Most of us decorate our homes with outdoor lights on special occasions. But wouldn’t you feel utterly delighted coming home to a gorgeous entrance after your busy day at work? You have probably designed your home to look the best during the day. So, why let the beauty go down with the sun? If you want to embellish your outdoor area to look elegant day in and out, let’s look at ways to get the most out of your exterior lighting.

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Benefits Of Exterior Lighting

No wonder lights look alluring, but other than beauty, outdoor lights have many benefits for the exterior of your home. No matter if you own a condominium, single-family home, or townhouse, you should consider outdoor lighting as an important factor. Here are some benefits of exterior lighting:

• Exterior lighting enhances safety and reduces the risks of theft and crimes.

• Enables you to move around the house easily.

• Creates a welcoming ambiance for your guests.

• Highlights and builds attention to the landscape and architecture of your home.

• Enables outdoor get-togethers and barbeques.

• Adds curb appeal to your home and enhances its value.

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Things To Consider Before Installing Exterior Lighting

There are certain parameters that you must pay attention to before installing exterior lighting. Since homes have different architectural designs, it becomes important to know what works best for your exterior living space. Let’s look at a few things to consider before investing in exterior lighting.

1 – Take A Walk Around Your Home At Night

Simply walk around your home to have a careful look at areas that need to be illuminated. Lights can add drama to the landscape and architectural features of your exterior. Don’t forget to consider areas like gardens and trees to add lighting. Pay attention to general lighting that helps you perform basic tasks like cooking outdoors and enjoying a bonfire at night with your family.

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2 – Areas To Be Illuminated

To make sure that you don’t miss out on anything, here’s a reminder. Make a list of areas you want to brighten, like front doors, patios, outdoor cooking space, pools, gardens, driveways, stairs, garage doors, address plates, walking paths, flagpoles, and walls, and special features such as fountains or statues. These are the essentials that you must not miss.

3 – Choosing Suitable Fixtures For Your Outdoor Area

There are tons of different fixtures on the market that can be used in varied ways. Apart from the pendant, lamp post, ceiling lights, and wall scones, other modern fixtures are also popular. Here are other ideas to consider:

• Bollard Lights: These are 40” to 44” tall vertical posts that can level up visibility along stairs, pathways, and driveways.

• Path Lights: Their function is similar to bollard lights, but they are smaller in size.

• Uplights: These can be used to light up flagpoles, greenery, and water features such as fountains.

• Floor Lamps: These elegant lamps come in striking shapes and are useful for urban balconies and rooftop gardens.

• Globe Lamps: Adorn your decks or patios with globe string lights to give a cozy French café touch.

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4 – Figure Out Your Style

Some people prefer their indoor and outdoor lights to look similar and have the same theme, while others like contrasting interior and exterior lighting. There are multiple options available for all sorts of preferences, be it decorative or minimalistic. There are limitless choices.

5 – Waterproof Lighting

It is immensely important to buy wet-rated lights so that they can withstand direct exposure to rain. Also, make sure to buy damp-rated products for areas that do not receive direct rain but retain moisture. Be aware of local code requirements, for example, dark sky compliance; such rules ensure your exterior lighting is positioned downward to decrease the brightness for surrounding homes and buildings.

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Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Exterior Lighting

Now that you are well aware of things that you should consider before installing outdoor lighting, here are tips to ensure you get the most out of your choices. Appropriate illumination is very important for your exterior space in order to conserve energy.

1 – Aim Lights Carefully

Place your exterior lighting in a way that guides your eye from one feature to the other, rather than a direct deposit of illumination at a single point. Less is more is a good rule for sophisticated lighting. A single beam of light is enough to fade away the darkness. Make use of power efficiently by placing your large fixtures at a distance of 20 feet while smaller ones at 10 feet.

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2 – Focus On The Front Entrance

The front entrance is a bridge between the exterior and interior of your home. Make sure that the transition is smooth and not disturbing. Use proper lights that are not harsh to the eye and create a warm ambiance. Choose the right intensity and color temperature. Embellish your front entrance with a minimalistic approach to give an elegant look and curb appeal.

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3 – Choose The Size Carefully

The error that most people make while choosing exterior light is the size. It should neither be too small nor too big. If the lighting fixture is small for an area, it will not illuminate the place well and go unnoticed. For example, for wall scones, the size must be one-third to one-fourth the height of your front door. Place the fixtures at eye level. Usually, this will make the center of light 5 to 6 feet above the ground. The rule for garage lighting is similar to the front door. However, it might vary by the height of the garage door.

4 – Use Uplighting Properly

Uplights can create varying interesting effects. Consider the following:

Shadowing: You can create shadows using a spotlight. Place it in front of a plant and angle the light toward the wall at a height to create a shadow in the background that is an absolute eye-catcher. It makes your small plants look bigger. You will not take your eyes off the flickering shadows as the gentle breeze passes by.

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Highlight: If you want to highlight certain features of your outdoor area use up lights to bring attention to sculptures, fountains, and garden structures.

Wall Washing: Illuminate the texture or patterns of your exterior walls with uplights to create a warm and glowing surrounding. Place the fixture close to the base of the wall and direct it upward to illuminate the wall.

Silhouetting: Add drama to the exterior of your home by playing with a spotlight to create a beautiful silhouette. Place the spotlight behind a feature by positioning the beam of light on the wall behind it to create a backdrop.

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5 – Right Use Of Downlighting

Downlights are usually used to highlight and give detail to features of your outdoor area. Let’s see how:

Accenting: Use downlights to draw attention to minor detailing of your exterior architecture or illuminate a limited space.

Moonlighting: You can place downlights high above the trees to create desired shadows and brighten up the structure. Position the fixture very high and angle it not more than 30 degrees vertically to create a moon-glow effect.

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6 – Illuminate Water Features

If you have a pond, pool, fountain, or waterfall, you can use light to make them look magnificent. Use enough light since the rays will get scattered in water. Add light to a waterfall by keeping the movement of water in mind. Focus the light to where the water drops and hits the surface to highlight air bubbles. You will require extra efforts here as water bends with light. Experiment with the position of light until you find the perfect angle.

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7 – Use Shield Bulbs To Concentrate Light

Avoid using intense lights which might appear harsh and disturb your neighbors. Many people use shielded lights to illuminate a limited area and block it from where you don’t want the light to shine.

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8 – Minimize Wattage

You don’t want your exterior lighting to be too dim or too intense. If you choose something very radiant, you will see a lot of glare. Therefore, choosing the right wattage is important. If you want to light pathways, use a wattage of 80-100. To illuminate areas such as the garage and driveways, use 40-80 watts. To highlight other features like an address plate, a mailbox, and flower beds use 18-20 watts. Consider LED bulbs to conserve energy and save on electricity bills. They also last longer so it saves on replacement costs.

9 – Safety Considerations

Lighting must be properly placed to accentuate desired features along with providing safety and security. Near the front door, install low wattage lights which radiate no heat and draw no bugs.

Types Of Exterior Lighting

We have discussed several considerations, tips, and tricks for installing exterior lighting. Now let’s look at the various lighting options available out there.

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1 – Garden Lighting

You can brighten up your garden in numerous pretty ways. Use round ground-level lights to create a silhouette on grass or spike lights to enhance the beauty of foliage. You can also install mushroom stake lights to give a fairy tale effect to your garden. However, if you want your garden to look more traditional and aesthetic, embellish it with lanterns, candles, and flames. Ball lighting can also be used on trees to set friendly and welcoming vibes.

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2 – Wash Lighting

Wash lighting is the ingredient to bring your exterior together as the night falls. You can create a truly magnificent ambiance using the right techniques. Indirect lighting is used to transform dark backgrounds into something familiar and welcoming. Wash lighting illuminates walls, pillars, and other objects using low-angle light fixtures to balance the backdrop. It can be used to create composed and interesting symmetry. Wash lighting helps make your exterior more visually appealing without being too intense.

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3 – Bullet Lighting

Do you want to bring the focus of light to certain features without disturbing the surroundings? Bullet lighting is the answer. This light is shaped like a bullet that throws light in a particular direction. It comes in different colors and sizes. You can direct these lights on the angle and direction of your preference. Bullet lights are multi-functional and can be used to elaborate facades and enhance security. Aesthetic bullet lights can be used to add a traditional look to your exterior.

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4 – Well Lighting

Well, lights are lighting fixtures that are installed in the ground or underwater. They face upward and are a great option for uplighting. These lights are waterproof and dampproof. You can mount them on steps, along a pathway, in the garden, and swimming pool. Wall lights can be installed even in flood-prone areas without any trouble. You can embellish your firepit area with these ground lights to provide a safety feature as well as a glow.

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5 – Flood Or Security Lighting

Floodlighting is probably going to be the brightest light in your exterior space. As the name suggests, the purpose of this light is to flood an area with light. It can provide a safety/security feature to illuminate a garage, entrance, or backyard. There are motion-sensing security lights available on the market. They have motion detectors installed with 2-3 bulbs that turn on only when there is movement. This intense lighting can easily expose a trespasser.

6 – String Lights

Who doesn’t like cozy and romantic string lights? You can utilize these soft, affordable, and low-voltage lights to create an intimate and dreamy ambiance that is perfect for a dinner date or fun with friends. You can easily hang string lights anywhere to illuminate your patio, fire pit, or outdoor kitchen.

String lights also look artistic on plants and trees. They come in diverse colors and designs to choose from, such as ball-shaped, crystal drops, and string lights. Make sure to invest in waterproof lighting.

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7 – Lamp Posts

Light posts can be placed easily anywhere. There are both classic and modern lamp posts that you can use to adorn your exterior area. You can place lamp posts on both sides of the main entrance. They can also be placed in your lawn near a sidewalk or driveway.

Solar lamp posts are the talk of the town at present. They are energy-efficient and long-lasting. As the lamp posts radiate light in all directions, they can be used to illuminate multiple features simultaneously.

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8 – Outdoor Ceiling Fans

A good way to ventilate and lighten your outdoor area simultaneously is to install an outdoor ceiling fan that contains a light bulb. If you have a covered patio where you spend time with family and friends, an outdoor ceiling fan is a great option for you. They can also be installed in the garage or workshop to dissipate the toxic odors along with getting a centralized light source to work.

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The Bottom Line

Now you have many ideas that will help you create your dream exterior living space with the right lights and fixtures. Aren’t you excited to see how your home will look? For help on deciding which ideas are best for the outside of your house, go to Dzinly.com. We can help you fine-tune your choices for a beautifully illuminated exterior space. Get professional advice and see renderings of exactly how your house will look with the choices you’ve made.