Lighting can make a huge difference in the appearance of your landscape, especially in the evening hours. It can highlight a beautiful focal point of your property, make your walkways safer, and simply make your outdoor areas more usable for nighttime gatherings. If you’re considering landscape lighting installation in Houston, you’ve made an excellent choice for your property, but there are still many potential mistakes that you need to ensure you avoid. Keep reading to learn what they are.
Don’t Go Cheap
If you’re taking the time and making the investment in this improvement to your property, then it’s important that you do it right. While plastic and aluminum lights might look fine when you first install them, they simply don’t last. Plastic cracks and breaks easily, and it quickly fades in the sunlight, making your lights look old and worn out after less than a year. Even powder-coated aluminum lights chip and appear aged after only a year or two.
If you want your outdoor lighting fixtures to keep their beauty year after year, consider investing in solid brass or copper lights. It might cost a bit more, but it will be well worth it in a few years when you don’t need to replace your lights to keep them looking beautiful.
Use the Right Bulbs
You’ll also want to ensure the fixtures have higher-quality bulbs that provide a lasting, warm light instead of a harsh white or blue light. Warm lighting will give your yard more of a glow instead of making it feel like you’re in the glare of a security floodlight. Additionally, make sure the bulbs are LED lights, which use 80% less energy than halogen bulbs.
Focus on Form and Function
When installing landscape lighting, most people focus solely on function. They want to brighten a walkway or light up a patio so that it’s safer and more usable in the evening and at night. While this is great, don’t let it be the only thing you’re thinking about when designing your landscape lighting. Think about how you can use these lights to beautify your landscaping at night.
One great idea is to use lights to illuminate a favorite landscaping feature. It might be the stunning oak tree in your front yard, your bubbling fountain or pond, or your collection of garden gnomes. Whatever feature you love about your yard, find a way to use your lighting to show it off.
Always Maintain It
Once lights are installed, you probably don’t think much about them—but you should. Landscape lighting is extremely low maintenance, but it’s important to give it a little bit of attention every now and then. When a light goes out, replace it. When bushes grow large enough to obscure some of the lighting, trim them back. If your landscape design changes, change your lighting design too! It doesn’t take much effort to keep your landscape lighting in tip-top shape, so make sure to put in that little bit of extra time.
We also strongly recommend working with a landscape designer to get the perfect landscape lighting for your property. If you need landscape lighting installation, general landscaping services, or patio installation in Houston, contact Natural Wonders Landscaping today.
