Have you ever wondered what is it that catches your eye as you cruise along residential neighborhoods at night? Most often than not it is the sight of beautifully lit homes that capture your attention and direct you to notice homes that you wouldn’t even bother to look in daylight. There are numerous outdoor lighting ideas that can make your home stand out and be noticed. What is about lighting that makes you pause and look something? Notice it is NOT, the light fixture itself that draws your attention, it is that certain aspect of the building on which the light focuses that your attention is drawn. So, a gently rippling water wall or a delicately carved column or a beautiful window when lit up makes you pause and take note of it.
Uplighting is an outdoor lighting idea that adds a gentle, soft light to your home and makes it glow in the night. You can up light a beautiful green tree or a delicate trellis balcony and draw attention to some attractive aspect of your home or what ever needs highlighting like your home, garden, patios, pathways and waterfalls.
There are lighting options available today that can be used to light up your pools, waterfalls and fountains from below. These lights are the submersible kind and can be safely used under water. They have safety features like being enclosed in waterproof fittings and made of rustproof materials. These can make your water bodies come alive at night. The beauty of a well-lit fountain or waterfall or even a pool at night is to can be appreciated only when one sees it. Homeowners and their guests can enjoy these outdoor features even at night, which is an added bonus.
Low-voltage lighting is another option that makes your outdoors brighter without being garish. These lights don’t use much electricity and are both small and compact. They can be concealed in the foliage or different elements of your outdoors decor, or the floor. They add that gentle glow making your home appear ethereal and attractive. You will need a step-down transformer as the these lights need only about 12 volts which is one tenth of what is generally used in homes. They can also be used for pathways apart from being buried under waterfalls or pools. There are number of lighting options for low-voltage lights.
If you want to use regular lights on old fashioned pedestals that is good outdoor lighting idea too. You can have beautiful wrought iron fixtures or more modern fittings to transform your outdoors into an oasis of light in the darkness of the night. Some of the modern lighting fixtures allow you to control the amount of light that each bulb emits. So, as the day lights slowly fades out these lights gradually take over and are the brightest when it is darkest outside.
There are other outdoor lighting ideas too like fiber optics lights, which add a touch of color to your lighting options. You can use multiple colors or alternate colors to add a little glamour to your outdoor lighting. What ever you choose make sure you don’t over do it. Add just enough lights to make it safe for people to walk around in the night but not too many to make it too bright so there is no mystery left to explore your home in the night.
