After the sun sets and darkness arrives, display the beauty of your property all year

long with a well planned and designed exterior lighting system. Enhance the beauty of

your landscape and make more use of outdoor spaces like decks and patios in the

summer. Exterior lighting can offer transition lighting between indoors and outdoors

and provide necessary lighting to safely see walkways, steps and doorways. Your guests

will feel welcome and your family will feel safe when your yard and home are properly lit.

 

Door Lighting – Your main entrance is your welcome into the home and can accent your

home’s curb appeal. Lighting on both sides of the door should be considered with at least

one light provided on the same side as the door handle to minimize shadows on locks.

Lighting your main entrance is a must for safety reasons and checking these lights

should be part of your monthly maintenance plan.

 

Path Lighting – Path lights are low to the ground to provide lighting for walkways, steps

and driveways. When lighting longer paths, position lights on alternate sides of the path

for variety and better sight lines. Position step lights to avoid shadows on the steps.

For driveways, position the lights to define the edges by placing them a foot from the

edge along one or both sides.

 

Up Lighting – Up lights focus attention on specific items like statues, textured walls and

trees. Lights can be positioned near tree trunks to emphasize bark texture or away from

the tree to dramatize the density of the foliage. In-ground lights can be concealed behind

plants and should be aimed away from viewers to avoid glare.

 

Down Lighting – Floodlights can be positioned to illuminate wide areas for safety and

outdoor entertaining. Lights can also be placed up in trees to create a moonlight effect

and cast ground shadows of branches and leaves. Consider pruning requirements and

lamp replacement when positioning these fixtures.

 

Spotlights – Spotlights use an accessory shield to provide a direct beam of light to accent

the beauty of specific features around your home. When placed properly, spotlights light

up your prized flowers or an ornamental tree with almost no glare.

 

Front Lighting – Front lighting is a common technique that provides lighting to a

dimensional area producing well defined shadows. Cross-front lighting can be applied by

adding another floodlight to soften the shadows. Front lighting can also be used to project

dramatic shadows of plants, trees, rocks, statues, etc.

 

Back Lighting – Another technique for enhancing the drama of distinctive small trees,

rocks and plants near the home is to back light them creating a silhouette on the lit wall.

Best when lit from below, brick walls and textured surfaces can be enhanced visually and

offer a backdrop for your evening landscape.

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