Having outdoor lighting enhances your landscape, improves your curb appeal, boosts home security, and encourages family and guests to spend more time outside your home on the comfortable Ikea kivik sofa. With all these stated benefits, it’s understandable why you want to invest in upscaling your outdoor lighting. Read on with this article to gain insights on what trends are currently popular among many homeowners.
When the sun finally sets, your outdoor lighting fixtures play significant roles in illuminating your yard, patio, and garden to turn into a warm ambiance. After all, you’d want to take in the fresh air and spend some time the American outdoors has to offer – all after your hectic working day sitting in four corners of your office room. It’s time to approach professional experts in outdoor lighting in Beaverton Oregon, and other contractors in nearby areas to lighten and liven up your outdoor areas.
You can turn your outdoors illuminated adequately with some of these trendy outdoor lighting tips:
1. Go For Smart Wall Lights
It’s imperative to illuminate all front areas of your home’s exteriors, especially near the entryway. Wall lights are one excellent illumination idea that can uplift your wall’s darkness and give the illusion of warm hues and a relaxing atmosphere.
Against white walls, you can find smart wall lights that can work in contrast to the color white. They can match the door perfectly too. Add two wall lights to the opposite side of the door so they can be enough to work as guide lights for those who want to visit your home during the night. This enables everyone to keep safe as they ring the doorbell from your door. You’ll enjoy it as much as your guests when you add these smart wall lights.
2. Hang Some Pendant Lights On Sturdy Ceilings
Above-the-head lights are among the best ones that instantly elevate an outdoor area. Whether you intend to lighten up your patio or balcony, pendant lights should be a great idea. This also works on gazebos and porches, as long as you can find ceilings to hang and accommodate these fixtures. Such hanging statements make your space look luxurious, like it’s inspired by vacation houses overseas.
These architectural designs add more contemporary twists to your home’s theme in a spectacular way. Find pendant lights that are durable and can withstand external conditions since they’ll be hanging from the ceiling and there might be a tendency for strong winds to blow the lights back and forth.
3. Invest In Garage Lighting
If you’re trying to find ways to revamp your garage, aside from removing clutter in your home’s garage, adding some lights into it can boost its appeal. Alternatively, garage wall lights can be placed on both sides of the garage. These lights will illuminate the driveway and the surrounding area.
There are many lighting options to choose from for your garage lighting. Whichever you go for, ensure that it works for both purposes, such as ensuring enough illumination and providing protection and security from strangers and potential burglars who might want to break into your home through the garage.
When you return home in the dark, garage door lights are ideal for ensuring that you’ll be able to park your car smoothly and without trouble because of darkness. Also, since the garage is a bit far from your front door, you can combine garage lighting with other outdoor lights like porch lights and entryway lights. As another great option, consider installing a floodlight or motion sensor outdoor light above the garage to illuminate the entire area whenever someone approaches.
4. Add Porch Lights
Most porch lights are mounted on one side or both sides of the main entrance door. The purpose of such lamps is to illuminate all sides of your property, from the inside to outside and even sideways. Lights mounted on porches or outdoor walls should be mounted in appropriate height matched to yours or at least a little above your shoulders.
Primarily, if you use warmer lighted bulbs, the lights should be enough to guide you when you want to open up the doorknob using your keys. The position should also not disrupt your eyesight by being too near as it can cause glares and discomfort for the eyes. With the right height to install your porch light, you can easily open your locked door and come home with ease and comfort.
5. Accentuate With String Lights
One great addition to outdoor lights that have been trending these past few years is string lights. You can basically use this lighting fixture for many purposes. It can highlight the gazebo, create borders for garden beds, define edges, and can be used to design trees and plants. Lastly, it can be displaced above-head to mimic the stars at night. This will create a romantic and cozy glow for your family and friends if you intend to dine outdoors.
When deciding on string lights, here are some pointers to consider:
- Decide On The Length
To estimate the right length, use twine as a substitute while stretching it from one end to the other where you would place your lights. This will allow you to estimate and imagine how long you want your string lights to be hung.
If you’re planning to wrap it on trees and planters, you also need to measure the diameter of one full wrap and multiply it by the number of times you want to wrap the greeneries. Doing so can give you a reasonable estimate of the string light length you need to purchase.
- Choose The Color Of The Bulbs
There are many options for string lights, but the popular one is the white and yellow colors. Compared with incandescent or Edison-type bulbs, halogen and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are brighter and cooler. Decide on what theme you want to go for and buy the string lights color based on this.
- Install The String Lights
When installing the string lights, ensure that they’re near the power source. Also, ensure that the quality is suitable for use under external weather conditions to avoid getting damaged easily. Be mindful of their placements and gaps, so the lights will look uniform and ideally in place. To achieve a starlike string light, decide the height you want to hang the string lights. It should be overhead and tall enough not to hit anyone’s forehead.
This adds a cozy and romantic vibe for some outdoor dining. To make your installation easier, you can use twines and other guiding strands so you can wrap up the string lights around them. This way, you don’t have a hard time finding where to attach and wrap them.
6. Find The Right Scone Lights
In addition to defining nooks, adding ambiance to dining areas, and guiding you along paths, scone light fixtures come in a wide range of stylings. Several sconces will be needed depending on where they’ll be hung outdoors. Consider placing a single scone by the door if you want to emphasize it as the center or focal light of a wall.
Scones can be used as pairs that can be placed on either side of the doorway or the opposite side of the windows. Paired scones can also illuminate the outdoor living room, so you can place them on some corners or posts. If you want to use more scones, you can parade a couple of them as overhead lights outdoors. They can be placed on the walls with gaps in between each scone.
Consider scones with exposed bulbs for an outdoor dining room if you want overall illumination. IIf you want to light pathways, choose fixtures that shine downwards so you can maximize their luminosity. There are also a variety of walkway lights that accomplish the same goal.
7. Create Impact With Uplights
In terms of garden lighting ideas, you may want to consider subtle uplights. Put a warm, cozy glow on your patio’s built-in benches and other features. Uplights create that shadowy vibe and make your outdoor glow with a warm ambiance.
Many commercial properties like hotels, resorts, and restaurants use uplights to develop a relaxing outdoor atmosphere. You can enjoy the variety of organic forms and colors beneath your potted trees by nestling uplights within your flowerbed and planters.
8. Choose Modern Beam Lights For Outdoor Dining Area
Whether it’s raining or shining, a slimline hanging light like this can provide you with hours of enjoyment outdoors. Go for beam lights that you can control the dimmer to adjust how bright or mellow lighting you require for your outdoor dinner.
Choose fixtures that can withstand the weather as these beam lights will constantly be exposed to many external elements. Place these beam lights precisely on top of your dining area so your dinner time can be as romantic and relaxing as ever. Stylish chairs and an elegant table create the perfect combination. Select one that’ll look perfect under your beam lights.
9. Invest In Outdoor Ceiling Fan With Lights
An outdoor ceiling fan is an alternative method of lighting and ventilating an outside space. Aside from this being a trendy lighting fixture, it’s a practical appliance to provide cool air during summer. This is a sound investment if you have a rear-covered patio, for example, where you hold barbecues and garden parties in the summer. The key is to find reliable and high-quality ceiling fans that are built to work outdoors. Find the perfect spot on the ceiling to install them and enjoy its numerous benefits.
Conclusion
It’s possible to create light pollution through too much light and poorly installed lighting for your outdoors. Sometimes, when they’re placed in the wrong spots, you’ll be wasting away electricity as well as your outdoor lighting fixture investments. Hence, it’s practical to consider the tips above and know exactly what fixtures to use and where to displace them in your outdoor spaces.
