Outdoor lighting adds ambiance, charm, and provides enhanced safety to your home. If you're a new homeowner, adding the right outdoor lighting can even greatly improve the value of your home.
But not all outdoor lighting is created equally. If you're a new homeowner, the last thing you want to do is waste time and money adding lighting that will harm your home more than help it.
That's why we've put together a list of outdoor lighting mistakes to avoid when you're a new homeowner.
Overdoing It
More is not better when it comes to outdoor lighting. There is such a thing as overdoing it.
Plan ahead and decide on the perfect locations for your lighting and then keep it simple. You don't want your lighting to look cluttered and distracting from the beauty of your home.
Focus on Landscaping
When you view our home's lighting, the greatest emphasis should be on the most beautiful shrubs, trees, and plants. Even fascinating or beautiful architectural features are nice to emphasize.
For example, if you have a water fountain or beautiful pillars, these are great features to draw attention to with lighting. What you want to avoid is having the lighting itself be the point of emphasis.
Not Starting With a Plan
One of the biggest no-nos about adding outdoor lighting is beginning installation willy-nilly. Plan ahead. Draw out your landscape and home's blueprints and think of where outdoor lighting would do the most good.
Consider both aesthetics and safety.
Forgetting About Safety
Of course, the look of your lighting is important, but don't forget to consider lighting placement based on your home's security needs.
For example, don't place all your outdoor lighting around your landscaping and forget to illuminate doors and windows that may be susceptible to break-ins.
Opting For Cheap Over Quality
When it comes to outdoor lighting, you get what you pay for. The last thing you want is to opt for cheap lighting and end up paying for outdoor lighting twice when storms or weather cause damage.
Better to buy nice instead of buying twice. Getting good quality lights, to begin with, will end up saving you money in the long run on repairs and replacements
Not Installing Automated Lights
Going out of town? Worried about burglaries? With automated lighting, you can set timers on your lights so they turn on at the same time every night.
You may also be able to control when your lights go on and off while you're out of town. Super advanced systems can even control separate lighting zones at a time so you can better manage energy usage.
Doing No Lighting At All
It may not be the worst outdoor lighting mistake you can make, but not adding any lighting at all is definitely a mistake.
The value of outdoor lighting added to your home is incalculable. It's also a vital aspect of your home's security and curb appeal.
Avoiding Outdoor Lighting Mistakes
You can easily avoid outdoor lighting mistakes with a little planning and know-how. It's important to make sure you keep your lights in great condition with regular maintenance.
For more ideas on commonly overlooked outdoor maintenance tasks, see our blog.
