Uplevel Your Outdoor Space with Custom-Designed Landscape Lighting
If you want to make a big visual impact on your outdoor living space, look no further than landscape lighting. For many of us, our favorite place inside our home is one that checks all the boxes – décor, function, and ambience. When you think about what makes the space feel just right, it undoubtedly includes the lighting (think crisp, clear light that enhances the cooking experience in the kitchen or soft, gentle light as you cuddle your child before bedtime).
The same is true outdoors. Lighting is the proverbial icing on the cake of your landscape design. Even better? Many lighting components can be added post-build, meaning you still have lots of landscape lighting options without having to redo your current design.
As you consider elevating your outdoor space with landscape lighting, a great place to start is learning about current trends. These are the biggest things we see in the outdoor lighting industry today (all of which we offer to our clients).
Related: Set the Tone All Evening with Outdoor Lighting in the Naperville and Wheaton, IL Areas
Smart, AI-Driven Systems That Are Fully Integrated
Just as most of us have become reliant upon smart technology like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit inside our homes, you’ll love the application of that technology outdoors. Modern landscape lighting systems work together as a cohesive unit and can use AI to learn your behavior and adjust accordingly. A single app gives you the ability to turn on exterior lights from anywhere, and zoned spaces enable you to control lighting the same way you do individual rooms in your house. AI tools can even adjust lighting based upon the weather (like turning lights on if it gets darker during the day due to storms).
Related: 4 Outdoor Lighting Ideas for Every Season in Burr Ridge, IL
Mood Lighting
With new lighting trends, it is not necessary to change lightbulbs to enhance the overall mood of your outdoor space. Today’s LED lights offer a variety of color options such as blue, purple, red, etc. The latest trend incorporates “tunable white technology” that gives you the flexibility to adjust your white lights across an array of tones – from a warm, gentle amber (yellow undertones) to clean, bright white (blue undertones). Simply adjusting the tone of your lighting provides a completely different feeling depending upon the type of event you’re hosting.
Architectural and Invisible Lighting Incorporated into Your Hardscape Design
Modern lighting no longer has a middle ground – it either makes a statement (which we’ll discuss more in the next section) or is nearly invisible. For the most discreet lighting options, they do need to be planned into a hardscape build or renovation, whereas the other trends can be retrofitted into an existing design.
One of the most popular styles of lighting right now is linear strips that are embedded into concrete, under the cap of paver retaining walls or garden beds, or strategically incorporated with other landscaping elements. This style of lighting appears to simply glow, offering a beautiful, clean line of light.
Recessed fixtures have replaced their bulkier cousins along pathways and garden beds. These low-profile lights offer the same ground-up effect as the larger, more visible version, but their size allows them to be easily hidden, giving you the light and effect without seeing the fixture.
The Edison bulb string light trend is still popular along the roofline of pergolas and pavilions, but we’re also installing slim, modern wall sconces that offer a more architectural effect. Sconces come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, giving you more freedom to match your overall décor style.
Related: 5 Advantages of LED Outdoor Lighting for Your Western Springs, IL Home
Lighting as a Statement Piece
Similar to the impact made by a water feature or a fire table, a stunning light fixture offers more than function – it is a piece of art. The sky’s the limit here. From prefabricated geometric garden columns to custom commissioned lighted sculptures, there are options for all spaces and budgets.
If you’re installing a pool and choose a shotcrete shell (more about what that means here), consider installing LED twinkle lights into the shell. The lights mirror the stars in the night sky, which offer both a soft and impressive effect.
Landscape lighting has moved beyond the initial function of safety and visibility to contributing to the way you feel when you interact with the space. It truly transforms your outdoor living experience. As you consider upleveling your outdoor living space this season, landscape lighting should be at the top of your list!