Your Guide to Home Outdoor Lighting in 2023

Eight Great Ideas for Your Home Outdoor Lighting in 2023

As technology and home design trends have developed, more outdoor lighting options are available than ever before. With so many possible choices, how do you select lights that best accomplish your practical, aesthetic, and safety goals? Knowing these options is one thing, yet understanding their applications is also key. An experienced landscaping contractor can help you pick outdoor lighting that perfectly suits your exteriors, but you can get started by reading this handy guide.



Popular Outdoor Lighting Styles

Reviewing your lighting options is a useful first step. Once you know what’s possible, you can work with your landscaping professionals to create a functional, attractive, and cohesive lighting plan for your property. While there are tons of styles available, these eight popular lighting types can provide helpful starting points.

Floor Lamps

While there are many styles of outdoor floor lamps, some mimic the look of indoor lamps yet are designed for outside use. Outdoor-indoor models offer aesthetics and versatility, making them ideal for a wide range of spaces. Look for floor lamps made from weather-resistant materials while shopping. You may notice IPX ratings on some products — the Ingress Protection rating system indicates how well an item resists entry from dust, water, and other substances.

Lanterns

Lanterns are lights inside protective metal and glass enclosures. Traditional lanterns used candles for lighting, but they can also include light bulbs powered by batteries or your home’s electrical current. Designed for the great outdoors, outside lanterns come in an extensive selection of styles, materials, colors, and finishes. Available in both attached and freestanding models, they give you many options for placement for patios, exterior doors, decks, and other outside spaces.

Outdoor Table Lamps

Outdoor table lamps also come in lots of styles, sizes, and finishes. Like their floor lamp counterparts, they’re fashioned from weather-resistant materials and resemble indoor lamps in both function and aesthetics. With indoor-outdoor versions also available, you have many possibilities for inside and outside your home plus transitional spaces such as screened porches and sunrooms.

Spotlights

Spotlights and floodlights are versatile lighting choices that work well in many areas around your property. They can serve as fixed lighting, drawing attention to key visual details, and also improve visibility on paths, walkways, and other outdoor areas. Like recessed lighting, lamps, wall, and ceiling fixtures, spotlights are now available in energy-smart LED versions.

Paper Ball Lanterns

Traditional ball lanterns feature paper exteriors surrounding an interior light source. Today’s versions may use paper along with other translucent materials such as plastic, silk, nylon, or even Capiz shells. While spherical lanterns are the most common, other variations include square, cylindrical, oval, diamond, star, and irregular shapes. Keep in mind that some models aren’t weather-resistant, so you should choose mounting locations carefully.

Pendant Lighting

Outdoor pendant lights can add panache, especially to transitional spaces. While pendant lights can illuminate an entire room, they’re also excellent as accent lighting as well as focused light sources. They’re popular choices for installation over dining tables, bars, and outdoor kitchen counters.

Recessed Floor Lighting 

Recessed floor lights are exactly what they sound like — lights that are recessed into the floor or ground. They’re useful options for illuminating paths, gardens, and walkways, but they also work well near pools, on patios, and under pergolas. With LED versions now available, you can enjoy attractive, functional, and energy-efficient lighting.

String Lights

You’ve probably noticed string lights at outdoor events, but they’re also great choices for permanently illuminating any space. With their size, weight, and flexibility, you can hang them almost anywhere, including fences, ceilings, trees, shrubs, or walls.

Lighting and Landscaping

Outdoor lighting calls for strategic placement and execution. You can certainly install many types by yourself, but assistance from a skilled landscaping contractor can make the process easier, safer, and more efficient. Lightning can be integrated into a new landscaping and hardscaping schema or part of revisions you make on your property.

Collaborating with a landscaping company offers many benefits. Professional expertise can help you select energy-efficient lighting options, including LEDs. Landscaping experts can also recommend the proper placement and lighting intensity for various exterior spaces, including gardens, pools, decks, porches, and walkways. Before you get started, it’s a good idea to establish a budget and consider your overall desired aesthetic. A landscaper can provide recommendations and advice. After all, you’ll want to think about how lighting contributes to outside green spaces, enhances your property’s curb appeal, and appears to visitors.

Expert Landscaping Contractors in Sonoma County

Thoughtfully chosen and placed outdoor lighting is part of a unified landscaping plan for your property. Working with an experienced, skilled, and reputable landscaping contractor ensures that you receive the highest quality products and services possible. Count on Canepa Landscaping to bring your vision to life. Request a quote or call us at (707) 322-7007. We look forward to helping you achieve the outdoor space of your dreams.