How to Include Landscape Lighting in New Construction Projects
If you’re planning out a new construction build, now is the perfect time to include landscape lighting plans in your design. You can save time and money by including light designs in the blueprints of your construction build.
Why to Include Landscape Lighting in Construction Sketches
When you’re looking at a new construction project, have a unique opportunity with landscape lighting - a paint brush with a blank easel. This is the rare opportunity to have complete control over what can be installed and where. With each construction addition, new limits are created.
It’s simpler to include light designs in the construction of landscape, walls, patios, and pools. If you take a step back and look at the project space as a whole, you’re able to combine all elements of landscaping to flow cohesively together. If landscape lighting is an afterthought, it can be more difficult to work wires and connection points around existing structures.
Locate the Transformer and Electrical Outlets
The transformer provides electrical power to a landscape lighting system, so it’s best to be centrally-located. The less wires used the more electricity cost savings the homeowner experiences.
The best locations for electrical outlets are in discreet and undisturbed locations.
If you install an automation system that times the lights automatically, it’s best
Landscape Lighting Ideas for Trees
Trees are such a valuable addition to your property and you want to be able to enjoy them, even when the sun goes down. Lighting your trees is a great way to add visual interest to your landscape in the evening hours. There are two key ways that we suggest lighting your trees.
1. Uplight Your Trees
When uplighting, the light fixture is placed in the ground around the tree and shines on it to accentuate its trunk and canopy. This is a great way to show off an attractive tree in the evening hours. The resulting shadows can also add some interest after dark. Uplighting provides a bolder, more dramatic effect for landscape lighting.
2. Downlight your Trees
You could also choose to downlight a tree. In this case, the light fixtures are added in the under canopy of the tree from which they shine down. This is also called “moonlighting” and can look absolutely stunning when done correctly. Downlighting provides a more romantic feel.
It’s important to note that downlighting is best done on trees that have a backside which is not visible. That’s because a wire must be run up the tree and for aesthetic purposes, it is best hidden.
Landscape Lighting Ideas for Driveways
Landscape lighting for your driveway makes it safer and more attractive. When done properly, it can impact your home’s curb appeal in a positive way. A well-lit driveway looks inviting and attractive. But the key is definitely that it’s done properly. If done poorly, it can negatively impact curb appeal.
3. Opt for Soft Lighting
The biggest mistake with lighting a driveway is creating that “deer-in-a-headlights” feeling that people get when they pull into a driveway that has a spotlight shining directly in their face. Instead of fulfilling the function of lighting the way, it actually makes it harder to see where you’re going as you are essentially being blinded by the light.
4. Avoid the Runway Look
In addition, when lighting a long driveway, be careful to avoid the “airport runway look” that can be achieved when too many lights fall into a row. You’re not trying to achieve a landing strip—and if that’s what it looks like you’ve created, it’s not going to be very attractive.
The key to proper driveway lighting is that it should be subtle. Landscape lighting should be soft and skillfully placed. It’s something that takes a professional eye for design.
Landscape Lighting Ideas for Walls
Retaining walls often double as sitting walls and lighting them up is important to let people know where they can sit. It’s also functionally important to light your walls so that nobody runs into them. But walls can also be aesthetically appealing with the right landscape lighting ideas for walls.
8. Use Under Cap Lights
If you have any sitting walls incorporated into your landscape, under cap lighting can highlight the beauty of the wall’s material. Whether it’s natural stone or even a paver, it takes on a whole new look when lit up in the evening hours.
9. Wall Wash with Light
Using a soft spotlight to wash a wall with light is an aesthetically pleasing technique that can show off the natural stone or pavers you’ve used on a border wall around your property—or even the wall of your home. If you have a beautiful stone home, you might uplight some of its stonework with a wash of soft light.
Landscape Lighting Ideas for Walkways
A well-lit walkway in your front or backyard adds an element of beauty while also making the path safer to traverse. But the key to making walkways aesthetically pleasing is to keep your lighting efforts subtle.
10. Forgo Path Lights Entirely
There is no rule that says you must light up a walkway with path lights. In order to avoid that landing strip look that we keep mentioning, you could forgo path lights and use strategic uplighting, downlighting, or cross lighting to ensure your path is lit. If you do use path lights, just be careful that they are not placed too close together. Most people assume they need a lot more light than they really do.
11. Light up Your Steps
For steps, built-in lights are an aesthetically pleasing option that will also serve the functional purpose of making them safer to navigate. You could also use strategically placed spotlights or path lights to light up your steps. There’s no question that steps should be well-lit as they are both a danger and a liability.