12 Landscape Lighting Techniques

Landscape lighting is one sure way to increase your home’s curb appeal and create more living space after dark. There are a variety of techniques and fixtures available on the market, so it’s important to know what effects you want to achieve, what you want to highlight, before you decide in fixtures or techniques. What purpose will the lighting serve? Landscape Lighting Ottawa can help you plan the perfect design for your yard.

We’ve put together this list to help you get an idea of what you can do with landscape lighting!

Lighting up your home is one of the first things we’re often asked about. This type of lighting isn’t about creating a focal point, but highlighting unique details and angles to make your home look it’s best after dark.

This technique is fairly self-explanatory. Whether you’re pointing the light up or down, these techniques have a wide variety of applications and fixtures from pathway lighting, pool lighting, moonlighting, and security.

Whether it’s a textured wall, fence or other design feature, this technique grazes light off the surface to either create a wall of muted light or create a focal point.

Placing fixtures high up in a tree to allow the light to filter down through the leaves does its best to mimic natural moonlight, except without the unpredictability of cloud cover and moon phases.

This technique is about illuminating a hard surface, similar to grazing. This may also utilize moonlighting, up lighting or down lighting.

It’s important to illuminate pathways not only for security and safety, but for aesthetics as well. Let this technique pull double duty by keeping your guests on the path and out of danger, but also create some ambient light for atmosphere.

Low level and accent lighting can provide enough illumination to highlight stairs, a change of levels on a patio, the perimeters of a pool deck, or highlight those dark corners of your yard. This has a lot of applications and a wide array of fixtures and wattage choices.

Focal points can be highlighted by light, but creating focal points with shadow can be just as effective. Cast a shadow of a unique bush or tree onto the wall behind it for example. Take advantage of natural movement also.

This technique illuminates a large section of a wall or fence without creating a focal point. Most often used for either security or architecture to highlight height or depth of a home.

Using a combination of spot lights and softer lighting fixtures creates an ethereal effect after dark when placed under water. Whether this is in a pool, pond, or fountain, these techniques will create a look guests will be talking about for days.

This is a traditional application that remains popular. Project light against a focal point to create shadows on vertical surfaces.

Spot lights come in a variety of wattages, so whether you’re looking to create a bright spot of light for safety or security, or highlight an architectural detail or create a focal point, there’s a specific spot light for the job.

Your backyard can still be an extension of your indoor living area when the sun goes down. Contact Landscape Lighting Ottawa to get started!