Landscape lighting is an important addition to any property, regardless of the size and design of your front yard. However, many people don’t give this part of their property the attention it deserves. In fact, some are only concerned about the visibility of various points of their compound. In other words, they’re just looking to scare away intruders and tighten their security, which is a good thing.
However, if you’re one of these people, then you’re missing out on one of the best ways to lighten up your surrounding. You can adapt some of the best outdoor lighting ideas to create a special ambiance that’ll highlight all of your hard work and gardening talents. Any lighting system you choose will definitely light up your front yard, but not all of them bring out the uniqueness your home deserves.
Inasmuch as everyone has good intentions and amazing ideas, many people tend to focus on one area more than the rest of the compound. At the end of the day, your front yard will lack that crucial uniformity.
To avoid falling into such trouble, we’ve compiled a list of do’s and don’ts when installing or renovating your landscape lighting. Read on to learn more!
Do: Hire An Expert Whenever Necessary
With the current technology and access to a lot of videos and written content, DIY projects have become easier like never before. There are many things that one can do at home without the need to look for a technician or a contractor. However, not everything falls under this category.
Landscape lighting, for instance, can be very sensitive and will, more often than not, require the attention of a highly experienced technician. The good thing is that many companies have fully functional websites like https://washingtonoutdoorlighting.com/ where one can inquire about and book their services.
So, why do you need a landscape lighting technician? For one thing, these people specialize in this field. Therefore, they can easily detect where the problem is and make repairs as soon as possible. They can also use their knowledge to tell you whether there are other sections that might require a quick fix.
Since this is an electrical field, it’s already obvious that any tasks done here can be dangerous. As such, if you don’t have the right tools, you shouldn’t take any action. Otherwise, you’ll be risking your safety. Finally, hiring a contractor for this task will save you time and even money—if you find an affordable service provider.
Don’t: Place Path Lights in Planter Beds
Just as the name suggests, path lights are designed to illuminate pathways. So, obviously, they need to be installed along the walkways for them to work effectively. However, for some reason, other people install them in some odd places. For instance, you might find some located on flower beds, which makes no sense considering their primary purpose.
The problem with this design is the fact that the flowerbeds get the most of the light. In other words, the path lights might end up acting like accent lights. If this is your first time, then it’d be wise to ask for advice from a professional to avoid messing up your front yard appearance.
Do: Consider Steel Bollards for Your Path Lighting
old plank wood stair outdoor
Many people like using steel bollards for their path lighting, and rightly so. This idea is finding its way into modern landscaping designs. If you’re not familiar with this lighting system, it simply features heavy-duty posts with lights embedded in them. These posts, which are normally short in size, are installed along the pathways.
Apart from providing functional lighting, steel bollards give your pathways a beautiful look. It even gets better when you have these posts installed in straight lines from point A to B. This signature of beauty will always blend into your landscape, giving your visitors a fascinating view. The best thing about this idea is that it enhances the appearance of your yard both at night and during the day.
Don’t: Use Motion Sensors for Security Lights
Everyone enjoys new technology, right? But did you know that not all innovations are designed to work for you? Take motion sensors, for example; lighting systems with this feature may seem like a good idea. However, using motion detectors for security lighting might work against you.
Since security lights with such technology need to detect motion for them to come on, all one has to do is to avoid that area. If an intruder finds a perfect loophole for that, then the whole system will be ineffective. So, these motion-sensing lights might actually encourage trespass more than the normal lighting system.
Therefore, as you plan to install your security lighting, try to avoid motion-sensing lights. In fact, if possible, don’t use this idea in any of your landscape lighting systems at all.
Do: Let the Security Lighting Beautify Your Home
Illuminated home garden path patio lights and plants in evening dusk
Of course, the main purpose of the security lights is to make sure that your yard is safe. It discourages any trespassers from even thinking of stepping foot in your property. But that’s not the only reason you should install these lights across your front and backyard.
Security lights, as you must have realized, can beautify your building. The best security lighting system must not only safeguard the property but accent the beautiful features of your home. For instance, if you have an interesting design in your front yard, you can focus on it while also ensuring that the rest of the area is sufficiently lit.
In addition, you can avoid using shrouds on your lighting fixtures whenever possible. You see, any lighting designer’s objective is for the users to experience the effect and not the light’s source. Keep people wondering as they appreciate the good ideas of your lighting design.
Don’t: Sore Your Neighbors’ Eyes
The security lighting system should be able to illuminate all corners of your property. But that doesn’t mean that you should use floodlights or any other bright lights. You see, the disadvantage of such options is that they might interfere with the comfort of your neighbors.
In fact, it’ll no longer serve the purpose of beautifying your property. Who would want to sacrifice their eyesight just to look at beautiful designs in your home? To avoid all these inconveniences, you might want to opt for low voltage landscape lighting. 12-volt systems can actually work best in this regard because they offer enough security lighting but not too much for the neighbors’ eyes.
Don’t: Use an Up Light for a Path Light
Directional lights might seem like a good idea for your path lighting, but they really aren’t. Many people have adopted this design merely because it enhances their home’s beauty. However, what you forget is that such lighting systems can affect the pathway users.
The fact is that all directional lights must be adjusted for them to offer sufficient illumination. As such, you’ll definitely be forced to have them facing upwards. So, for someone who’s walking down the stairs, it means that these lights will be aimed straight at the eyes—you can imagine that experience.
So, the best option, in this case, would be to use fixtures whenever necessary. In lighting design, you need to consider all fundamentals before you can ahead and improve on the overall appearance. The priority is to make sure that all lights are serving their intended purpose before anything else.
Do: Try Smart Controls
As earlier mentioned, technology is a good thing to embrace, but only when done correctly. Well, one of the best innovative ideas you could try is smart controls. These controls allow you to remotely make adjustments to the brightness of your lighting system. Some are even designed to change the color of the lights to suit the occasion.
Do you always find yourself forgetting to switch the lights on and off? Well, today’s technology presents you with a number of timers. Of course, this idea has been around for years, but it’s gone through several evolutionary phases. If you’ve used an analog timer before, then you already know how frustrating it can be when there’s a power outage since you’ll have to reset it.
With digital timers, you don’t have to go through all that pain to reset them. They’re designed to do that automatically because they come with a battery memory backup. Since they’re digitized, all you need is to input your coordinates, and the system will automatically detect the time of the day in your area. This is crucial as it will control the on and off sequence of your lights.
Conclusion
Landscape lighting is one of the best ways to decorate your yard and make it appealing to the eye at night. However, to achieve this objective, there are some things you should or shouldn’t do. For instance, using bright lights and motion sensors is bound to work against your desires. Also, don’t install directional lights along your pathways because they can be sore to the user’s eyes.
On the other hand, using steel bollards and smart controls are some of the things that can make your lighting system effective. Also, make sure that your security system acts as accent lights to the beautiful designs in your home.
