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Tips to Choose the Perfect Landscape Lighting

Tips to Choose the Perfect Landscape Lighting

Jun 13th 2022 Staff

When thinking about how to add the perfect landscape lighting to your outdoor living space, you may be confused, overwhelmed, and not have a good idea about where to start. Here at Southern Lights, we help Burnsville homeowners design the perfect outdoor living space for their needs. In addition, we offer perfect indoor lighting for all of the rooms of your home or office, including bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and foyer. Below, we'll offer up some tips on how to choose the perfect landscape lighting for your home. Schedule an appointment with one of our lighting designers today!

What Is Your Overall Goal?

Begin your landscape lighting design by planning out your overall goal. Do you intend to spend a lot of time entertaining? Or, are you using your outdoor living space primarily for relaxation? Or, is there a particular feature, such as a pool or pergola, that you want to spend the majority of your time at? Use your uses as a way to guide your landscape lighting design.

Don't Lose Sight of Function

Many people can become so wrapped up in the lighting design that they forget that lighting serves a purpose: to provide light to see by. Ultimately, landscape lighting is for us to be able to navigate our outdoor spaces safely and it doubles as a great security measure, too. When designing your outdoor lighting design, remember the little, often-forgotten areas, such as your deck or porch steps, that make a big difference in the long run.

Choose One Or Two Items to Highlight

Another mistake to avoid with landscape lighting is lighting every single feature of your landscaping design to the point your entire space is just light. Instead, choose one or two landscaping features you want to make the focal point. For instance, you can highlight your outdoor fountain or pond. Or, choose a favorite home feature, such as your porch. Our lighting designers recommend choosing just one if you have a smaller outdoor living space.

Use Accent Lighting

Accent landscape lighting will be your smaller types of landscape lighting, such as well and wash lights, that accent small areas, such as rock beds or flowers. They also use a softer light source, so they are not as bright. Our lighting designers recommend outdoor lanterns, which offer a traditional look, or pier mount lights, which can be smaller by nature but add a beautiful, soft touch many Burnsville homeowners love.

Consider a Minimalist Approach

Here in Burnsville, we love our outdoor lifestyle, and we probably love to watch the stars come out one by one. Consider a minimalist approach when it comes to landscape lighting design, especially if you favor dark sky lighting. Dark sky lighting is a relatively new trend where downlights are favored to direct light down rather than up, which cuts light pollution and illuminates the sky's stars much more clearly.

Harken Back to Nature

The natural approach to outdoor lighting is to make the lighting seem as if it's natural. This means you will forgo powerful light streams, such as flood lights, in exchange for a softer technique. Many homeowners in Burnsville love moonlighting, which is the lighting technique that mimics the glow of the moon on your landscape's surface, using very low light levels and creative angles. Highlighting the back or sides of architectural features and landscaping elements, such as a light behind a favorite shrub, helps to achieve this natural look, too.

SHOP AT SOUTHERN LIGHTS IN BURNSVILLE TODAY


Dedicated to our customers' every need, Southern Lights offers elegance effortlessly with our huge selection of the best brands in indoor and outdoor lighting, including Quoizel, Hinkley, Capital, Maxim, Kichler, and more. Our mission is to ensure your comfort by providing the best lighting for function and style that will bring a smile to your face when viewed. Our team and lighting designers work tirelessly to answer your questions and find the perfect lighting for your every need. From landscape lighting to lighting for your bathroom, we're here to help. When you shop at our local lighting store, you'll receive excellent customer service, and you'll be treated like family. We appreciate your business, and we're always here to lend a helping hand. Lean on our expertise for your lighting needs. Stop by our 25,000 square foot lighting showroom in Burnsville, or browse online today!

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