Transform your home’s exterior into a bold, illuminated showcase with landscape lighting. Highlight your favorite features, such as a fountain or flower garden.

These lights are smart, so you can control them with your Alexa device or other compatible app. They also use energy efficient LED bulbs. Look for a fixture with a lamp-ready design to customize lumens, color temperature and beam spread. Click Here to learn more.

Path lights are the first type of landscape lighting most homeowners install because they’re relatively easy to do. They’re also one of the most important types because they help prevent trips and falls on walkways after dark. Adding path lights to walkways and steps is especially important if you have elderly residents or children who may be more prone to missteps.

Path lights can be placed very close together to create a continuous line of light along a pathway. They can also be spaced farther apart to highlight plants, garden elements, or unique flowers along the way. Spacing is key because too few or too many fixtures can affect how well a path is illuminated.

Unlike other lighting styles that blend in or reflect the landscape, decorative path lights make a bold statement. They’re eye-catching and add elegance to pathways, patios, and garden areas. These fixtures are available in a wide variety of shapes and colors, from smooth silhouettes to ornate, geometric designs. Choose from different finishes such as bronze, brass, or silver to complement your home’s architecture and landscape.

Directional path lights start with a post like other path lights, but have a “bullet” fixture on top that points downward to cast a wider beam of light across the ground. This style is ideal for lighting up low-growing shrubs and flower beds, or to highlight the edges of a patio or deck.

Mood lighting is another type of landscape lighting that can make your outdoor spaces more interesting. These fixtures can change color based on time of day, special events, or your preference to set a particular mood in your landscape. This type of lighting can be done with path lights, down lights, and recessed lighting.

Decorative Lights

Your home’s landscaping adds a great deal of curb appeal to your property. It’s the first impression your guests have of your property and creates a warm, inviting vibe that welcomes family and friends into your yard. Why not give it some extra eye appeal by illuminating it with landscape lighting? Residential landscape lighting not only increases your enjoyment of the space after the sun goes down, but it also provides safety and security for your property.

Path lights are an excellent example of how to use landscape lighting effectively. When positioned correctly, they provide much-needed light to walkways while still maintaining the beautiful look of your landscaping. To get the best results, position path lights in a natural zigzag pattern along your paths. This gives the effect of a glowing stepping stone pathway that’s safe to navigate at night.

Lighting is also a great way to highlight prized trees, such as this sycamore tree on this property. Using uplighting, the technique of pointing light fixtures upwards to illuminate an object, highlights the texture and details of your trees, while giving them some drama and making it stand out in your landscape. It’s important to note, though, that if you light up every single tree on your property, it could start to look overdone and take away from the visual appeal of the space.

You can also use uplighting to draw attention to a fountain, trellis, or other focal point in your landscape. By focusing the lights in this way, you can create a gorgeous and interesting look that really makes that feature pop in your yard.

The right lighting can also be used to highlight fences and privacy walls in your landscape. This can be done by aiming a light in the desired area, highlighting the style and finish of the fence and creating a more visually appealing backdrop that also helps to hide any unsightly spots on your property.

A well-designed landscape can increase the value of your home. Studies have shown that well-maintained gardens are one of the top features that home buyers look for in a property. By illuminating the spaces in your garden with landscape lighting, you can showcase your hard work and attract more potential buyers to your home.

Mood Lighting

Mood lighting can be used to illuminate trees, plants, sculptures, or other architectural features on your property after dark. Variations in fixture intensity, proximity to the object being illuminated, color temperature, and focus can reveal texture, and create dramatic effects. Properly positioned mood lighting can show off the shape of your towering cedar or the delicate beauty of your Japanese maple. It can cast a glamourous glow toward garden beds, magnify the leaves of water features, or highlight that sultry new sculpture in your yard.

Adding lighting to steps, edges of walkways, and any tripping hazards makes them visible for family members and guests after dark, and can prevent injuries. Lighting also adds a sense of safety to outdoor seating areas and patios.

Landscape lights can be adjusted to fit the size of your property and the layout of your landscaping to make the space feel more open and spacious. They can be turned on and off with a smart home app or by using the light’s built-in on/off switch. They can also be set to automatically turn on at dusk and off at dawn to make the most of your landscape lighting without wasting energy.

Your landscape lighting can set a romantic or sultry tone for your evening entertainment. By changing the color of your bulbs and experimenting with different angles, you can achieve a wide range of moods. For example, silhouetting is an effective technique that involves illuminating a feature against a wall or other solid structure to produce a shadow effect. Cross lighting is a similar effect but works best when the feature is lit from two different directions.

Landscape lighting can have a psychological impact on the way we perceive color. Low-temperature lights enhance warmth, while higher-temperature lights can cool the ambiance and bring out the true colors of your architecture or plants. 

Security Lights

When it comes to lighting your property for security purposes, you want to ensure that all potential entry points are well-lit to deter criminals. Motion-sensor lights are ideal for this purpose as they only turn on when movement is detected, saving energy and surprising intruders by turning the lights on suddenly. They are also an excellent choice for less frequented areas like side yards and driveways. Floodlights are another popular option as they provide a broad beam of light, ideal for illuminating large areas like sides of the house. Integrating landscape lighting with other home security measures such as alarms or cameras can further enhance the effectiveness of your security system.

A common concern homeowners have about security lighting is how bright it should be. Brighter lights tend to be more effective as they help deter criminals by ensuring all areas are clearly illuminated. However, it is important to avoid over-illumination as this can create shadows that offer hiding spots for criminals. In addition, the color temperature of the lights can also impact how visible they are; warmer colors create a more welcoming ambiance while cooler color temperatures can be more effective at deterring criminals.

Regardless of the type of lighting you choose for your property, an experienced landscape lighting designer will be able to create a lighting layout that combines beauty and safety. They can also work with you to integrate your landscape lighting with other home security measures, creating a more robust security network.

Effective maintenance of landscape lighting involves regularly checking for signs of damage or wear. For example, bulbs can burn out over time, which will not only affect the aesthetics of your yard but can also pose a fire risk. In addition, wires can become exposed due to rodent activity or harsh weather conditions. These problems should be promptly addressed as they arise to prevent them from causing costly repairs or even becoming a security issue.