When your Arlington and Cambridge, MA landscape goes dark because the sun sets, outdoor lighting can create a whole new dimension for the appearance. These outdoor lighting ideas can be just what you need to let your backyard shine after dark.
House Lighting
Illuminating the foundation of your home can not only be beautiful but increase the safety of your backyard, too. Having your landscaper add soft spotlights to the base of your house can illuminate the space which makes visibility better. This type of lighting highlights the textural interest when you have rock on the foundation and makes any part of the exterior of your home move to the front of the visual appearance.
This is also the time to discuss with your landscaper any places that are dark so they can plan to add lighting there. For focused lighting on the nearby landscaping and patio, you can choose to have spotlights added to the corners of the eaves.
Patio Lighting
Patio lighting can take on two dimensions. One is task lighting for seeing your laptop when you want to work on the patio outside after dark and the other is dimmable which can make your outdoor space ambient and charming.
A landscape professional can add both types of lighting to your patio in discreet spaces that bring the right glow without noticeable fixtures. If your patio allows, they can add recessed LED lighting in the surface of the patio for a soft glow that projects over the entire space.
Step Lighting
Illuminating the steps can be a critical part of a backyard lighting plan since going up and down the steps in the dark can be a recipe for an accident. Under-step lighting can illuminate the step surfaces for safe movement both ways.
Walkway Lighting
When your children want to stay and play after dark, having lighted walkways can let them do that without having to navigate in the darkened space. Your landscaper can illuminate the walkways with lighting that is nestled in the landscape shrubs that line the sides of the walkway for just the right amount of illumination there.
When you can see to take out the trash and make your way to the garage with plenty of visibility, the walkway lighting can be essential to doing tasks after dark.
Landscape Lighting
A landscape professional can add lighting to the trees in your backyard for more interest and beauty there. Up-lights that shine at the base of the trees can be placed at various intervals for lighting the texture and shapes of the tree trunks. Down-lights can be placed in the branches above for light that filters through the leaves to the ground below, creating an enticing pattern.
Illuminating the perimeter of the landscape beds can bring out certain bushes that you love but they blend together in the daylight. This can be the ideal time to add lighting to an ornamental tree or pretty climbing rose vines.
When you have a fence, they can light this feature in a manner similar to the house foundation with both spotlights and soft wash lights. Illuminating the perimeter of your backyard can allow you to see the boundaries which can be helpful for your pets and children.
Related: 3 CREATIVE OUTDOOR LIGHTING IDEAS TO LIGHT UP YOUR BACKYARD IN WELLESLEY AND LEXINGTON, MA
