Landscape lighting is one of the most rewarding investments you can make to your Orlando or Winter Park home. It adds curb appeal and safety, and highlights features of your home’s landscape.
Homeowners looking to save money on installation choose to do it themselves. They buy their own fixtures and supplies, and invest the time and energy required for a proper landscape lighting system.
But they often make critical mistakes that can be easily prevented by making some vital considerations. The following are 3 DIY landscape lighting mistakes that you can avoid to get the most out of your home investment.
1. Failing to Plan
The initial mistake that homeowners make when installing landscape lighting is failing to plan ahead. Having a strategy in place that includes the elements to your lighting goals will give you the best results with the least headaches.
There is no need for detailed blueprints or technical tools. A simple pencil and paper allows you to lay out the major features of your landscape, and helps you consider the ones you’d like to accentuate with lighting.
Be sure to write down any relevant measurements to give you an idea of how much (or little) light you’ll need for certain areas. This prevents you from creating unnecessary spots of darkness that can take away from your end results.
Developing a plan will also remind you of any functional features that you don’t want to overlook, such as walkways and steps. These are important in your landscape lighting design as they contribute to the function and safety of your home.
2. Proper Light Placement
Another key mistake that occurs in lighting installation relates to the placement of lighting. This can also be a result of a lack of knowledge of lighting basics. Many people place fixtures too high during installation.
The ideal way to install fixtures is one in which the light can be directed from a variety of directions. This is the best way to create different moods and effects.
By using uplighting, downlighting, and cross-lighting in ways that best accentuate landscape features, you’ll get great results from your DIY installation. Each has is its own unique effect that’s appropriate for specific situations.
These lighting directions allow you to create moonlight effects, highlight features, and control shadows when used correctly.
3. Lighting Overkill
One of the biggest challenges in DIY landscape lighting is knowing all there is to know about how light works. As a result, some homeowners end up using too much light for their needs.
Using floodlights unnecessarily and exposing the light source itself are common mistakes that end up taking away from the aesthetics of your home. Try to remember that the light, and its effect on objects, is the main feature.
Fixtures should be arranged so that the bulbs are not visible. This will keep your lighting level just right. Varying the types of bulbs and fixtures used will bring out the best in your landscape lighting design.
Avoiding these 3 common mistakes will save you money, and help you achieve a rewarding lighting installation that you can enjoy for years to come. But unless you’re an expert in lighting design and electricity, you could save yourself a lot more time and frustration by hiring a landscape lighting contractor to do the work for you!
As certified lighting designers, Elegant Custom Images has the expertise and experience to create beautiful outdoor lighting for homes and businesses throughout Central Florida, including Orlando, Winter Park and Lake Nona. We promote low voltage lighting that will save you money over the lifetime of your system. And we offer maintenance programs to ensure your lighting system continues to shine brightly, night after night, as your landscape matures. Give us a call at 321-217-7822 today for a free consultation.
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