Exploring the Best Landscape Lighting Ideas for Your Home

If you want to add some creativity and style to your outdoor landscaping, you may want to consider outdoor lighting. This is one of the easiest and best ways to transform your outdoor spaces, making them into places for your whole family to relax and enjoy at any time of day. The right lighting can also massively increase the curb appeal of your home, potentially raising the value and helping you fall in love with the house that you live in. But how do you add this type of lighting to your existing landscaping? There are a ton of different options you can use, depending on the specifics of your situation and your home. Let’s look at some of the best outdoor landscaping ideas.

Path Edging

One tactic that people sometimes use is to put strings of LED lights along the edges of paths and brick pavers. This makes it easier to navigate a large space at night, and it makes those paths stand out. It also adds a gentle ambient lighting to the entire outdoor area.

Dramatic Up-lighting

Another option is to put upward-facing spotlights along the front of your house. People often aim these at windows, trees, flagpoles and the like. The right up-lighting should accent the features of your home and make it appear warm and inviting.

Outdoor Lanterns

When it comes to paths, another tactic for lighting them is to use outdoor lanterns. Some of these are wired and some of them are solar powered. They can offer a lot more light than a string of LEDs, and they may give you more of the old-world style that you’re looking for. They are larger though, so they are going to take up more space in your yard.

Unique Fixtures

People sometimes add unique lighting fixtures that are really going to be distinctive. This isn’t for everyone, as it has to fit the aesthetic of your home. But there are options like outdoor planters with built-in lights or even log sections with lights inside of them that can be used to run along the edge of a path.  

Hanging Lights

  One of the most popular things to do is to use strings of hanging lights. People sometimes run these around the edge of the pool, for example, or along the top edge of a fence. If you have a pergola, you can also string lights across the top crossbars, or you may use them to brighten up the facia on your home.

Built-in Stair Lights

Stairs are a common trip hazard in the dark, and so adding built-in lights can help to keep people safe. But these lights are also fairly dim, so they are a nice subtle way to make it easier to get around while still keeping the space rather dark and natural.

Brick Wall Lighting

If you’re doing landscaping at your home, you may be installing new brick walls. This is an ideal time to have lights built into the wall itself. When you have them wired to a switch at the front of your home, it’s easy to quickly lighten up the garden or your outdoor living spaces. But these lights are barely visible when they are not in use, and they just blend into the rest of the brick wall.

Tree Lighting

In some cases, a backyard space is designed around a beautiful old tree that has probably been on the property longer than you’ve owned it. One tactic could be to aim spotlights up at it, as discussed above, and some people also run string lights or white Christmas lights through the branches. This can be an excellent way to add lighting to a patio where you may want to eat dinner or have drinks with friends.

Scattered Lanterns

Above, we discussed using lanterns to edge a path, and this is one of the more common uses. But they can also be scattered about a garden or an outdoor space. For instance, they could be set on sections of a railroad tie that has been set up to provide a rustic design theme. The right lanterns will accentuate the theme and can provide points of light across the yard.  

Garden Lights

Most people have planter boxes, gardens or general landscaping that includes shrubs, flowers and other bushes. You may find that adding small lights to the base of some of these is a great way to accent them at night and make them visible. During the day, however, the plant itself covers up the light and makes the space look organic.

Tube Lighting

Similar to strings of LED lights are long plastic tubes with lights inside of them. These provide some additional protection from the elements or from children and pets. They can also be laid out very smoothly, such as along the edge of an uneven rock wall, where the tube can be manipulated to perfectly fit that edge.

Driveway Lights

If your driveway runs up to the side of your outdoor space, adding lights in the walls or on the edge of the asphalt can accentuate that border. This may make it easier for people to park the car at night, and it also sets apart the backyard space so that it feels more exclusive and intimate.

In-floor Lighting

Many outdoor spaces include a deck that may be built out of wood or a composite material that will last for decades. Regardless of the material, if you’re installing a deck or renovating it, you can add small lights along the edges, in the stairs or under the benches. The deck itself provides an easy way to hide the wiring, and these lights add a nice touch to a space that you were already going to use frequently.

What’s the Best Option for You?

Every home is going to be unique and every homeowner is going to have their own idea of what they want their outdoor space to look like. Any of these options could be perfect for you. The key is just to explore all the options that you have and determine how they would best fit your property so that you can create the beautiful outdoor spaces you’ve always wanted.  

Contact us today

If you’re having issues with lawn pest control, fungus, fertilization, dead spots or anything else that is taking away from the pristine outdoor space that you want to have, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. We’ve been doing lawn care in Fort Myers for years, we’re sure we can find solutions and you’re going to enjoy working with our friendly team as you create the lawn you’ve always dreamed of.  There are a lot of waterfront properties around Fort Myers, Florida, as homes are often located on bays, canals, harbors, lakes, rivers, islands and, of course, the ocean itself. Here at Landscape Pros, we fully understand that this leads to some challenges when it comes to custom landscape design in Fort Myers, FL, but it also leads to a lot of beautiful opportunities. With the right team on your side, you can develop an outdoor living space beyond your wildest expectations. Whether you already live in Florida or you’re moving there from a northern state, you need to know exactly what challenges you’re going to face and how to get the most out of making a tropical oasis on your property.