5 Dramatic Landscape Lighting Ideas For Your New Orleans Home
There are a variety of ways to improve your home’s landscape, and along with it, the exterior’s aesthetic appeal.
In fact, just a few decorative shrubs, trees, ponds and the creative use of stonework will totally transform the look and feel of your New Orleans yard.
Another way to dramatically increase the appeal and the overall atmosphere of your premises is by using outdoor lighting in a decorative way.
Lighting is often ignored as a decorative feature but it is something that can easily change the appearance and feel of the exterior of your home and the surrounding property.
In addition to its obvious functional element, if you entertain in the summer, outdoor lighting will add a lot of festive atmosphere to your event too.
Pathway lights
You can see where you are stepping on or driving with pathway lights. This keeps you on these designated paths, rather than on your lawn, where you can trample grass and other flora that you spent hours cultivating.
Pathway lights are often low to the ground and in the shape of short street lights, called garden lights. Most of these lamps have higher positioned bulbs so the heat emitting from them cannot harm the plants they illuminate.
Security lighting
Security lighting, usually the brightest lighting, is safety lighting designed to lighten large areas and to frighten off burglars or animals. These lights are usually installed in high spots such as the eaves or above a garage to cast wide light beams down onto the main walkways or the entrance to the backyard fence.
Your best option for protection is motion-detecting floodlights that install onto the outside siding or wall surface that only go on when built-in sensors sense motion in the area.
Their bright light reveals prowlers, and they can be tricked into believing that you are home and on alert even though you are not.
Driveway lights
If the driveway leading to your garage doesn’t get enough illumination, you or visitors can find it difficult to follow the driveway. Plus, lighting up your driveway is definitely a good investment decision anyhow you look at it.
When consulting with a landscape design company (for example, BigEasyLandscaping.com contractor for outdoor landscape lighting in New Orleans) about installing driveway lights, consider that movement sensor lighting may be your best choice. By lighting your driveway only when someone uses it, you do not waste electricity this way, but the light is there the moment someone comes in.
Lighting up trees and shrubs
Treating your trees and shrubs with some basic lighting can have a remarkably dramatic impact on the exterior of your property.
Uplighting is simple: place outdoor lighting at the tree or shrub base and angle it up to accentuate the leaves. Often the lighting is put behind the tree to make the suspense even through.
Most people like to use colored lights for this, which not only gives your yard more visibility but also adds flair and atmosphere.
Sculptures or other decorative elements also work well with the uplighting.
Decks, patios and wall lighting
Lighting may be used on deck or patio to illuminate different task areas, such as grilling spot or outdoor kitchen, as well as seating areas and railings.
Uplighting, which is more difficult to achieve outside, can be used on a deck or patio to splash light up for indirect effect on an umbrella or deck overhang.
Outdoor landscape lighting may also be used, for example, to highlight a wall.
When a large beam of light from a few feet away is directed at a wall, it produces a wash of the wall. A light used to graze a wall creates fascinating shadows and highlights. Both can help to accent plants nearby.
Garden pond light and water feature
Water features such as fountains and ponds bring serenity and elegance to your home, and regardless of whether you’re using a rimmed flagstone pond, or a stone fountain, lighting can make water features really attractive at night.
Colorful fountain lighting can create a lovely and relaxing atmosphere.
Placed the illumination in the water itself, for the most dramatic effects. Lighting up the bottom of a fountain is another way to dramatize the water feature.
Wrapping up
One feature you should consider adding to your property is a landscape lighting device.
It enhances the appearance and feel of your outdoor living spaces from your front yard and entrance to your pool and back patio, and boosts the value of your New Orleans property
