?
At Visual Comfort, our outdoor lighting is made of durable materials designed to last for years. Be sure to check your outdoor lights at least once a year for damage, such as a loose fixture. If there is any damage, you might be able to repair it yourself but if it is more extensive, then contact a professional.