Top Contemporary Outdoor Lighting Ideas for Your Home
Contemporary outdoor lighting is an effective element to design and accentuate the different elements of a home or landscape design, helping evoke specific moods with the use of different intensities and colors. There are so many ways to use outdoor lights to beautify the look of your home, so be creative and use it to enhance the natural elements of the architecture and landscape of your home. Here are some ideas to get your started.
Go for a Natural Look
When designing an outdoor lighting scheme, consider a natural aesthetic to complement the outdoor elements. To get such effect, soft lighting would be a nice touch as it resembles starlight or moonlight. Make sure that it highlights the landscape, and not be a focus on its own. Put a light behind or below a bush or tree to create a silhouette effect bringing attention to your landscape. Unless they are decorative like the Vesta 72″ Citronella Flame Planter Lantern by Patio Living Concepts, hide them from view: conceal conduit, cords and wires under dirt or behind shrubs, branches and other foliage.
Focus on Architectural Features
Many homeowners opt to use outdoor lights to highlight certain architectural features of their landscape or home. A spotlight brightens the side of a house while a focused beam can graze a textured wall, fence or gazebo. Up-lighting a façade, archway or arbor creates a dramatic effect. If you have a pond or pool, submersible or floating lights like the LED Lighting Ball by Infinita will illuminate water for a soft and romantic look. You can treat your gardens with backlit lights if you want specific elements to be accentuated. If you love entertaining outdoors, low-voltage lights placed beneath benches and chairs will allow your guests to see after dark. Use larger lights to illuminate areas for outdoor activities like a basketball court, so it can be enjoyed during the evening as well.
Try Colored Lighting
To create a more festive look, colored outdoor lighting can be used to accent your landscape elements. Most outdoor lights might be pure white, but you can use tinted lights to create a variety of effects. Warm colors like yellow or red can give your landscape a soft look, while green lighting will help make shrubs, grass, trees and other foliage look healthier and greener. Be careful when choosing colored light, however, as they can create a garish and carnival-like look when they are too bright. It would be best that you go with one that will allow you to change the color as you please like the 59″ Portable Color Changing LED Floor Lamp by Patio Living Concepts.