8 Types of Landscape Lighting In Altamonte, FL

Does all of the time, energy and money you have spent to create a beautiful and inviting home disappear in the darkness once the sun goes down? There is a solution for that.

Good outdoor lighting techniques will bring your home and patio to life at any time of the day. Designing your landscape lighting is much more than shoving some lights in the ground. You have several lighting options to choose from. Let’s shed some light on the eight types of landscape lighting.

1. Uplighting

Uplighting is named appropriately. It involves placing a light underneath the object to be illuminated with the lights pointed up at a tall object to create a dramatic effect. This is a popular type of landscape lighting, and it works best for trees or architectural elements. You can play with the angle of the lights to create the look you want and add lights on additional sides so the object can be viewed from all angles.

2. Downlighting

The opposite of uplighting is downlighting. Lights are placed high and shine down on objects. Strategic placement of downlighting allows you to cast shadows of leaves and branches, create a glow on a particular place or seating area, and/or illuminate pathways. Downlighting can also mimic the light of the moon; especially if a blue lens is used.

3. Grazing

Another option is to illuminate a wall using grazing lights. This is achieved by putting a spotlight 6-8 inches from a flat surface. This creates a more dramatic shadow that highlights the texture of fences, brick, stone or other interesting masonry elements. Just remember that darker walls or surfaces are harder to illuminate.

4. Silhouette

Silhouette lighting can be a great technique for showing off a fountain, sculpture, or focal point that makes your property unique. This is achieved by placing a light behind the object to create a glowing outline of a silhouette.

5. Shadowing

Another interesting lighting technique is shadowing. Shadowing is the opposite of silhouetting. To do this, a spotlight is placed in front of a feature element in order to cast its shadow on a flat surface behind it. How close the light is to the plant, tree, statue or fountain will determine how large of a shadow will be the case.

6. Accent Lighting

Sometimes you want to draw attention to a smaller element of your home, light a house number. This can be easily achieved with accent lighting. Accent lighting used a small spotlight to highlight an interesting or important accent of your home. An accent light should be brighter than other light used in your outdoor landscape design.

7. Path Lighting

Path lighting is not only beautiful but practical too. Using tier lights, dome lights and bollard lights to line a path, sidewalk, or other walkways will add a safety measure around your home while adding another interesting aspect to your landscape lighting design.

8. Step, Deck and Specialty Lighting

Another way to add a safety element to your landscape lighting is with step, deck and other specialty lighting. Lighting up various structural elements will not only create visual interest, but it will light up areas to help avoid trips and falls. Consider downcast lighting on stairs, handrails., and decking.

Don’t let darkness cast a shadow on your home’s appeal. Incorporating one or any combination of this outdoor landscape lighting techniques will make your home the shining star it was meant to be no matter the time of day.

Plus, it will add some safety and security as well. Synder’s Landscapes can help make this happen. Call us today at (407) 314-8781 to schedule your free consultation.