Lighting is important when setting up a mood at any place. Moonlight and sunlight might be the best light source for outdoor spaces, but it helps to spice things up. The three main types of outdoor lighting are security lighting to detect larkers and enhance navigation, landscape lighting to give attention to garden features, and accent lighting for hardscape focus. You'd want all three types to achieve your lighting needs. With that in mind, let's shine a light on the ways you can light up your outdoor space.
Security lighting
Security lighting is the strongest backyard lighting, and it illuminates large areas scaring off larkers or destructive animals. It can be installed on higher spots above the garage to shine down the main walkways or backyard entrance. For more effective security, you'd want to get motion-sensing floodlights that go on only when they detect movement outside.
Light your pathway
Pathway lights are soft to moderate security and landscape lighting that makes it easy to walk along a pathway while highlighting them simultaneously. You'd want the solar-saving versions that don't need extra wires and turn on automatically in the evening. You can also go for those that blend with your pathway to give it a more subtle look.
Hang outdoor string lights
String lights can evoke a warm and intimate ambience on whatever outdoor activity you plan. You'd want to go for rechargeable, waterproof, battery-powered, or solar-powered ones to avoid running electrical cords across the backyard and to ensure they don’t get damaged when it rains.
Light outdoor walls
Outdoor walls light are a moderately bright form of safety and accent lighting used to light up small areas of the yard and illuminate shadows for easy navigation. You can mount them on any vertical surface, such as the interior of your pergola or above stairways and pools.
Install lanterns
Lanterns provide soft, low voltage accent lighting with a warm ambience that blends with architectural detail or décor. They are usually installed at the back door wall, and consist of a glass and metal exterior attached to an arm fixed on the wall. Lanterns with translucent glass can produce diffused glare-free lighting that’s best for your backyard.
Light your deck
Deck lights are low voltage, moderate to bright lights that can be placed on your deck to ease movement and night and illuminate nearby garden features. You can easily walk over them without feeling them underfoot.
Uplighting
Also known as spotlighting, it is used to light up shrubs with taller objects such as trees or ornamental features.
Pendant lighting
Pendants can do the trick if you look for something different for your outdoor lighting ideas. They are knitted with water-resistant ropes, which provide a unique tropical aesthetic. You can hang them on a branch or your pergola as part of your patio lighting ideas.
Highlight your water features
If you have a water feature such as a pond, fountain, or waterfall, there are ways you can magnificently use light lighting. With enough light, you can submerge them in the water or aim the light where the water hits the horizontal surface so that the light can catch the air bubbles.
Light candles in the backyard
Candles are ideal for outdoor lighting, especially on calm days. You can place them anywhere, like inside a lantern next to the patio door or the veranda, and they will do their part to enhance the ambience and mood.