5 Landscape Lighting Tips to Add Curb Appeal

Sep 25, 2017

Northwest Iowa homeowners understand the value of curb appeal. Not only do you want to impress visitors to your home and make the exterior as beautiful and inviting as the interior, but paying attention to the outside of your house can also increase your property value and help to attract prospective buyers when it’s time to sell.

Now that you’ve installed lush landscaping and functional, beautiful hardscaping elements, it’s time to think about adding another dimension to your outdoor space with lighting. Here are just a few landscape lighting tips that will add to your curb appeal and take your outdoor oasis to the next level.

1. Well-lit walkways and entryways

The place to start is by making sure to cover safety basics. At night, you want to be certain residents and guests are able to approach your home without stumbling in the dark. Safety dictates first placing adequate lighting along walkways and around entryways. This makes it much easier and safer for anyone coming or going at night, and it provides for a welcoming atmosphere.

2. Architectural features

Now that you’ve got your functional lighting in place, it’s time to have some fun. One way to add to curb appeal is to highlight the architectural features of your home. Naturally, you don’t want to shine lights right at your windows, but you could place fixtures to aim at the eaves or call out columns, just for example. Highlighting the architectural features that make your home special helps your property to stand out and draw attention.

3. Making the most of landscaping

Trees, bushes, flower beds, raised planting zones, and other landscaping features provide an excellent opportunity to get creative with outdoor lighting. You could up-light trees, pepper them with strings of lighting, or even hang lights across open spans from one tree to another. You might place solar lights around planters or spotlight your manicured hedges. If you’ve gone to all the trouble of designing and maintaining beautiful landscape, why not show it in a different light at night?

4. Mood lighting

Whether you want your lights dim and unobtrusive to create a cozy feeling or you prefer a riot of color, you’ll find that lighting can be used in a variety of ways to transform your outdoor space when the sun goes down. Speak with your landscape lighting designer about options to suit your preferences for mood.

5. Light at night

You probably have some idea of where you want specific lighting features to go, but it’s always best to test placement at night before you permanently install fixtures. This will help to ensure that lighting is adequate to meet your needs, but also that you’re not guilty of light pollution.

It will give you the chance to view the overall effect, as well as make sure your lights aren’t shining directly into your bedroom window (or your neighbor’s, for that matter). Once all your lights are in place, you can set them on a timer to ensure maximum appeal without disrupting sleep in your home or your neighborhood.