Your home, garden or yard is an extension of your living area. Especially in Texas, where nights and winters tend to be mild, and much of the year offers wonderful weather for outdoor living, beautiful lighting can increase the amount of usable space on your property, as well as provide safety and security. If you are considering an outdoor lighting project, here are several factors to consider.
Hire a Professional Landscape Lighting Company
When you hire Creative Nightscapes, you are hiring a professional landscape lighting team with 11 years experience and 3000 homes in the DFW area. We design, install and service all in-house with no subcontractors. One of our lighting designers will meet with you to determine your needs, we will put together a design to meet your budget and work from there.
This project will be on a much larger scale than the typical weekend warrior project. This also means the overall investment will be greater due to labor and materials. You can buy a lighting system at a big box store and it may work for a year, or you can take the time to invest in a quality system designed specifically for you with warranties up to 15 years.
Highlight Plants and Spaces with Lighting
A traditional use of landscape lighting is to call attention to specific features of your garden. A dramatic Japanese maple or large cactus, for instance, will benefit from a hidden light that shines upon it at night. Alternatively, you might use concealed lights softly to illuminate an outdoor dining area or a large decorative boulder.
Use Color Intentionally
Color is a dramatic element in any landscape, day or night. Since the night tends to wash things out, you can combat this in a couple ways. You can use light to call attention to a brightly colored plant, such as a tree with fall leaves or bright red winter branches. You can also use colored bulbs to cast a special glow on certain areas of your yard.
Accentuate Architectural Features
Lighting offers a wonderful opportunity to keep your home and garden’s architecture working for you even after sunset. Use strategically placed lights to highlight wooden or stone steps, benches or pathways. Play up sculptures by illuminating them with concealed lights along the ground or in trees. Alternatively, light a pool from within so that it creates a natural focal point in darker surroundings.
