Exterior lighting around your home can truly enhance your property’s beauty and curb-appeal. The right lighting design will not only provide security and safety to your home, but it will also change its aesthetic once the sun goes down. It is an easy and sure-fire way to dramatically alter your home’s landscape without too much effort – although you should be prepared for the cost behind the installation of good quality lights.
The right design
Before simply going out and buying whatever exterior lights are on sale, it is good to have a lighting design to follow. If you are unsure of how to design a lighting plan for your home, you can always consult the readily available online planners such as the one found over here //bit.ly/1h2sBlx. Some key points to keep in mind when designing a lighting plan include using lighting:
to accent key features such as the facade of your home, trees, fountains & outdoor cooking areas
to provide illumination along pathways and stairs
to create an inviting ambiance that will make you want to spend time outdoors in the evenings
The right lights
Different types of lights are available and are used for different purposes. Uplights and downlights are exactly what their names imply – one shines the light upwards, the other downwards. Spotlights focuses a beam of light on a particular feature. Fairy lights are almost like Christmas lights except they can come in a variety of shapes and forms including flowers, fairies, stars, etc… Deck lighting are small lights that you can embed into your deck for a seamless finish while some designers have gone so far as to incorporate time LEDs into swimming pool designs to make it look like there are stars in the pool at night.
Aside from the type of light you choose for your design, the kind of lightbulb will also play a crucial role in how the ultimate plan will look. Most lighting designers opt for the warm look of incandescent lighting – cold, white lights are not very popular as they are less appealing. Soft, warm lighting can now be found in LEDs, which is a terrific innovation that provides gives you the same inviting look and ambiance of incandescent lighting but at a fraction of the long-term cost. While LEDs are initially more expensive upfront, they last longer and will burn for years compared with ordinary bulbs.
To hire a designer or not
If you are unsure about how to create your own lighting plan, you can always hire a lighting designer to help you out. Should you decide to hire a lighting designer be sure to certify that the person in question specializes in outdoor lighting design and installation and that their company focuses solely on exterior lighting. Also be sure to the designer listens to what you want and delivers the kind of ambiance you envision.
Regardless of how you go about installing your exterior lighting, once it is done you will enjoy the results for years to come.
