The Benefits of Well-Planned Outdoor Lighting
As the sun dips below the horizon and twilight seeps into the night, many people retreat indoors. Outdoor lighting, however, is capable of utterly transforming your surroundings after dusk.
Once it no longer becomes a mere remedy to darkness, it allows your outdoor spaces to break free of the daytime limitations, offering potential that a beautifully sunlit garden might yet envy.
The Beauty of Outdoor Lighting
Let’s get straight to the point. Here are some benefits of outdoor lighting that make you want more:
- Shadows and light: Just take your garden as an example. You can create tantalising shadows, highlights, and textures by employing a gamut of lights, ranging from grand-scaled garden bollards, wall lights, and ceiling lights, to intriguing pendant lights strategically hanging from trees.
- Bring outdoor spaces to life: What about your patio or porch? These seemingly secondary outdoor spaces transform under the right exterior lights. Your everyday porch could metamorphose into a tranquil reading nook, a twilight sanctuary of calm, or a tastefully lit social bubble for family and friends to swarm around. The sheer thought of a porch humming with laughter under bright ceiling lights and colour-dashed pendant lights is a night-time fantasy brought to life.
- Shield of security: Sometimes, underneath the veil of night, even the homeliest environments can appear unknown and eerie. Fear not, for outdoor lighting is here to enhance the safety and security of your home. The inclusion of quality outdoor bollards and motion sensors infuses an added layer of security. Not only do they illuminate potential stumbling hazards, but a well-lit outdoor area also discourages potential break-ins and intrusions.
- A show of brilliance: To create a mood or evoke a feeling, the thoughtful placement of outdoor lights becomes an invisible choreographer, directing the focus and mood of your outdoor areas. Imagine the theatrical highlight of a unique architectural detail of the house under an artistically poised wall light, or the lush foliage of a bloomed garden brushed with pendant lights. The scene radiates an enchanting aura of sophistication and romance, where dazzling shadow-play collaborates with the starlit sky to romance the mundane.
- Costumes in light: Interestingly, outdoor lighting can also serve as the perfect fashion statement for your house. Be it modern, rustic, heritage or contemporary, lights can impeccably mirror your style preference through an extensive range of lighting options. The vast collection can suit any taste, with bollards, walls, ceilings, pendants and hanging lights designed in various styles and materials.
- Energy efficiency and sustainability: We Aussies love to do our bit for the environment, right? Outdoor lighting doesn’t require you to sacrifice your sustainability ethos. Innovations within the lighting industry, such as low-voltage lighting systems and eco-friendly light bulbs, mean you can conserve energy while still capturing a fab atmosphere outdoors. Motion sensors attached to outdoor lights ensure illumination only when necessary, reducing both wasted light and energy.
- Boost street appeal and property value: Outdoor lighting can bring a twinkle to the eye not only through aesthetic allure but also financial gain. Sophisticated and well-implemented outdoor lighting schemes augment your home’s curb appeal, drawing admiring glances from neighbours and passersby. Should you contemplate selling your property, a potential buyer would be buzzed by seeing your home at nighttime, where the tastefully presented ensemble of outdoor lights adds a magical aura. It boosts not only the aesthetic appeal but potentially the property value too.
Keep Your Outdoor Lighting in Top Condition
After running to your favourite shop, investing in outdoor lighting, and watching it radiantly transform your outdoor space, it’s a fair decision to keep those lights in tip-top condition.
Here’s how you can keep your outdoor lighting looking and functioning beautifully all year-round.
- Regular cleaning: Dirt, cobwebs, garden debris and bird droppings − they don’t exactly sound like the best for your outdoor lights. Regular cleaning prevents the build-up of this grime on your lights, maintaining both the quality of light and the lifespan of your lighting units. Use a gentle cleaning solution and a soft cloth to clean glass fixtures and remove dust.
- Bulb replacements: Keep an eye out for bulbs that have blown or are near the end of their lifespan. Besides, who prefers a delightful array of beautifully designed outdoor lights marred by a few bypassed, non-glowing units? You can also consider switching to LED bulbs, which are durable, energy-efficient and last longer.
- Regular check-ups: Every so often, take a gander at your system to ensure everything is running smoothly. Check if all lights are working, the wiring is secure and hasn’t been damaged, and the fittings are still sturdy. If you see signs of wear, and tear or a couple of red flags, it’s a top idea to call in a savvy professional for a gander.
- Weather protection: Sun, rain, wind − your outdoor lights endure the lot. Check the ingress protection rating of the lights to ensure they can hold their own against the elements. It’s also wise to consider whether fixtures are suitably placed to avoid most of the extreme weather conditions.
- Consult the professionals: While we all fancy ourselves a bit of a wizard in the home improvement department, outdoor lighting is an area that requires a professional touch. When burglary, dust, and water take a good, hard hit at your outdoor bollard, professional advice on the right lighting, armed with ingress protection, matters. An experienced and skilled team can guide your choices: what patio lights would create the perfect mood, or which kind of outdoor lights would enhance your garden the best while keeping moisture and dust at bay.
Outdoor Lighting for All
The subtle transformations under the winks of outdoor lights can fill your nighttime with captivating charm, warmth and comfort that daylight, on all accounts, might begrudgingly admire.
There’s an entire universe of outdoor lighting waiting for your home and, with qualified electricians to help you navigate through the pool of options, you can transform your outdoors from simple to spectacular. So, why wait? Get started now on the search to find the perfect outdoor lights for your abode today.
Please note: This information is provided for advice purposes only. Regulations differ from state to state, so please consult your local authorities or an industry professional before proceeding with any work. See our Terms & Conditions here.