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Outdoor Lighting Guide: Colors, Types, Spread & Angle

Outdoor Lighting Guide: Colors, Types, Spread & Angle

Outdoor lighting improves your home’s aesthetic and monetary value and, above all, keeps the party going when you are hosting your friends for dinner alfresco. Enhancing your entryway, driveway, deck, and garden with proper lighting creates the effect of a first-rate home.  

A little light goes a long way when it comes to outdoor lighting. We have curated this outdoor lighting guide to help you get the most out of lighting your exterior. 

How to Select Landscape Lighting? 

Most outdoor lighting guides focus on the economic aspect of outdoor lighting. But we believe in combining artistry and economy lighting to bring your outdoor space to life. 

You will want to focus on the lighting function, which is overall lighting that provides general illumination. You also have task lighting that serves a specific purpose and accent lighting to draw attention to a particular art piece, flower, fountain, or tree. 

There are numerous options to achieve the type of lighting you want. But you can be safe with the following: 

  • Inground lighting is ideal for task lighting for a pathway. Aim for 100-200 lumens of light. You can also opt for porch, post, and outdoor beam angle lights. 
  • You can achieve accent lighting using many lights, ranging from spotlights to hanging lights ideal for silhouetting and shadow effects. 
  • You can achieve general lighting through all types of light fixtures, from hanging, wall-mounted, string, and more. 

Selecting the best landscape lighting and general outdoor lighting can be daunting. However, keeping in mind the intention of lighting will ease the landscape lighting selection process.  

In your selection process, avoid too much bright light, creating a light bomb. A light bomb won’t raze your home, but it will cause ill effects on your eyes. Instead, focus on single colour schemes for the same type of lights, i.e. when you choose blue-white for pier-mounted lights, go with blue-white for other lighting features. 

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How to Space Landscape Lighting 

Wide-angle lighting is suitable for large buildings. Spotlights are ideal for landscape lighting. But how do you get the proper illumination when the lights have varied lighting wattage? 

The answer is spacing. A well-spaced landscape can achieve security lighting and beauty. Ideally, you don’t want your garden lights to form intersecting diameters with other lights.  

Keep pier-mounted lights and larger light fixtures no closer than 20 feet apart. For a subtle garden wash, fix circular inground lights 12-24 inches apart.  

Beam Spread Lighting 

When you decide to install beam lights, you must know at what angle to fit them. Beam lights provide an overall lighting effect and glow. Ideally, 20 degrees outwards fills the bill for most homeowners. But you can opt for adjustable beams to vary the degree for different lighting patterns. 

Spotlight Lighting 

Spotlights illuminate landscape features best. When you want to achieve a shadowing effect, place the spotlight at an elevated angle of 45 degrees facing the adjacent wall. The result is a shadowy effect ideal for wide-leaved foliage. 

Uplighting is an emerging trend similar to downlighting but differing in direction only. You can achieve that by directly placing the light facing up.  

Need Help? 

There are diverse light fixtures to choose from, and we understand if you are overwhelmed. We help you determine the best lighting for your outdoor space. Contact us to get a customer-centric approach to your home. We treat your home like we treat ours.