Most people love the outdoors and spending time in their garden. However, if you want to enjoy your yard when it gets dark, investing in landscape lighting is a must! Not only will it add beauty to any outdoor space, but it also adds security to protect your home. While it’s clear that it’s essential to add outdoor lighting to your space, finding the right lighting can be challenging if you don’t know the available options for your home.
If you’re ready to design the best landscape lighting for your home, continue reading to learn about the various landscape lighting you can invest in today that will help make sure your backyard looks terrific at night.
1.Pathway Lights
Pathway lights are the perfect light for illuminating your yard when it gets dark out. These lights are often mounted to the ground and shine towards the sky so as not to cast any harsh shadows on a garden or sidewalk that might be close to one another. They help guide you as you walk throughout your yard in the evening and light up your path so it’s clear where you’re going.
Decorating Guide: Pathway Lights
If you choose to use pathway lights, you should strategically place them to highlight your path. The recommendation is to place each light 10 to 15 feet apart to create pools of lights highlighting your path. It’s essential to focus on the placement and direction of the aimed lamps, especially if you’re placing them on hillsides or stairways. Consider where people will sit or relax in your yard to ensure the light doesn’t hit them directly.
2.Garden Lights
Garden lights are typically mounted on walls, trees, or around your lawn. These lights are perfect for highlighting a specific yard area you want to showcase and give more attention to. Most people tend to choose LED garden lights because they don’t require much energy and can be powered with solar energy. Plus, garden lights typically have sensors that can activate as soon as daylight fades away.
Decorating Guide: Garden Lights
If you’re looking to spice up your backyard, consider adding garden lights that will highlight a focal point in the yard. For example, if you have an arbor or pergola with vines on it, cover the entire structure and surrounding ground with lights so you’ll get a romantic Italian feel when night falls. However, if that’s not your style, try surrounding your yard with various garden lights in areas where you enjoy entertaining guests.
3.Spot Lights
Spotlights are typically used to highlight garden structures, garden art, doors, or signage. Spotlights can also be used as an outdoor security light because they offer a focused light on specific areas. They’re different from other lights, such as floodlights, because they don’t cover a wide area. Instead, they create a narrow beam of light at one point.
Decorating Guide: With Spotlights
Spotlights can be placed along pathways, at entrances to your garden, around plants, or other garden features that need highlighting. However, you don’t want to add too many spotlights to your garden, or you’ll find that there are too many lights in your yard. Instead, be strategic in how you want to highlight your yard with spotlights, only focusing on key areas like statues, pools, ponds, or gardens.
4.Security Lights
Security lights are a must-have for any home. They’re used to create more visibility in your yard, which helps deter vandalism or theft and can provide you with some peace of mind when outdoors on the porch late at night. Security lights are also typically motion-sensitive, so they will only turn on if someone is nearby, making it an even better investment because they don’t waste energy.
Decorating Guide: Security Lights
Security lights are usually mounted to walls or fences, and they’re great for illuminating the exterior of your home in a dark area. They come with an adjustable arm that allows you to point it towards the ground without shining light into anyone’s eyes-perfect if there is a sidewalk nearby. These types of lights are typically set to a timer, and they turn on at dusk and off again at sunrise. It’s essential to place your security in an area that you want to deter animals or other people from entering.
5.Flood Lights
Flood lights are high-intensity lights that typically use a lot of energy because they’re on for long periods of time. They are often used to light up large outdoor areas, like the backyard or front yard, making them perfect for entertaining guests who have come over in the evening hours.
Decorating Guide: Flood Lights
Flood lights provide powerful beams that cover entire areas with ease and are perfect for illuminating an ample outdoor space like your lawn. They’re also used to light up paths or areas where you spend time outside, such as the driveway area or front porch. Floodlights shine bright, so you must place them in a location that won’t shine through your home windows or disturb your neighbors.
6.Post Top Lights
Post-top lights are LED-style lights that can be attached to the railings of your porch and deck or stand alone in an open area. They’re typically used as accent lighting for outdoor spaces and offer a bright glow from above. Post-top lights come in various shapes and sizes, so you can find them in almost any style imaginable. You’ll typically find these types of lights located in parking lots, roadways, or educational campuses.
Decorating Guide: Post Top Lights
Post-top lights are great for highlighting a deck or porch area, and they come in many shapes, including modern designs with contemporary accents. These types of lights can be placed on the railings surrounding your porch or deck to create an attractive glow at nighttime.
7.Porch Lights
Porch lights are a necessity if you own a home with a deck area. Porch lights offer ambient outdoor light and can also provide extra lighting when you’re entertaining guests or just taking some time alone on your porch at night.
Decorating Guide: Porch Lights
Porch lights come in many styles to help decorate according to the style of your home and how bright you want your porch light to be. There are traditional porch lights that offer a cozy, warm glow and modern designs with contemporary accents. You’ll typically find these types of lights in homes with porches or on decks, either placed near the front door or hanging from the ceiling.
8.In-Ground Lights
In-ground lights are perfect for illuminating your landscape and can be used to highlight specific areas or provide more general lighting. These types of lights are great if you have a ton of activity on your property because they’re less likely to get damaged. They are typically placed in front of bushes and trees.
Decorating Guide: In-Ground Lights
If there are any dark sections of your yard, installing an in-ground light is a great option. These lights can be placed in front of bushes or trees without you seeing the bulbs, but they’ll illuminate all nearby areas with a bright glow. Using them to highlight trees, gardens, or entertainment areas is an excellent use of in-ground lights.
How Do I Choose The Right Landscape Lighting For My Home?
Before you can start designing your landscape lighting, there are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration to make sure you choose the proper lighting for your home.
- Performance And Power: The first thing you should consider is the performance and power of your landscape lighting. Do you need a lighting solution that is powerful and bright, or do you prefer a mild, soft glow? Are you interested in a lighting solution specifically to protect your home, or is it just for decoration?
- Lighting Style: The second thing you should consider is the light style that will work best for your home. What matches the aesthetic and tone of your home? If you’re creating a peaceful oasis, you wouldn’t want to use powerful flood lights as they wouldn’t match your home fashion and might wash out delicate features.
- Type Of Light Bulbs: The third thing you should consider is the type of light bulbs that will work best for your home as they can play a role in the brightness and money you’ll spend. For example, LED landscape lighting utilizes less power and emits more lumens than traditional bulbs, so they’re a great option if you want to save money on your electric bill.
Choosing The Right Landscape Lighting With Lighting And Supplies
Landscape lighting is a must if you want to enjoy your yard at night. Making the right investment in landscape lights will help you create a fantastic ambiance for both evening and daytime enjoyment. Choose from our wide selection of outdoor electrical supplies, including solar garden lamps, ground stakes, and more. Shopping online makes it easy to find all of the tools that are needed for successful landscaping projects! Check out our entire outdoor lighting collection today!