When it comes to installing landscaping lights, there can be a lot of professional architectural advice and unwritten rules that may or may not apply to your particular front or back yard layout. Since everyone’s home exterior is unique in its design, there’s no shortage of outdoor lighting fixtures to choose from that are equally attractive in their design and utility. The key factor is deciding upon functional lights that will complement your façade, foliage, and walkways.

In this comprehensive outdoor illumination guide, we’ll discuss selecting and installing landscaping lights for your home’s exterior while also going over how to use creative designs and thoughtful placement to embolden your most prominent outdoor features.

Do: Plan Your Landscape Lighting Layout before Installation

Deciding the practical and aesthetic needs of your landscape is essential when choosing the best lights for your property. You’ll want to brighten walkways, staircases, and entryways while illuminating focal points and obstructions. This allows you to highlight areas of visual interest while also ensuring a functional purpose.

Don’t: Forget to Account for Weather Conditions

While a vast majority of landscape lighting is weather-resistant in some capacity, the fixture’s durability is just part of the equation. Depending on where you live, different conditions lead to varying challenges for fixtures, such as enduring high winds, water drainage, snow, or anything that could affect surrounding vegetation. This also applies to the finishes of your lighting, in addition to their power sources, given your geography.

Artemide Ernesto Gismondi Tetragono Decorative Pathway Light

The modern and stoic figure of the Artemide Ernesto Gismondi Tetragono 17-inch Decorative Pathway Light is shown here against a flowered hedge. Fully wet-rated, this fixture’s anthracite grey finish and crisp, sleek lines can handle even the harshest conditions while providing a nice accent to the shrubbery year-round.

Do: Focus on Lighting the House First

Before you concentrate on illuminating plants, seating areas, or other zones around your landscape, the first order of business is lighting the exterior of your home in a balanced and intriguing way. Mounted outdoor wall lights, uplighting, and downlighting are all ways to highlight your architecture. Usually, warm tones are used to create a cohesive and symmetrical look. You especially want to focus on the entryways to give your home a welcoming look and feel.

Don’t: Overdo the Lighting

Homeowners should opt for a cohesive design that’s neither too bright nor too cluttered, as this can conflict with the aesthetic and may even create light pollution. Instead, try to create a unique theme by developing contrasting zones that are visually appealing from both near and far.

Hinkley Lighting Rex Decorative Pathway Light

From a bird’s eye view, this gorgeous home is brought to life at night with strategic lighting all around it. The Hinkley Lighting Rex 19 19-inch decorative Pathway Lights welcome guests along the pathway, while additional fixtures near the walls help complement the glow from indoors.

Do: Focus on Key Features of Your Landscape

The creative use of lighting can spotlight the most interesting parts of your home’s exterior. Using captivating placement and focusing on notable features will help passers-by appreciate your home’s details, even once the sun sets. Layering is a great strategy to develop different levels of focus. Additionally, highlighting flower beds, unique trees, or water features helps to curate a dynamic element to your property.

Don’t: Ignore Proper Spacing Between Fixtures

One of the essential tips when placing landscaping lighting is ensuring you space your fixtures evenly. Using pieces that are fit to scale will help avoid oversaturation. While you control the area your lighting covers, different styles and designs can offer depth and contrast while looking harmonious.

Kuzco Lighting Traverse Decorative Pathway Light

This incredible backyard pool is brought to life with the Kuzco Lighting Traverse 9-Inch Decorative Pathway Lights, which are spaced around the perimeter of the deck in a perfectly even manner. With their low profile and double-sided reach, the entire grounds surrounding the pool are illuminated.

Do: Get Creative With Pathway Lighting

Pathway lighting should be inviting while still embodying your home’s aesthetic, so creative flare, such as using multiple styles of fixtures and including different textures and color tones, can add character. Ultimately, this lighting is meant to direct anyone along the path, so recessed lights, bollards, and step lights are all options you can incorporate for more variety. 

Don’t: Ignore the Small or Out of Sight Spaces

Just because you illuminate some features doesn’t mean you should ignore other areas, and providing functionality is key. This includes calling attention to overlooked components such as walls or shrubs, lighting zones of utility such as sheds, and brightening areas that are overly dark or potentially unsafe for visitors. More lighting will also increase security and deter intruders.

Hinkley Lighting Republic Decorative Pathway Light

Not only are the Hinkley Lighting Republic 24-inch Decorative Pathway Lights weather resistant, but they also offer significant functionality around this elaborate pool deck, which is essential so people can navigate the winding and potentially hazardous area. With other lights present around the surrounding walls and seating area, the whole patio is elegantly staged.

Do: Use a Variety of Lights

Every home will benefit from displaying multiple styles of fixtures, so you want to incorporate some combination of ground lighting, spotlighting, and home lighting to create a dynamic feel. Layering these pieces will provide an alluring element to your landscape, and the more you can create a mood, the more charming your home will feel each time you or your guests arrive. 

Don’t: Light Pathways and Staircases the Same Way

Just because it’s a continuous walkway doesn’t mean the entire lighting scheme needs to be the same. It’s a best practice that your fixtures integrate with your exterior landscape design, but you also want more ambient visibility for clear walkways. On the other hand, staircases must be safe, so directional lighting with adequate coverage is recommended.

Hinkley Lighting Shelter Decorative Pathway Light

The modern staircase leading up to this home is illuminated by the Hinkley Lighting Shelter 22-Inch Decorative Pathway Lights, which are aligned in alternating fashion as you approach the home. An additional lamp post is also present to ensure clear visibility. 

If you’re hoping to achieve an optimal landscaping design, Capitol Lighting has everything you’ll need to enhance your home’s exterior in our 2024 catalog. With a wide range of shapes, styles, and designs to choose from, there are surely outdoor lighting options that will complement your home in our inventory. Shop online, or visit one of our showrooms today!