Before installing outdoor lighting designs, ask yourself if there is a need to illuminate your property, if yes, then why? Properly placed outdoor lights can help you add a festive touch to your patio for a delightful evening. Or maybe there is a shadowy area you need to illuminate for safety purposes, or the path leading to your driveway door needs illumination because it’s too dark. Other than these apparent reasons, enhancing the curb appeal of your property is another reason to amp up your lighting, such as throwing light on your house’s architecture. A fountain or ornamental landscaping with suitable lights attached to decorative features can work wonders to make your home glow with elegance and style.
Before discussing the various trending lights ideas with you, let us first learn how to go about the installation, keeping in mind your requirements, budget, area of structure, and style of lights.
Make Your Outdoor Lighting Plan
Although there are several affordable DIY ways to sparkle up your landscape, and you may want to do the installation by yourself, it is best to consider having a professional light installer for your landscape lighting design. Homeowners often make the mistake of either adding too many or too few lights on their property.
Contrarily, a lighting professional will know their way around your property and help provide the proper lighting codes to prevent light pollution. An experienced lighting installer will be well-versed with the electrical regulations and what design of lights will meet those codes. They will be able to assess better and assist you with the arrangements of the lights correctly.
The best way to go about your lighting plan is to make a rough sketch of your backyard or front yard (wherever you wish the lights to be placed) to have an estimate of your needs and budget. Basic landscaping features to include in your sketch are buildings, existing lights, benches (if any), trees and shrubs, and garden decorations such as a patio or a fountain. As per the light arrangement, the decor items will either absorb light or reflect it. Also, keep in consideration the colour you are opting for.
Another crucial aspect of lighting that people often forget is the addition of dimmers. Do not skip on adding suitable dimmers to your lighting plan. Some people prefer dull lights over glaring outdoor lights as they find them harmful to the eyes. But if you have a basketball or tennis court in your landscape layout, you can easily skip on dimmers and go for bright lights for high functionality.
Types of Lighting You Can Consider
Portable lighting
Portable lighting does not mean lanterns, torches and candles. Contemporary light decor calls for LED wireless “lamps” in various sizes and shapes to suit all needs. Some are cubical, circular, oval or even abstract in form. These glowing shapes can serve the aesthetic standards you have constructed in your mind. Since these lights run on smart technology, you can program their hue, timing, and brightness as per convenience. Also, since these beauties are waterproof, you can place it anywhere near the pool.
Other than these standard portable options, you can also explore floor lamps, hanging lamps and table lamps. All they need is a reliable hook to hang on. No extra setup is necessary. They are pretty affordable too.
High-end fixtures for Fancy Lights
While many landscape light designs are hidden, sconces, porch lanterns, and overhead fixtures are placed in the open for everyone to see. Homeowners are more careful about the lights that show and prefer to invest significantly in stylized lighting. They do so because these high-end lights make a statement and beautify your home’s architecture.
Colour changing lights
If you intend on installing multifunctional lights, you may want to opt for various hues for special occasions such as parties or events. A party only lights up when we have colourful lights to grace the moment. Your options range from dangling bulbs to fixtures. Most colourful lights are DIY friendly, offer Bluetooth and can be operated through a remote or an app. Other options include low-voltage and solar-powered lighting kits, outdoor lamps of various sizes, spotlights, and even extra long LED strip lights. The strip lights are designed to flash to the beat of the music, adding thrill to your party.
Moonlighting
Moonlighting concept is comparatively new in the market and is still gaining ground. It is a downward-facing light meant to create a natural moonlight vibe. Considering this moonlight-mimicry, lights are often placed at an altitude of about 20 to 25 m. This light is intentionally placed in a tree to cast dappled imagery of filtered light on the ground, similar to a moonlit night. ‘Moonlighting’ feature is chosen by those who are more concerned with setting a mood and less worried about safety or security. If you do not have children or pets at home, you can consider installing moonlighting lights to create an unbeatable ambience.
Ambient lighting
Sometimes, light pollution obscures the clear night sky in densely populated areas. Plus, studies suggest that too much artificial light can adversely affect our health and wildlife. Not just humans and wildlife, but also aircrafts find it difficult to catch and send signals in such locales. Many communities have been developing dark sky initiatives and codes to eliminate light pollution. Dark-sky-friendly light designs face downward (to avoid spreading of light). The lights are shielded and are preferably blue (blue light has a shorter wavelength). Blue lights tend to light up the sky more than any other colour.
Hardscape lighting
For the past few years, homeowners have been taking great care to create an aesthetic and cozy outdoor living space. They plan a more permanent hardscape such as staircases, retaining walls, fireplaces and kitchens. In such cases, it makes more sense if they embed fancy lighting to enhance these structures. If you are in a similar situation, you have opened new lighting avenues for yourself.
Whom to Hire for Impeccable Services?
To ensure your outdoors are secured with the perfect lighting, hire our trusted and well-trained professionals at Land-Con for hassle-free light installation in Toronto. Drop us an email at info@landcon.ca or call us today at 416-504-5263 for any queries. We would be happy to be of service to you!
Our service areas include Toronto, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Barrie, Kitchener, Aurora, Etobicoke, Ottawa, Mississauga, Woodbridge, East York, Maple, Thornhill, Newmarket, Kleinburg, Concord, Hamilton, Burlington, North York, Pickering, Waterloo, and the surrounding GTA.