Avoid These Amateur Pathway Lighting Designs

Want to avoid that out-of-the-box look for your pathway lighting? Looking for some design tips so your pathways enhance your yard instead of becoming a garish focal point? The experts at Landscape Lighting Ottawa have got you covered with a valuable list of typical amateur design mistakes and how to go that extra step for something unique and functional.

1. Glow Rather Than Glare
Your path is not a portrait studio so don't light it like one. Pathway lighting should enhance the natural features of the path while providing safety, not block out all the stars. To avoid this, select fixtures with glare shields, caps, or other decorative features to ensure is pointed down not in your guests’ eyes. There are a wide variety of pathway lights on the market, but avoid mixing different styles and materials. Choose something that matches your home and personal tastes and stick with it for all your outdoor lighting.

2. Avoid Row Upon Row
You're not lighting the walkway on an airplane, so don't be afraid to stagger your lighting from one side of the path to the other. Instead of placing your lighting row on row, why not mix it up? Use the pathways curves or existing angles, alternating sides, to subtly provide lighting. Place lights in the garden next to the pathway and highlight your favourite plants while lighting the pathway.

If straight lines and sharp angles fit the architecture of your home, then light the pathways accordingly, but don’t be afraid to let the style of your home and your own personal tastes influence your design or fixture choices. Place a bollard, pillard or other type of light that’s brighter than the pathway lighting to provide a focal point.

3. Mix It Up
Variety is the spice of life. You’re not limited to one kind of lighting or height of fixture. There are three main types of pathway lighting: downlighting (where the light is pointed down), recessed or paver lights (the light is mounted in the walkway or recessed on the edge of a pathway or other fixture), and pillars, bollards, or something similar. Use a mixture of lighting styles along a path or in layers for a sophisticated look.

Adjusting the height of the lighting fixtures, so they're slightly taller than the plants surrounding them, can be used to great effect.

We’d love to answer your outdoor lighting questions or help you design a spectacular lighting display for your property. Contact our experts today to learn more about our lighting services or view our gallery of one-of-a-kind designs.