Illuminating your home and landscaping can transform your property – elevating its look, creating an atmosphere where you can relax in, and increasing your property value. On the other hand, poorly done outdoor lighting can actually make your home look worse than it would without any outdoor lighting at all and it’s usually not functional either! Here are the four biggest illumination mistakes that we see made by non-professional lighting installers:
1. INADEQUATE ILLUMINATION
You’ve seen the house that has a couple of outdoor lighting fixtures installed at the corners, but you can only see a singular shrub? This kind of lighting draws more attention to itself than to the property. It also does not provide enough light to navigate driveways, paths, or the entryway into the home. The entire purpose of lighting is to bring out the natural texture and dimensions of your home; inadequate lighting only hides the features of your home and doesn’t provide enough light, resulting in big black voids which are not pretty to look at.
For example, because of inadequate illumination, the entire top floor of this home disappears into the darkness.
2. OVERPOWERING ILLUMINATION
Believe it or not, it is possible for an inexperienced designer to use too many fixtures and create too much light. Over illumination can make your house appear unnaturally bright and does not complement your landscape well. We want the design of your home to not look like 135th and Metcalf; that type of lighting design has it’s place in commercial lighting, where providing security and drawing attention to shoppers is important. Your home’s lighting, however, should promote a more comfortable and elegant design. Avoid having your yard look like a football stadium by going for warmer colors and hiring experienced professionals.
3. POOR FIXTURE PLACEMENT
Outdoor lighting fixtures should, for the most part, be invisible. Those that can be seen should blend into your landscaping. Having visible spotlights and fixtures take the attention away from your beautiful home, and puts emphasis on your fixtures, which isn’t what you paid for!
4. THE “AIRPORT EFFECT”
Have you seen driveways or pathways that are lined with visible outdoor lights, evenly spaced on both sides? Unless you are wanting to land an airplane on your driveway, those types of outdoor lighting can be unflattering and look too industrial for your beautiful home. Instead, professional experts know to stagger lighting and create a warm, complimentary environment, like in this photograph!
These mistakes are easy for non-professionals or general contractors to make; they simply don’t have the experience gathered by specialists. At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Kansas City, we are one of the world’s oldest and largest outdoor lighting companies. Your Kansas City outdoor lighting system is worth doing right, so contact us today to learn more about our professional services.
