Landscaping is integral to any space. Well-chosen landscaping can create a welcoming path to the front door of a home, make an office space seem enticing and inviting and allow the entire structure to blend in well with the surrounding area. While landscaping alone is important, part of creating thoughtful landscaping is using lighting with the existing greenery and doing so carefully. Artfully chosen lighting offers many benefits. Lighting provides illumination at night making the space usable even after sunset. It also helps show off special plantings and brings attention to the details of the entire space. When choosing lighting, it’s important to bear certain things in mind in order to get ideal results.
The Desired Effect
Perhaps the most important goal when thinking about landscaped lighting are the aims of the lighting. Ideally, the lighting used should be one that allows the user to achieve many goals at the same time. Many people also want to use the lighting they are going to install to do other things as well such as bring a sense of drama to their property during the Christmas season. Each aim requires a slightly different approach.
Basic Accent Lights
Basic accent lights are ideal for a small property where the aim is to help illuminate the property at night. A few single spotlights can be placed in the front yard every 3 feet. The lights can be set to a timer to go off when needed. Basic accent lights can also be placed in other parts of the property to allow people to get to them at night.
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Understated Lighting
Another popular approach is the minimalist lighting approach. This kind of lighting calls for a light touch with few lights anywhere. All you need are a few down lights and some smaller lights along the pathway to the house or the building. This is an eco-friendly way of illuminating any space that will help save on energy costs and fits in well with the idea of minimalism.
Creating a Statement
Many people love the idea of creating a statement. They aim for a look that is all about offering drama and flair to the entire property. The goal is to make the entire house and property stand out from the others in the street. This is where you can pull in the big guns and really add lots of lighting. Statement lighting is all about using large spotlights and uplights to add light to many specific areas of the house and the property. Look for large lights that can be placed along the front of the house and in specific areas in the front. Use a few small lights to help bring a sense of contrast and make the entire house seem unified and coherent.
Safety First
Homeowners who have small children may wish to emphasize safety at all times. The goal is to make sure the house can be seen at night from all angles. This allows people to leave and return even late at night knowing they are protected. Use lots of down lights to carefully make sure all parts of the property are covered in light.
A Naturalistic Approach
For many homeowners, light can feel intrusive. They want lighting that lets them enjoy a rustic feel and lets the beauty of the night come to life. Low level lights are ideal for this plan. Use small lights along the path to the house. Avoid using any additional lights anywhere else.
