Landscape lighting is easy but often time, do it yourselfers fail to do it right. The most common mistakes in placing your landscape lights usually revolve around an unbalanced or unproportional design.

Landscape Lighting Common Mistakes
• Only lighting up one end of a pathway, leaving the other end in the dark
• Stairs and steps are not lit.
• Functional lights are not hidden
• Lighting up one side of a path only.
• Having large dark areas
• Not adjusting pre-existing bulbs on a porch or garage to fit in better with the whole landscape lighting design
• Lacking a variety of lighting techniques results in a boring view
• Improperly directing the lights on drivers on the street and windows.
• Using inadequate solar lights that are still behind in reliability and durability and have very dim lighting.
• Unbalanced lighting due to and insufficient power supply
• Not implementing a waterproof direct burial splice that prevents corrosion
• Installing landcape light fixtures in the direct line of fire of lawn mowers, weed wackers…
• Buying low quality fixtures that are not long lasting and are either too intense or hardly noticable.
• Not burying the cables which can be a trip hazard and they are more exposed to damage.
• Installing floodlights as a landscape lighting design produces to much glare.

Knowing about the the fundamentals of landscape lighting will also help you avoid common mistakes. Learn more about landscape lighting techniques.

Tagged: landscape lighting - landscape lighting techniques - landscape lights - Outdoor lighting

Posted in Landscape Lighting

Low Voltage Lighting Fixtures are very easy to install and light up a landscape beautifully. They can be used to light up a pathway, garden, pond, fountain or border an area. I’ve seen many humdrum homes get a complete landscape lighting makeover that transformed them into picturesque dream homes that look like they came straight out of a magazine, without the help of a professional designer or electrician. Planning and sketching out your landscape lights can go a long way in creating a lovely scenic view of your home. Using low and high beam flashlights is a great way to play with different lighting effects.  A kit from a department store that doesn’t specialize in low voltage lighting fixtures and outdoor lighting usually doesn’t do the trick and may actually cheapen and degrade your home. Unfortunately I’ve also seen landscapes with cheap fixtures that flooded the area with light and looked more like the security lighting for a parking lot. When investing in your home, it’s best to stay away from cheap lights you’ll be unhappy with and won’t hold up over the years and then you end up buying the expensive ones anyways. Also, when dressing up your home and landscape adding designer lights will add exquisite style and raise it’s financial worth. As a homeowner myself, I don’t like to skimp on the details, especially because taking care of my home says a lot about me and my style and class. It’s also important to make sure that you balance the low voltage lighting fixtures, that are generally used in the landscape, with light fixtures that are placed on your home. Otherwise you’ll end up  with an unprofessional look and either your home will look like it’s strangely rising out of the dark…

…or your home will mysteriously fade into the darkness behind an illuminated landscape, both create an unwelcoming and eery feeling.

Unbalanced outdoor lighting also creates an aura of disconnection and looks uninviting to guests. If you don’t want the Frankenstein  or the Munsters look for your  home, balance your home outdoor lighting with your landscape. Use some low voltage lighting fixtures along with the decorative outdoor fixtures.

The decorative lighting fixtures will look beautiful at night and during the day. During the day, they will add charm and elegance to your home, and add exquisite details. However, low voltage landscape lighting is necessary for creating low points of interest with subtle light and a professionally done look.

Here is a landscape that has good use of low voltage lighting fixtures in the landscape and lighting on the home, but they lack lighting and decorative fixtures around the entrance to their home. A dark doorway gives a very unfriendly message.

While the landscape and low voltage lighting fixtures look splendid, the doorway and center of their home is severely lacking. Though this picture was taken in the early evening, the problem is exasperated as the sky becomes darker and the dark hole in the middle becomes more evident.

The doorway to your home should be a high focal point area as this is where you greet guests and make them feel welcome to come inside. Furthermore, adding ornate lighting fixtures will add beauty to your home.

Here are some examples of beautifully created outdoor lighting.

 

This home uses both decorative low voltage and outdoor lighting fixtures alongside the door and path. Note the functional low voltage well lights that graze the high textured surface of the stacked stone wall; a very nice touch.

 

These homes and landscapes look inviting and lovely! Beautifully balanced use of decorative outdoor and low voltage lighting fixtures.

 

 

 

 

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Tagged: lighting fixtures outdoor - lighting outdoor - Low Voltage Lighting Fixtures - outdoor lighting fixtures - outdoor lighting low voltage

Posted in Landscape Lighting, Low Voltage Landscape Lighting