Carefully creating your house’s aesthetic is one of the best parts of being a homeowner. Allowing your home’s exterior to represent your personal style is a great way to add curb appeal, but if you’ve never chosen paint colors or roofing materials before, the process can be pretty daunting.
Your home’s landscaping should be designed with just as much thought as you put into other aspects of your home, and that includes landscape lighting. Landscape lighting may not be something you’ve thought much about before, so here are some handy tips on how to choose your home landscape lighting design style.
Your Style
Like every other part of your home design, there is no right or wrong. Instead, as the homeowner, you get to choose the style that resonates with you, suits your home, and that you enjoy looking at. Still not sure how to choose? Here are a few different landscape lighting design approaches that you might like.
- Minimalist
A minimalist approach is a way to go for those who believe lighting should add to the home’s appearance without drawing attention to itself. This style uses light to highlight the home and landscape’s subtle details. For example, some use ground lights to highlight a footpath or subtle backlighting to accentuate an architectural feature.
A minimalist lighting style is a great way to use subtle, low lights to create a romantic atmosphere. Be careful, though – this style can look “spooky” to some. Opt for subtlety over drama.
- Statement
However, if you’re a fan of drama, then statement lighting is for you. A statement style uses extra-bright lights or lights that cast a broader coverage to reveal the entire home or a prominent feature. Statement lighting works exceptionally well for homes with topiaries, fountains, or a generally shapely landscape.
Even this bright, bold option can make a home look elegant and stately when lights are carefully placed.
- Accent
An accent lighting approach uses intense spotlights to draw attention to a home’s unique or beautiful architectural features. Unlike statement lighting, which aims to illuminate large swathes of the house, accent lighting zeroes in on key areas of the home that you’re particularly proud of. To focus on a feature as much as possible, a narrow spotlight should be used so that the lit area can contrast with the darkness around it. However, for most areas that you’d want to highlight, a slightly wider beam can look a bit more natural.
- Security
Lighting doesn’t always have to be for a specific design aesthetic. Landscape lighting is also quite beneficial from a safety and security standpoint. To help residents and visitors arrive safely at the front door while deterring break-ins, go for motion-sensor lighting that will light up automatically when movement is detected. That means no fumbling in the dark for keys and an alert if anyone comes around at night.
If you’re ready to get your dream landscape lighting installed – or if you need a little helping choosing your style – the lighting pros with GCS Outdoors can help.