3 More Reasons to Call Your Local Landscape Lighting Service

In the last article, you learned about a few key benefits of outdoor lighting. Enhancing your home’s appearance and boosting curb appeal; you can easily complete both with some well-placed landscape lighting. Upgrading your outdoor living space can be as simple as adding some functional lighting to areas such as your deck or patio. Lastly, exterior lighting can act as an additional form of home security by deterring intruders with bright lights and motion detection.

In this next blog post, you’ll learn about a few more amazing benefits of outdoor lighting.

Safety

The last thing you want to do is have to fumble around in the dark and end up injuring yourself. Adding outdoor lighting is no different than installing a light switch to the rooms in your home, you want to be able to see where you’re going. Simple pond lighting or path lighting can help illuminate hazards and keep you and others safe while on your enjoying your outdoor spaces.

Decor

Lighting has many purposes and as you read in the last article, it can be used to boost your home’s appearance. Strategically placed lighting can help accentuate the architecture of your home or draw attention to beautiful landscaping or hardscaping. However, it can also be used for decoration purposes as well. Various types of light fixtures and lighting styles can give your home a unique and desired decor with minimal effort on your part. Professional outdoor lighting installers can provide expertise and attention to detail when setting up your lighting decor.

Individuality

Your home is a reflection of who you are, your likes and dislikes, your style choices and tastes. With LED lighting that can change color and hue, you can truly use lighting to create your perfect outdoor living space. Moreover, LED lights provide 85% more light output compared to traditional halogen lights and use only 15% of the energy.

You might find that there are benefits of outdoor lighting unique to your home and you specifically but the only way to find out is to call your local outdoor lighting service.

Looking to add some personality to your outdoor space? Give us a call today.

3 Compelling Reasons to Install Landscape Lighting

While some homeowners believe that it is better to focus on the interior of the house, your outdoor living space can do more for your property than you realize. Adding exterior lighting to your outdoor space can make vast improvements to the area and your home life. In fact, there are many benefits of landscape lighting, so much so that the value of the global lighting market is predicted to reach $56.6 billion by 2020, according to a report by Transparency Market Research.

If you’re on the fence about contacting your local outdoor lighting installer, here are some benefits of landscape lighting to help you make up your mind.

Enhanced Appearance

You’re undoubtedly familiar with the concept of “curb appeal” and how boosting your home’s curb appeal can do great things for the value of your home. Moreover, boosting your curb appeal can help make your home seem more inviting to guests and exude a clean profile. When the sun goes down and your outdoor lighting turns on, your home takes on an entirely new appearance, one that tells passersby that you take pride in your home.

Increase space

You might consider your home to be only so many square feet but in truth, it is much larger. Decks, patios, and even general yard space can all be utilized to add more living and entertaining space to your home. Without landscape lighting, nightfall means that you are no longer able to use that extra space. Adding some key lighting fixtures that brighten up your outdoor space means that you can host guests, read a book, or simply enjoy the outdoors once the sun goes down.

Security

Outdoor lighting also gives the homeowner not only a sense of security but actual security measures. Burglars and intruders will be far more hesitant to step foot on your property if it’s well lit. If you don’t want to keep your lights on all night long, motion sensor lights can have the same effect on possible trespassers.

Your home is your getaway, your space for hosting friends and family, your quiet nook to relax. When you add landscape lighting, you only increase the benefits of your home and your ability to do more.

Looking for a professional outdoor lighting service in St. Louis? Give us a call today.

How to Shine Brighter Than Your Neighbor: 3 More Outdoor Lighting Trends

In the last article, you learned about a few outdoor lighting ideas to blow your neighbor Bill out of the water. Moroccan lights, security lighting, wall lighting, and LED path and step lighting were just a few of the trending landscape lighting ideas that are gaining popularity.

The party isn’t over just yet though, so here are a few more lighting trends to give you the edge up on Bill.

Glass Laterns
The rustic and repurposed trend has been popular for quite some time now, leaking into various aspects of style and fashion. Now it’s making its appearance in the outdoor lighting scene as well with traditional glass lanterns. These lights are equipped with vintage light bulbs that give the impression of an old-timey gaslight enclosed in glass with a fixture made to resemble wrought iron. Let people know you’re all about style by having a lighting expert come and get these bad boys in place.

Quality String Lights
Again, string lights have been a trend for the past few years and have been used for trellises and tree decorations at residential homes all over. Yet, the problem with these old string lights is that they aren’t durable whatsoever and have a very short lifespan. People have often simply repurposed their Christmas tree lights. However, string lights are still in style, and these ones are not only aesthetically pleasing but are tough and long-lasting as well.

Bollard Lights
Despite the love for rustic and repurposed, some people are still fond of the contemporary style and want that to resonate in their lighting. Lawn bollard lights provide a sleek and simple way to illuminate specific parts of your outdoor space, such as a walkway or treeline. Bollard lights, especially those equipped with bright LED light bulbs, make for excellent safety lights without compromising style. A professional outdoor lighting company can tell you where bollards would look the best and then install them for you.

Now that you know how to upgrade your exterior lighting and move the party from Bill’s house back to yours, all you need is a professional installation expert. Nobody wants to get shocked when they touch a doorknob because you decided to install your lighting yourself, and 73% of homeowners used a pro for outdoor projects in 2016. So give your local lighting company a call and see what they can do for you.

Is your backyard lighting out of date, need repairs, or is non-existent? Don’t let your social life suffer; give us a call today!

How to Shine Brighter Than Your Neighbor: Outdoor Lighting Trends 2018

Your outdoor space is the hub for your friends and family. Everyone comes over to your backyard for cookouts and get-togethers because you have absolutely nailed your landscaping and outdoor lighting. Yet, you’ve noticed that recently everyone’s been going over to Bill’s house. When you go to figure out why, you see that Bill installed some new outdoor lighting. It isn’t extravagant, but it gets the job done.

That’s when you realize your outdoor lighting is out of date and style. To help you make your outdoor space the headquarters for the neighborhood, here are some exterior lighting ideas that are trending right now.

Moroccan Lights
Moroccan-style lights are popular because they bring a little bit of dynamic lighting into an otherwise stale setup. Traditionally, the lighting fixtures are made of elegantly detailed metalwork that allows the center light to shine beautiful patterns on the surrounding area. You can choose to use lanterns or have fixtures installed. 

Wall Lights
“What? Wall lights aren’t new.” You’re right, they aren’t new, but they’re trending for a completely different reason. Most homeowners are using subtle wall lights as hard-to-spot accents, and instead of having them light upwards, people are turning them down to light patios and pathways. The coverings on these wall lights can be subtle and painted to match the color of the surface they’re attached to, or they can be accent pieces with a neutral or complementary color scheme. 

LED Path Lights
Easy and inexpensive to have installed, LED tube or strip lighting can be added to pathways and steps to make for a brightly illuminating and aesthetically pleasing outdoor lighting option. This lighting option is gaining popularity because of its overwhelming safety features while simultaneously providing an attractive ambiance to your outdoor space. 

Smart Security Lights
A lighting setup that you’ll definitely need to discuss with your outdoor lighting installer, smart security lights provide you with safety and peace of mind. As technology progresses and home security software becomes more advanced (and pocket-sized), security lighting is advancing along with it. 

There are many more landscape lighting ideas that are trending right now but before you hop on the trendy-train, you should speak with your outdoor lighting installer. While you may want the type of lighting Bill has, your property may not respond well to it. When it comes to beating Bill, it’s all about playing to your strengths. Even though 69% of homeowners report that they use their outdoor spaces to relax, you’re using yours to win. Talk with your outdoor lighting installer to figure out how to do just that.

What to Light in Your Yard to Get the Perfect Outdoor Lighting Setup

Tackling an outdoor lighting project can seem easy enough, until you actually have to figure out exactly which features to light in your yard. There are so many options, and you have no idea what will look best, or where to even begin experimenting with different lighting styles.

Luckily, there are professional landscape lighting companies who will be able to help you figure out exactly where to place landscape lighting features. However, it doesn’t hurt to get a few ideas of your own to mull over before you speak with a lighting expert. Here are a few key places to help you figure out what features to light in your yard.

Landscaping
Your landscaping will determine a lot of your options when it comes to exterior lighting. Some things will be easier to do than others, and other ideas will be completely impossible. You wouldn’t attempt to set up pond lighting if your backyard is dry as a bone, now would you?

Essentially, your exterior lighting should serve three purposes: to illuminate, for safety, and as an accent. Your landscape lighting will often be accent lighting, although in some cases it could be one of the other two. What you want to accent is truly up to you, but more often than not you will want to pick something that will draw the eye and add aesthetic ambiance to your property. If you have a large, beautiful maple in your yard, then you might want to highlight it during low-light hours in order to accentuate its beauty. However, you can also use landscape lighting for ambient lighting as well, particularly if you wanted to hang string lights in trees or shrubbery to provide a soft and pleasant light to your outdoor entertainment space.

Hardscaping
Your hardscaping lighting will often take the role of track or ambient lighting. Track lighting is lighting that serves a specific purpose, usually for safety or convenience. You might use track lighting on the porch steps so that they’re visible at all times and nobody gets hurt. You might light the driveway and other walkways with path lights so that people know where they begin and end (although this could also technically be ambient lighting in a sense). You might use ambient lighting on your hardscapes to illuminate your back deck where people tend to gather, or along porch railings or terraces. However, you can also use hardscape lighting for accent lighting, particularly if you wanted to accentuate your home or a sculpture, such as a fountain.

There are numerous options when it comes to your outdoor lighting, and it might be a good idea to see what some of your neighbors have done. A 2017 U.S. Houzz Landscaping Trends Study showed that 58% of homeowners who upgraded their outdoor lighting in the previous year added path, post, or bollard lights, while 41% of them focused on deck, step, or rail lights. Talking with those who have experimented with outdoor lighting already might provide you with some insights to help you figure out what to light in your yard. Be sure to talk with your landscape lighting professional as well to see what they recommend.

Looking to tackle an outdoor lighting project but don’t know what features to light in your yard, where to place the lights, or what types to get? Call us today so that we can help you achieve your exterior lighting vision.

3 Exterior Lighting Tips to Help You Manifest Your Outdoor Vision

When it comes to your outdoor space, you have a certain image in your head that you want to create. Sometimes it’s an easy project and only requires a few new lighting fixtures here and there, while other times it requires a full-blown overhaul of your landscaping.

In either case, your vision of your outdoor space probably includes some landscape lighting. Unless you want to host dinner parties and gatherings in the dark, you will definitely need an exterior lighting installation. Outdoor lighting isn’t always on the forefront of a homeowner’s mind, so when they get to that part they’re often stumped.

Fear not. If you don’t know how, where, or when to opt for a landscape lighting installation, here are a few outdoor lighting tips to help you out.

Obey the Law of Three
Most outdoor lighting experts would agree that a good landscape lighting design has three different types of light. First, you’ll need ambient lighting. Ambient lighting refers to the illuminating light of your outdoor space, which can take the form of hanging lights, wall lights, and/or post lights. Task lighting is up next, which increases the lighting in certain areas for a specific reason. These can be deck or patio lights, step lights, pathway lights, and even security lights. Finally, you’ll need accent lighting, which does what its name suggests and usually features fixtures such as spotlights. Talk with your landscape lighting expert about the best ways to incorporate these lighting types.

Consider Fixtures
While lighting is important, choosing fixtures that are both aesthetically pleasing and durable is equally important. Fixtures can largely hinder or help the curb appeal and overall aesthetic of your home, and you should browse various designs and colors before choosing a style. You can have variety in your fixture styles if you want, but they should all be complementary with each other as well as with the house. You will also want quality fixtures that will last in your environment. Your landscape lighting installation professional will guide you to the best fixtures for your layout. Let them know in advance if you have specific preferences.

Check Your Brightness
Different types of lighting should have different levels of brightness. Ideally, you’d want to find dimmable lights that you can adjust relatively easily. When you host guests, you would want the lights to be soft and comfortable, whereas your security lights should be bright and penetrating. Consult with your exterior lighting pro to discuss radiance levels and light types. LED lights use only 15% of the energy a halogen light uses, but they also give out 85% more light, which means you will have to determine which areas are better suited to which bulb.

The fourth tip, although present in tips one through three, is to hire a professional landscape lighting installation expert. Not only will they be able to help you create the perfect outdoor lighting setup, but they’ll professionally install your lighting so that you get consistent and professional work.

Epic Outdoor Lighting Ideas to Highlight Your Skills as a Homeowner (Part Two)

Exterior lighting can greatly improve the aesthetic of a home, and 41% of people claim exterior lighting to be an essential or must have feature, according to NAHB’s annual “What Home Buyers Really Want” survey.

There are multiple other types of landscape lighting ideas besides outdoor patio lighting, hardscape and driveway lighting, and well lighting, which were covered in the previous article.

Pathway Lights

Similar to the driveway lights, these would illuminate any walkways or pathways you have leading to or from your house. These can often be solar-powered lights that can be simply staked into the ground with relative ease. However, solar lights have the obvious drawbacks of being subject to the will of mother nature. They also take time to reach their full output potential, so many homeowners choose other means. Wired lights require professional installation but will reflect that in their appearance and performance.

Postmount Lights

This is one of those outdoor lighting ideas that are great for entranceways and gateways. They usually consist of outdoor lanterns mounted to tall posts that are then secured in the ground. They can also be used for outdoor patio lighting or other places that guests may gather. Postmount lights provide more than enough light for your needs and can add to the aesthetic value of your home relatively easily.

Water Lighting

If your home has an existing water feature such as a pond or a fountain, then adding water lighting can highlight it. Even simple water features such as bird baths or garden accessories can be equipped with water lighting to give them a unique look. Adding water lighting can also increase the resell value of your home, as can adding a water feature. So if you don’t have one already, consider installing a water feature and then adding outdoor lights to it for a greater resale value.

Spot/Flood Lights

If you simply want light, whether to highlight certain aspects of your home or property or simply for increased visibility, then you can use spotlights or floodlights. Floodlights are great for illuminating wider areas or highlighting a larger feature, such as a tree. Spotlights are commonly used to highlight single features that aren’t necessarily large because they have a much narrower beam. Either one will do the trick for increased lighting and can be an effective driveway, porch, lawn, or outdoor patio lighting option.

So what kind of exterior lighting will you choose? There are so many options available it would be hard to not find a type of lighting that you like.

Contact your local landscape lighting professional to get started today.

3 Epic Outdoor Lighting Ideas to Highlight Your Skills as a Homeowner

Exterior lighting installation can be one of the best ways to add aesthetic value to your home. In terms of boosting curb appeal, 16% of homeowners believe outdoor lighting in the front yard to be the most important feature, according to a 2017 U.S. Houzz Landscaping Trends Study. Outdoor lighting will not only illuminate certain areas for safety and convenience purposes, but you’ll add a feature to your home that’s unattainable by other means.

If you’re pondering over the endless possibilities available for your outdoor space, consider first contacting a landscape lighting company. Not only will they provide you with outdoor lighting ideas you may not have thought of (or even known to be possible), but they can also tell you exactly how they’ll install them and answer any other questions you might have.

However, if you’re still on the fence about exterior lighting, here are some outdoor lighting ideas to get you going.

Deck Lights

For the homeowners with a porch, deck, or any other type of platform, deck lighting is essential. Instead of turning on those harsh outdoor flood lights or attempting to see through the dark, you can install lighting in various areas around the space. Lights can be added to steps, railings, deck edges, you name it. It will provide a much softer lighting option than large spotlights, and will still illuminate the area as needed.

Well Lights

This lighting option is great for adding ample amounts of light to your outdoor space without having to worry about hiding the light fixture. Well lights are partially buried in the ground, making discrete lighting incredibly easy. These lights are great for highlighting certain features of your home, much like spotlights, but don’t compromise aesthetics.

Hardscape and Driveway Lights

Other than the light you might have by your front door or over your garage, driveway lighting probably isn’t something you’ve considered. Not only does it illuminate the driveway for increased driving visibility, but it also adds a certain something extra to your home. Hardscape lighting does the very same, allowing you to see certain objects in low light such as stairs, stone walls, sculptures or other lawn decorations, patios, fire pits, and more.

There are many more options and each can be specifically tailored to your property. To really find out your landscape lighting options, contact your local professional today.

Santa’s Gift to You: Holiday Lighting Professionals

If you think it’s too soon to start thinking about Christmas lights, then you obviously don’t care enough about Christmas lights. That being said, the holiday season is a time to relax and spend time with family and friends, not to struggle to put up the holiday lighting. Next year, instead of spending hours — if not days — untangling string lights and teetering on the top step of a ladder, try hiring a holiday landscape lighting professional. They’ll take care of everything for you and leave you free to actually enjoy the holiday cheer. Here are some reasons why you should make the switch to a professional:

1. You don’t have to do it
   This should be reason enough to outsource your outdoor lighting hassle to a trained pro. Unless you’re someone who loves spending hours hanging up lights only to find out that half of the bulbs are blown. In which case you should still probably seek professional help. Hiring a landscape lighting company can help free you up to spend time with your family and still get a beautiful lighting display every year.

 

2. They’ll help design the perfect display
   Lighting professionals will often send someone to your home to take a look at your property and to discuss what you have in mind. They’ll come up with a perfect design for your home and could show you places and opportunities for lights that you never thought possible.

 

3. No hassle installation
   Not only do they help design the best lighting display for your home but they’ll install it too. You won’t have to make an emergency room visit this year after falling off a ladder.

 

4. You aren’t as young as you used to be
   Unfortunately, even the most dedicated Christmas light masters suffer the back pain and sore knees that come with aging. And as we get older, spending time on the roof becomes more dangerous with each passing year. If the kids or grandkids can’t be enlisted to help put up your holiday lights, that doesn’t mean you have to skip your famous Christmas display altogether. By working with a professional, you can spread Christmas cheer but not have to worry about busting out the ladder — or your back.

 

5. The Best Part: They’ll take it all down too
   Putting up the Christmas lights is tedious, but taking them down can be so much worse. If you hire a holiday landscape lighting professional, you won’t have to worry about it this year. After the holiday season, they’ll come and take down your lights for you. No more leaving Christmas lights on the house year until June because it feels like you just put them up. Some companies will also store your lights for you so you don’t have to try to fit them in your basement along with your eight foot tall blow up snowman collection.

Whatever your reasons might be, hiring a holiday landscape lighting pro is the way to go. Industry statistics show that 73% of homeowners used a professional for their outdoor projects in 2016, yet many people never even consider asking for help with Christmas lights. This year, don’t spend your precious time untangling cords of Christmas lights when you could be spending time with family instead.

Lighting Tips to Help Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal

As a homeowner, you probably taken a lot of time to perfect the exterior of your home. What your home looks like is a reflection of yourself, so making sure that it’s in the best condition it can be really says a lot about who you are.

Even if you spent time planting beautiful flowers, trees, and bushes, there’s something else that can be done to really give your landscaping a “wow” effect. You can boost the appearance of your landscaping with the use of lighting. In order to fully utilize lighting as a way to improve your curb appeal, there are some tips that you should be aware of. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Think About What Your Space Is Going to Be Used For
Before you can even think about laying down a few solar lights or placing some path lights across the walkway in your front yard, you need to consider what the space is going to be used for. If you plan on entertaining in your front yard, your outdoor lighting needs to reflect that. An estimated 69% of homeowners say that they use their space outdoors for relaxing, so make the lighting reflect your activity. Instead of just using path lights here and there, hang some string bulb lights from the trees and bring in some light posts. These outdoor lighting ideas are just a few simple ways to brighten up your old dark yard.

Use Timers
Since your lighting is only going to be used at night, consider pairing it with timers. The timers will trigger the lights to go on at a certain time of night and to turn off once the sun begins to shine in the morning. This is very convenient because if you’re not home or if you plan on going out of town for a little while, your lighting will still look good. Plus, if you do decide to go out of town, it’s a way to protect your home from burglary.

Be Aware of Light Pollution
If you aren’t careful you could be messing with light pollution. Light pollution can hurt the effects of your landscape and can easily make people mad. If you are planning on creating this intricate lighting project, make sure that you avoid shining light in people’s eyes, shining light into someone’s home, or using too much lighting.

Your home’s exterior is very important, so taking the above outdoor lighting tips can be extremely helpful. You can instantly improve the exterior of your home with a little something more than your basic path lights.