Outdoor lighting is a great way to enhance the nighttime curb appeal of your property here in North Carolina. There are lots of different kinds of lighting techniques that can really bring your property to life at night. Silhouetting is a great way to showcase features like trees and shrubs in your landscape once the sun has gone down. Shadowing creates shadows from your landscaping elements to create eye-catching displays on your walls. Moonlighting mimics natural moonlight and can illuminate your entire property. Wall washing is a great way to highlight flat surfaces on your property and make the space feel more open. Keep reading to learn more about these great outdoor lighting techniques.
1. Silhouetting
During the day, the beautiful features of your landscape are on display for everyone to see. But when the sun goes down, they become really difficult, if not impossible, to notice. Silhouetting is a great way to fix that! The silhouetting lighting technique consists of placing a lighting fixture, usually a spotlight, between a landscape element and a wall. When the light comes on, it will bring out the silhouette of whatever landscape feature you’re trying to enhance, like a statue, tree, or shrub. The object will appear darker against the wall as a silhouette, hence the name of the technique.
2. Shadowing
If you’re looking for a unique way to showcase some of your landscape features, shadowing is another great way to do so. With shadowing, a light is placed in front of a feature and illuminates it so that the feature’s shadows are cast onto a wall or surface behind it. When done correctly, the distinct features of the image, like branches of a tree, will be visible on the wall. This creates an especially eye-catching display on windy nights when moving tree branches are cast onto the wall.
3. Moonlighting
Moonlighting is a technique that mimics real moonlight on your property. Basically, lights are placed at the tops of trees, buildings, or other tall structures and pointed toward the ground. This technique creates a subtle glow that can brighten up large portions of your outdoor living space or even the entire property.
Not only is moonlighting aesthetically pleasing, but it also works to improve safety on your property. Moonlighting will deter unwanted guests from intruding on your property. It will also illuminate any debris that could be on your lawn so you don’t trip and fall.
4. Wall Washing
Wall washing is a classic way to light up walls on your property. Essentially, a lighting fixture is placed at least a foot away from the base of the wall and positioned so it’s pointing at a sideways angle. The light will illuminate the wall and showcase its smoothness. Wall washing could even hide imperfections on the wall and eliminate any shadows.
If you have a narrow walkway or space on your property, wall washing will make it look larger and more open.
