Creating An Exterior Landscape Lighting Design

Landscape lighting is one of the finishing touches for your landscape project. It not only provides a beautiful ambiance, but is also a functional part of the design. Outdoor lighting can provide safety in dark areas, and it allows you to see your way in what have might been very dim places.

There are basically four types of exterior landscape lighting.

Path Lights

These are a practical type of lighting. Use them along pathways, patios and swimming pool decking areas. These lights light the way so that you can see where you are going. Different fixtures give off different amounts of light. The more light produced by certain fixtures, the further they can be set apart from each other. However, plan on setting most path lights ten to fifteen feet apart. This should provide the necessary light.

Path lights should always be set in planting beds. There are a few reasons for this. The first one is if the lights fixtures are set in lawn, there is a chance of the lights being hit by the lawn mower. The second is aesthetic. You don't want your path lighting to stand out. It should be subtle and blend into the landscape....no runways! When placed in planting beds, they can be placed in such a way so that they are not focal points and can be safely tucked into the plantings, still functioning as they are supposed.

Path lights come in various heights, finishes and styles. The taller the path light, typically the more light it will give off. However, the tall path lights are more obvious in the landscape. Therefore you may want to choose a lower style.

Consider quality when making any landscape lighting purchase. The less expensive lights most likely won't last as long as the more costly ones. The more expensive ones also usually come with longer warranties.

Up Lighting

Up lighting is a type of outdoor light that can be a very creative addition to your lighting design. I often up light ornamental trees to show off beautiful branching structures or even flowers. You can use two to three lights per tree. The up lights do no have to be used for all ornamental trees on your property. Consider views from the interior of your house. Try to balance the lighting throughout the property. You don't want all the lighting on one side.

Accent Lighting

This type of lighting is used for lighting up a focal point such as a sculpture, pond, waterfall or any other outstanding feature in your landscape. Set it near the base of the feature.

Wash Lighting

Wash lighting is used on houses. It should be placed in a subtle and artistic way. Also take care that the lights, themselves, do not shine directly into your windows.

By mixing various types of lighting and being creative with your design, you can have a beautiful night time ambiance that can be enjoyed while you are outdoors, from the interior of your home looking out and also by people passing by.

Susan Schlenger is a Landscape Designer with a degree in Landscape Architecture. You can read more about Exterior Landscape Lighting at her website. You might also be interested in Driveway Lighting or Solar Landscaping Lights.