The Ultimate Landscape Lighting Design Guide

In this article we are covering complete ultimate landscape lighting design guide, so keep reading. Landscape lighting is used to illuminate your home’s exterior and its property. It frames their design and décor, which can make them more aesthetically pleasing and easy to see.

There are four broad categories of landscape lighting:

1. Ambient lighting uses low light levels spread evenly over a larger area of your yard. This allows people to see where they are going but doesn’t create pools of visibility or any specific focus points. Most models are low voltage.
2. Accent lighting is used to highlight certain features of your home’s exterior, such as trees, statues, or other elements. It can make these objects appear more prominent and create a dramatic effect.

   

3. Task lighting is meant for outdoor activities, like eating on your patio or hitting balls with a tennis racket in your backyard. Task models use bright light projected over specific areas so people have enough visibility to do what they need to outside at night. 
4. Novelty lighting is made to illuminate specific parts of your outdoor space in creative ways. This includes things like lighted “fairy” paths, water jets that are lit by underwater LEDs, and lights on garden statues. They can have a decorative effect, but novelty lighting isn’t appropriate for every home exterior.

Best Ways to Use Landscape Lighting: 

There are many different strategies you can use when it comes to landscape lighting. Here are some best practices for using landscape lights in your yard:

1. Ambient Lighting: Low-profile models attached to exterior walls and fence posts are a good choice for ambient lighting. They can be purchased inexpensively and used around your entire property, thanks to their low power consumption 
2. Task Lighting: Task lights provide the necessary illumination for specific activities. They include ground spots, floodlights, and spotlights that focus on garden statues and other focal points. These need to be installed by professional lighting company who know what they’re doing, since it’s important not to point lights directly at a person’s eyes.
3. Novelty Lighting: Artificial fountains, swimming pool lights, and stepping stones with built-in illumination are just some of the ways to use novelty lighting. These should be installed by professionals because they require complex wiring that can easily cause problems if not done correctly.

Design Guidelines for Landscape Lighting:

There are several things to keep in mind when designing your outdoor space with landscape lighting in mind. It’s helpful to leave the task of installing any lighting up to a professional landscaper or electrician. Here are some basic guidelines you can follow:

1. Lighting Levels: Make sure all areas you want illuminating have enough light output from your models. Low levels of ambient lighting can make the overall effect of the lighting less pronounced while high levels can be overwhelming and make it difficult to see where you’re going.
2. Lighting Colors: Dark colors absorb light while lighter shades reflect it. While this doesn’t have any direct effects on your landscape lighting, it’s still important for people who are designing their outdoor spaces. White lights are recommended because they produce brighter light with lower power consumption than yellow or amber alternatives.
3. Lighting Areas: Landscape lighting is typically attached along the exterior walls, fence lines or around areas where steps meet the ground. This helps illuminate all intended areas so everything has proper visibility at night without being too bright in any one spot.
4. Lighting Styles: You can use styles of lighting depending on what your goal is. High-style designs are generally more formal and intended for upscale homes, while low-style fixtures are appropriate for rustic or casual homes.

Landscape Lighting Pros:

When you’re ready to start using landscape lighting in your yard, make sure you hire professionals like Illuminate Landscape Design who know what they’re doing. Hiring an experienced contractor will prevent you from having problems with your outdoor lighting that could end up becoming major headaches down the line. Contact to Illuminate Landscape Design today!