Outdoor lighting can have a transformative effect on a home. It can add style and highlight the home’s beauty in a new way. Plus, outdoor lighting easily adds safety and security features to the home.
Choosing the type of outdoor lighting you want can be the difficult part, though. This article will offer tips and advice regarding choosing outdoor lighting fixtures for your home. By the end, you will be ready to outfit your home’s exterior with lighting that will work for it.
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Benefits of Outdoor Home Lighting
Lighting is a necessity indoors. However, using it outdoors has many benefits.
These benefits include:
1. Providing Security
Outdoor lighting lights up a home when it is the most vulnerable. Often, home break-ins occur at night. This means that people breaking into a home are more likely to be seen and noticed if there are lights, at which point they may run away.
Outdoor lighting is also a deterrent. Criminals are less likely to target a house where they can be seen breaking in than one where they are cloaked in darkness. There are even specially designed security lights made to deter criminals. So, just having the lights there will help to keep criminals away.
2. Enhancing the Look of the Home
The primary purpose of outdoor lighting is to make the home visible at night. This allows a beautiful home to be seen for more hours of the day.
However, this isn’t the only purpose of outdoor lights. With the right outdoor lights, a home can look even better than it would otherwise. Spotlights can emphasize certain home elements, and some lights can even add a splash of color to the property. In this way, lighting is part of the home’s overall decoration and a part of what makes it look good.
3. Increasing Home Value
Lights are fixtures; they increase their value like any fixture added to a home. Most prospective homeowners want outdoor lights and will value the fact that the home already has them.
On top of this, outdoor lights increase the curb appeal. If a prospective homeowner drives by the house at night, they will be disappointed if it is completely shrouded in darkness and they can’t see anything. Meanwhile, they will be impressed by well-chosen lighting. The increased visual appeal adds to the value of the home.
How to Choose Outdoor Lighting Fixtures for Your Home?
Choosing outdoor lighting doesn’t have to be difficult. Simply following along with a few key considerations will make the process easier.
1. Pick a Right Size
Light fixtures should only be as big as you want them to be. For beautiful fixtures, this may mean that they need to be large. A decorative lamppost in the yard or a rustic chandelier on the porch are fantastic lighting elements that should be displayed. In these cases, the fixtures should stand out against their surroundings.
However, most lighting fixtures are more subtle and should be smaller. Many utilitarian lights or lights designed to spotlight the home’s other features should only be as big as needed. This can be a bit of a balancing act. The lights should be big enough that they brighten the home and don’t leave it cloaked in darkness. However, they shouldn’t be so big that they completely overwhelm the area they are in.
2. Color and Style
Color and style have a significant impact on the look of the lights. In this way, they should complement the look of the home.
For example, a home with stainless steel fixtures should continue this trend with lighting as well. Picking out stainless steel outdoor lighting fixtures will allow them to blend in and harmonize with their surroundings.
In a similar way, the color of the lights shouldn’t clash with any of the colors on the property. A plain white house may benefit from some colorful lights. However, a house with plenty of colors already may end up too busy if it is bathed in even more colors from the surrounding lights.
3. Light Fixture Illumination
Outdoor lights, like any lights, should illuminate an area enough for it to be functional. This means planning out lighting to emphasize function.
This involves paying specific attention to the lighting in used areas. Decorative lights often don’t have requirements regarding how far they need to shine. However, more utilitarian lights do. A porch or a patio needs to be entirely lit so that people on it can see. Meanwhile, walkways will need enough light throughout the walkway to prevent people from tripping on them in the dark.
4. Find the Right Wattage
The intensity of the light coming from each light fixture matters more than most people initially think. After a long day, imagine winding down in a chair on the back patio. However, the lights on this patio all shine with the intensity of spotlights. The situation wouldn’t be very relaxing at all.
Because of this, it is important to pair each light fixture with the right situation. Higher wattages work best when visibility is a concern or the light must stretch far. Meanwhile, lower wattages are best for decorative situations or when people don’t want intense light shining down on them.
5. Mounting Height
Most wall-mounted lights work best when mounted around or just above eye level. The general rule is to mount them around 66 to 72 inches above the ground. However, slightly above this level can be good in some situations where walls are particularly high.
Contact Maitz Home Service for Outdoor Lighting Installation
If you’re interested in adding outdoor lighting to your home, you will need the help of a professional. In this case, you should go with the professionals at Maitz Home Services.
We can help you with any and all outdoor lighting installations. Whether you want lights mounted on your home, lights in your landscape, motion control lights, or something else, we have you covered. Our services are extensive, and we will work with you to get you what you need. Start by booking us today, and we can get the process going.