The way your home looks from the outside says a lot about you as a homeowner, and outdoor lighting can make that vision even more appealing. The trees, flowers, and shrubs that highlight your home’s exterior are the focal point during the day. But all that beauty turns dark and drab at night without the proper lighting to help show it off.
The right landscape lights can also help you enjoy your yard and garden well after the sun goes down. Imagine family barbecues, garden parties, and casual gatherings with friends, all outside in your beautiful and well-lit landscape.
There are so many options for landscape lighting, from small solar garden lights to outdoor wall lights that are incorporated into your home’s electrical system. All of the available options have the power to transform the aesthetic of your home.
Understanding the benefits of landscape lighting helps you choose the type of light that best suits your home’s yard and garden. Here’s a look at six benefits of adding lights to your home’s exterior that you might not have thought about.
1. Increase Curb Appeal
Professionally installed outdoor lighting can boost your curb appeal through the roof. Because the fact of the matter is that just as many people see your house at night as do during the day. And if your home looks dark and poorly lit at night, it automatically takes a back seat to other homes that are beautifully lit with thoughtful outdoor lights.
This is one of the most common reasons that homeowners invest in landscape lighting – to increase their curb appeal and make their homes look more aesthetically pleasing. Homes that are properly illuminated are able to show off their stunning landscape around the clock, and not just when the sun is up.
2. Raise Property Value
A recent HomeLight survey resulted in 94% of top real estate agents equating excellent curb appeal to more money in the seller’s bank account at closing. Sure, boosting your curb appeal can be done by mowing your lawn, potting some new flowers, and updating that wreath on your front door. But all that work means nothing if the buyer drives by your house at night.
That’s where outdoor lights come in. Adequate lighting makes it possible to show off your landscaping efforts, day or night. So if you want to bring in more money when it comes time to sell, invest in quality landscape lighting.
3. Increase Safety and Security
Curb appeal and improved appearance might seem like obvious benefits of garden lights. Still, one thing you might not have considered is the increased safety and home security that comes with having adequate lighting outdoors.
Streetlights and porch lights are great, but what about those areas of your home that remain in the dark all through the night? They make an ideal area for burglars to enter your home, especially if doors or windows are poorly lit. Outdoor lighting is an easy way to deter crime and make your home a safer place for your family.
Automatic timers are another helpful aspect of outdoor wall lights and other types of landscape lighting. You can set your lights to come on every night at dark so that your home is never dark, even if you’re on vacation or out late one night.
Crime isn’t the only risk to a dark home. Dark walkways can be a serious safety hazard to guests coming and going at night. Lighted sidewalks and steps are much safer and eliminate risks of trips and falls.
4. Spotlight Your Landscaping
If your landscaping is looking a bit dull, consider adding some outdoor lights to show things off. Strategically placed lights can highlight the best parts of your landscape while downplaying the areas that you’d prefer not to draw attention to. Lighting can help welcome people to your front door, show off your beautiful flowers, or keep guests from wandering into unsafe areas like pools.
Here are a few other ideas for using landscape lighting to highlight your home’s best features:
- Add lights to handrails and around stairs.
- Incorporate overhead lighting over porches and outdoor swings.
- Consider uplights in your flower beds that shine onto your home.
- Change up your light fixtures with statement lighting.
- Use low lights to create mood lighting in outdoor gathering spaces.
5. Spend More Time Outdoors
As summer gives way to fall, temperatures turn colder and the sun sets earlier. This typically means spending less time outdoors. Staying indoors through the winter can lead to mental health struggles like seasonal affective disorder.
But what if you have a beautiful outdoor area complete with scenic lighting? This makes it possible to spend more time outdoors and enjoy your yard year-round. Imagine sitting outdoors on a crisp autumn evening or a winter night while the snow falls gently around you. Proper lighting can give you these experiences that you wouldn’t be able to enjoy in a dimly lit yard.
6. Save Energy
It makes sense that adding more lights would drive up your electrical bill. But what if we told you that you could have beautiful garden lights, outdoor wall lights, and other landscape lighting without using much more energy than you’re already using? LED lighting makes this a reality.
LED lights are essential to any landscape lighting design. This means that you’ll rarely have to replace burned-out bulbs. The bulbs don’t get hot, they give off more light, and they use at least 75% less energy than traditional lighting.
Leave Your Landscape Installation to LaytonScape
If you’re ready to have outdoor lighting installed in your yard or garden, LaytonScape can help! Our knowledgeable and experienced team has the tools and skills to tackle your landscaping project today! We are a full-service landscaping provider and offer sprinkler system installation, garden design, water features, landscape installation, and more.
We provide landscape services to clients across northern Utah, including Ogden, Park City, Layton, Kaysville, Farmington, Bountiful, Clearfield, Morgan, and Huntsville. Contact us today to get started on your landscaping project!
