The main image, courtesy of Blinkle, features an elegant example of how outdoor lighting can showcase the unique beauty of a home.

Adding character to your home can involve a wide-range of changes that can help complete the look and feel of your property. One overlooked technique for adding instant curb appeal is exterior lighting.

Though not just about creating an inviting atmosphere, outdoor lighting helps improve safety along walkways, driveways, and other access points around your home. With the right lighting design implementation, you can make a huge difference in how people perceive and experience your home at night.

If you’re looking for an easy way to give your house personality without overspending, there’s no better place to start than with quality landscape illumination!

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4 Reasons to Invest in Outdoor Lighting

Installing outdoor lighting around your home is a practical decision that can deliver several valuable, yet often overlooked, benefits. With outdoor lighting, you can add to the aesthetic appeal of your property, increase safety and security, and create a more inviting atmosphere for guests. You can guide visitors toward your door by illuminating pathways and gardens while highlighting architectural features that enhance your property’s visual appeal.

Outdoor lighting also deters potential intruders and provides peace of mind, ensuring your property is well-lit and safe.

Overall, installing outdoor lighting fixtures is an investment that provides significant returns, making your property more beautiful, safer, and more valuable.

  1. Improved Security
  2. Increased Curb Appeal
  3. Enhanced Landscaping
  4. Cost Savings

 

1. Improved Security

Adding outdoor lighting can provide added security to your home. By strategically placing lights around entrances, walkways, and other points of access, you can easily illuminate dark areas that may be a target for intruders. Quality lighting fixtures will also ensure that you have enough light to help identify suspicious activity.

 

2. Increased Curb Appeal

Outdoor lighting can create a warm and inviting atmosphere for your home, helping it stand out from nearby homes and keeping visitors safe at the same time. Additionally, with the right design, you can quickly draw attention to unique features, such as stylish windows, fruit trees and plants, while creating an aesthetically pleasing landscape.

Blingle luxury home with landscape and architectural lighting

Image courtesy of Blingle.

 

3. Enhanced Landscaping

Outdoor lighting can also highlight your landscape and bring out the beauty of its features. With the proper placement, you can brighten up gardens, ponds, and other points of interest while saving energy simultaneously. Add subtle lighting around pathways or walkways to create a more inviting look.

Artfully lighting the exterior of your home will also increase the enjoyment of your outdoor spaces, such as elevating how a sensory garden can be experienced at night.

Closeup view of a Bollard landscape light

 

4. Cost Savings

Lastly, investing in quality outdoor lighting can help you save money in the long run by using more energy-efficient systems. Installing energy-efficient fixtures like dimmer switches, motion sensors, and solar systems, in tandem with longer-lasting, lower-energy-using LED light bulbs will reduce your electricity bills and help you enjoy a more attractive home without overextending your finances.

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How to Choose Outdoor Lighting for Your Home

When choosing outdoor lighting for your home, four key factors should guide your decision-making process:

  1. Architectural Features
  2. Energy Efficiency
  3. Safety
  4. Professional Assistance

 

1. Architectural Features

When selecting outdoor lighting fixtures, it is essential to consider the unique characteristics of your home. For example, if you have a large landscape or garden, you will want to choose lights that can be placed in multiple locations without overwhelming the area.

If your home has distinct architectural elements, such as columns or arches, you will want to choose light fixtures to draw attention to those attractive features.

According to the lighting experts at Blingle:

“Outdoor lighting can highlight the beauty of your home’s architecture and create the perfect outdoor venue.”

Luxury Mediterranean home with arches highlighted with outdoor lighting

 

2. Energy Efficiency

When selecting outdoor lighting fixtures, it is also essential to consider the type of bulbs used and their energy ratings. Be sure to choose LED lights or other energy-efficient bulbs, as they are more cost-effective in the long run and can help reduce your electricity bills.

Also consider complementing prominent electrical lighting with other types of energy-efficient systems like solar- or battery-powered lighting that can be used for more subtle applications, such as deck post cap lights or railing lights.

 

3. Safety

Finally, always focus on safety when selecting outdoor lighting fixtures. Ideally, you should place lights near steps and around walkways to allow them to be easily visible in the dark.

Additionally, if you have a pool or hot tub, you should have the necessary lights to illuminate the area and ensure it is safe for your family and guests.

 

4. Professional Assistance

You should always consider seeking out professional advice before starting any major lighting project. A professional can help you ensure that your home’s outdoor lighting is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. With their well-rounded functional and creative expertise, you can easily add character to your home through the use of expertly-placed quality fixtures and lights.

Lighting professional installing a landscape path light

When discussing your needs with an outdoor lighting specialist, be sure to share how you wish to enhance the exterior appeal of your home, as well as how you plan to use, maintain and enjoy your outdoor spaces. An experienced professional can also help you design your lighting with future expansion and upgrades in mind.

One design and implementation approach to consider taking is to work with a professional to get the permanent “backbone” lighting system in place. Afterward, you can then incrementally add accent lighting fixtures over time that express your unique personality and tastes. These fixtures can be solar-powered, rechargeable portable LEDs, or even decorative hurricane lanterns to use with candles.

Western electric lantern hanging from a wooden post with view of mountains

 

Tips for an Optimal Outdoor Lighting Set-up

Creating an optimal outdoor lighting set-up is critical in enhancing your property’s atmosphere, functionality, and security. However, balancing aesthetic appeal with efficiency and safety can be challenging. That’s why it’s crucial to take note of a few tips when crafting your lighting plan.

First, choose the right fixtures that can withstand harsh weather conditions, but will still complement your home’s style.

Second, consider the appropriate placement of lights to illuminate pathways, entrances, and other critical areas, while avoiding glare and shadows.

Third, keep in mind on-going maintenance (e.g. replacing bulbs; adjusting light positions; cleaning enclosures and glass covers; adjusting solar-panel positions; placing wires out-of-harm’s way; setting manual timers, if applicable; accessing power outlets; etc.). If hiring a professional to install your lighting, be sure to request that the system be easy to maintain with easy access to critical components of the system.

Last, opt for energy-efficient bulbs and smart systems that allow you to control your outdoor lighting remotely and adjust it according to your needs. A smart system will make your outdoor lighting more enjoyable and easier to use.

With these factors in mind, you can achieve an optimal outdoor lighting set-up that adds value to your property and enhances your indoor-outdoor living experience.

 

5 Popular Types of Outdoor Lighting and Their Uses

Though there are various types of lights, each with a unique purpose, the five most popular exterior lighting types to consider upfront are:

  1. Floodlights
  2. Spotlights
  3. Wall Lights
  4. Uplights
  5. Path Lights

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1. Floodlights

Floodlights are powerful lights that are designed to spread illumination around an area. They are commonly used outdoors and can be installed on walls or the ground. These lights create a bright, intense wash of light that is perfect for illuminating gardens, driveways, and other large outdoor areas.

Modern white ADU well-lit at night by flood lights

 

2. Spotlights

Unlike floodlights, spotlights are designed to create a focused beam of light. These lights highlight specific features and objects, such as address numbers, trees, sculptures, and other decorative elements. Spotlights can also be used to draw attention to doorways or entrances.

closeup view of a landscape spotlight

Closeup view of a landscape spotlight

 

3. Wall Lights

These are another popular type of outdoor lighting commonly used to light pathways, walkways, and stairs. Wall lights come in various shapes and sizes, so you can easily find a style that complements your home’s architecture.

Craftsman Exterior Light Fixture

Closeup view of a Craftsman exterior wall light fixture

 

4. Uplights

Up lighting is typically used to point lights directly upward at key aspects of a home (e.g. key architectural features) from the ground level. This lighting technique is also popular with event designers, as this type of lighting can make any space seem more interesting, especially when involving different colors and textures.

Outdoor up lighting highlighting a brick retaining wall at night

Up lighting of a brick retaining wall

 

5. Path Lights

Path lights are often thought of when thinking of landscaping as they are so prevalent. As the name implies, path lights are primarily used to highlight walkways at night. However, with the popularity of solar-powered lighting, path lights can be used for a wide range of applications, such as garden areas and edges of landscaped spaces.

Bollard landscape path lights next to outdoor stone stairway

Bollard landscape path lights

 

Miscellaneous Outdoor Lighting Types

Keep in mind that your outdoor area may warrant several other types of specialty likes, such as:

String Lights for intimate outdoor dining areas

String lights hanging over outdoor dining area at night

Underwater lights for ponds and fountains

Large residential pond with stone waterfall with underwater landscape lighting

Step Lights for dimly lit stairways

Kichler River Path collection of outdoor lighting plus hardscape step lights

Image courtesy of Kichler

Outdoor-rated LED Strip Lighting for a wide-range of creative applications

Govee Wi-Fi RGBIC Outdoor-rated LED Strip Lights on two story house

Image courtesy of Govee

 

Final Thoughts

Outdoor lighting fixtures can be a great addition to your home. Not only do these lights provide functional benefits, but they also add aesthetic appeal that can create a warm, inviting and memorable atmosphere for visitors. With the proper lighting set-up, you can also improve your property’s safety, security, and overall value without needing a large budget.

Consider the various types of lights and their uses when crafting your outdoor lighting plan. With careful planning, you can achieve an optimal set-up that adds character to your home or business.

Now that you better understand outdoor lighting fixtures, you can add some personality to your property. Get started on creating your ideal outdoor lighting plan today!

 

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