Perla IrishHaving a lawn with all the healthy plants growing in it is one of the best ways to make the outside of your home look good. With proper landscaping, a messy jungle of a lawn can turn into an urban oasis. However, are plants and landscaping the only way to make your outdoors look beautiful?
There are many ways to make your outside look fantastic, but one sure-fire way is to combine plants, landscaping, and lighting. Lighting is an important aspect of interior design. However, when brought outdoors, lighting does its magic as well. With a lot of lighting fixtures available, it can get easily confusing for some.
In this article, we’ll delve into some of the types of outdoor lighting and get to know them a little more. With that said, here they are:
String Lights
String lights are essentially small, with several light bulbs hanging from a sturdy wire. Depending on the length of the wire, there could be 20 or more light bulbs in it. Individually, these light bulbs emit a warm glow and don’t shine too bright.
However, since they’re close together, string lights bring that magical feeling to areas where they’re placed. String lights are often hung over trees and branches and hardscapes as well.
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Landscape Lights
If you want to highlight the greenery of your shrubs or want to show off the flowers from your plants, it’s best to go with landscape lights. These lights are often used in both private and public places such as parks.
When appropriately placed within your garden, landscape lights can also feature focal points like small elevations, fountains, figurines, statues, and other attractive pieces in your garden.
Flood Lights
Perhaps one of the most essential and functional outdoor lights, the floodlight can offer more than just illuminating a specific area. Floodlights help put light on driveways and pathways. These lights are handy if placed near a driveway.
Imagine having to park in the dark with only your headlights on. You’d have a hard time seeing the driveway. Believe it or not, even the most skilled drivers get it wrong and park on their grass when there’s no light to help them out.
Another function floodlights have is that they can illuminate large areas. You don’t have to put in a lot of lights in an area to brighten it up if you have a floodlight nearby. Floodlights are also considered to be one of the best anti-burglar devices to have.
Spot Lights
Other than floodlights, a spotlight can also be used to illuminate a large area. The difference, however, is that spotlights focus their lights into a beam instead of spreading light around like floodlights. Spotlights are often used as accent lighting. These lights can shine a light on key features such as walls, patios, doors, signages, and even small features within your lawn.
The key to using spotlights is where you point them at. For example, if you point it upwards underneath a statue, it’ll help highlight its attractive features. Pointing it at a wall can also create a wall grazing effect.
Step Lights
If you have elevated platforms or patios in your yard, it can get a bit doozy when stepping on them in the dark. Step lights are used to illuminate these features to help you avoid accidents.
Aside from that important purpose, step lights can perfectly highlight the stairs with a warm and clear light. You can easily lower the lighting for a dramatic effect to make your platform look even more attractive.
Bollard Lights
Bollard lights are used to illuminate pathways. In a way, these lights also highlight small plants near pathways. If your pathway is made up of pebbles or arranged stone floor tiles, bollard lights can significantly improve the way they look. Whether it’s a zig-zagging path or a straight line, bollard lights can help light up the way.
Recessed Floor Lighting
Alternatively, you can use recessed floor lighting on your pathways as well. Bollard lights can get obstructive because of their small light posts. With pathway lights, you won’t see anything aside from the pathway and the light. The only drawback with pathway lights is that you may need to use more along your pathway because of their small size.
Takeaway
A beautiful lawn is a combination of proper landscaping, healthy plants, and adequate lighting. With these three combined, you’ll have the best-looking lawn in your neighborhood. The fixtures mentioned above will surely help you in choosing which ones are best for your place.
