Outdoor Home Lighting: Top Trends for Spring

Fall is one of the most popular times of the year for outdoor entertaining, but the shortened daylight hours mean that you will have to get creative with your outdoor home lighting. If you home is on the market, adding outdoor lighting is a quick and cheap way to add safety and value to your home while making it stand out from the others for sale on your block. Many families do house hunting in the evenings when they have more time and to get a night perspective, and seeing your yard attractively lit with ambient lighting can make potential buyers stop their car.

If you are thinking of adding outdoor lights this fall, there are some ideas to give you inspiration. Keep in mind to always call a qualified landscape architect or electrician to do the installation of electric lighting.

Porch and Patio Lighting

When everyone gathers at your house to watch the game, chances are that you will do so on  your porch or patio. While fire pits remain to be a staple for giving outdoor warmth, they do not exactly give continuous and even light for hosting evening gatherings. Deck post lights or lanterns like the Sacramento Lg Wall Lantern by Kenroy Home are popular options, and are available in LED, traditional electric bulb and gas flame. Recent innovations in outdoor lighting have provided many energy-efficient and weather resistant options to choose from.

Landscape Lighting

Garden and yard landscape lighting, when combined with deck lighting, can extend your available space for entertaining or simply  add curb appeal to your home. Traditional staples like spotlights and floodlights might still be viable options, but the current trend for landscape lighting is LED lighting. These lights use a fraction of the energy that traditional lights use, and have a greater level of control.  With dimmer switches and timers like the Milano 84″ Resin Construction with Globe Lantern by Patio Living Concepts, you have complete control over the mood of your outdoor event, choosing the light those areas you need to on a day-to-day basis.

Water and Fire Features

Many homeowners take the focus of their landscaping away from decorative ponds during winter, since water plants and fish do not exactly look their best during the colder weather. LED floating water lights like the LED Lighting Ball by Infinita are a great way to make your pond an attractive accent to your outdoor décor. Also, fire features are a hot trend this year, with many options outside of the conventional fire pit. These gas-operated features look like they are part of the design of the décor, but will actually help stabilize the temperature for outdoor entertaining as well.