The Best Landscape Lighting Ideas for California Homeowners
Beautiful sunny days and mild nights are a staple to be enjoyed by Southern California residents throughout the entire year. Time spent outdoors is always in high demand, so there’s no reason to limit those enjoyable hours to the daytime. Outdoor lighting can breathe new life into your California home or business by providing a way to extend your favorite elements of outdoor living into the night time hours.
Benefits of Outdoor Landscape Lighting
Outdoor lighting is a practical investment for both home and business owners. Most buildings see some foot traffic after dark even if it’s not typical “outdoor time” for the residents or employees. While safety is the number one concern when placing lights outdoors, there are many other benefits for both homes and businesses.
- Safety: Outdoor lights flanking driveways, walkways, and steps provide a safe path to your home or business after dark. Safety lights provide safe passage in the event of an emergency and are vital for businesses to prevent injury to customers after dark.
- Curb Appeal: Outdoor lights can be designed to highlight attractive landscaping features, and showcase your home or business. Many California homes and businesses are beautifully designed. Your home or business should be equally inviting to guests after nightfall.
- Security: Outdoor and curb lighting allows you to see potential danger and can deter would-be criminals from trying to break into your home or business.
- Entertainment: Southern California is home to beautiful weather that can be enjoyed after sundown. Outdoor lighting is great for backyard dinners, parties, and time spent in the pool or hot tub after dark. Additionally, a unique lighting scheme on your commercial property can attract more visitors for outdoor meals or activities after dark.
Residential Landscape Lighting Ideas to Brighten Your Southern California Home
While it’s true that safety and security are important reasons to install landscape lighting outside your home, custom lighting can provide so much more. You can highlight your favorite landscaping features, welcome guests, and provide an evening entertainment spot for your family and guests. You know your landscape is attractive during the day. Bring that beauty to another level at night with these great outdoor lighting ideas.
Well-Lit Driveways and Walkways
Lights flanking your driveway and walkways provide safe passage across your landscape after dark. They don’t have to be purely functional though. Whether you prefer twinkling fairy lights, glowing lanterns, or a combination of styles, Outdoor lights that line your pathways are a good way to get started.
Illuminated Water Features
Adding light to your water features can provide an entirely new atmosphere to your landscape at night. Your fountain is the focal point of your yard. Showcase its beauty at night with an internal glow that highlights the beauty of flowing water. Double your pool usage with internal lights for pool parties after dark. Date night at home takes on a new glow when your hot tub is lit from within. Experimenting with color is a great way to keep things fresh when lighting up your water features.
Atmospheric Entertainment Areas
Adding lights to your hardscapes can provide you with the perfect space for outdoor entertainment after dark. String lights suspended from pergolas, glowing lights built into patio seating and retaining walls, or solar lanterns topping pillars can all create an atmospheric space to enjoy mild Southern California evenings. The right lighting options can provide special outdoor living opportunities for families and guests after dark.
Lighting Nature’s Beauty
Your beautiful garden isn’t something to be enjoyed only during the day. Plants, shrubs, and trees can provide a beautiful backdrop for outdoor lights. Spotlights or up-lights are a great way to showcase the beauty of your favorite plants and add depth to your landscape.
Commercial Landscape Lighting Ideas to Illuminate Your Southern California Business
If your business is open to customers or employees after dark, outdoor lighting is a necessity. The safety of your customers and employees is your number one priority, and outdoor lighting will provide safe passage into your building. Still, even at a place of business, outdoor lighting doesn’t have to be all business. These outdoor lighting techniques can make your commercial property stand out, entertain guests and employees, and highlight important features.
Spotlight Important Features
Signs, monuments, or special landscape features are an important part of your attractive landscape during the day. Spotlights can make these features look even more glamorous during the hours after dark. Spotlights can add beauty and offer information to visitors who view your business after dark.
Enlighten Outdoor Space for Night Shift Employees
It’s common for companies in Southern California to provide outdoor spaces for employees to enjoy during daytime breaks. Outdoor lighting can provide this opportunity to employees who work after dark as well. Overhead lighting around outdoor seating areas can provide night-shift employees with a breath of fresh air during work hours.
LED Uplights for Added Visibility
Uplights placed around your commercial building’s exterior make structures easy to see after dark without the harsh spotlight effect of traditional street lights. For buildings with flanked with sidewalks, lights can be placed to provide both uplights and downlights to create sidewalk visibility as well.
Atmospheric Lighting for Guests and Customers
Commercial businesses like restaurants and shopping centers provide outdoor spaces for customers to enjoy during the day. These spaces can be used at night with the right outdoor lighting solutions. String lights, chandeliers, and fence lighting are just a few ways to add atmosphere to an outdoor dining area. Well-lit sidewalks, tables, and benches all serve as an invitation to prospective customers passing by after dark.
Your Southern California landscape is a beautiful attraction during the day. There’s no reason it should disappear at night. Double the mileage and increase the value of your property with the addition of outdoor lighting features your family and guests will love. Cutting Edge Landscape Design is a full-service landscaping company specializing in sustainable landscaping for residential and commercial properties in the Los Alamitos and Manhattan Beach area. Get in touch to discover how our team can help you transform your landscape at night.
General guidance only. Costs, rebates and regulations change; confirm details for your property with our team.