Brighten up your home's exterior with landscape lights

We're often so engrossed with our home interiors that we forget how much potential exterior spaces hold. Do you blame us, though? With most of our days spent Couchsurfing, entertaining and cuddling under our covers, it's only natural to want to make our home interiors as comfy and appealing as humanly possible. While that may sound like a fair argument, one must acknowledge the occasional need for open-air spaces, moonlit lounging and a feel of nature in all of its dusk glory. What do we mean? Much as we're inclined to retreat and recluse behind closed doors at nightfall, the outdoors will always feel like a second home. You can transform that exterior space into everything imaginable with the proper lighting. The dull vision of security and safety that comes to mind when you think of outdoor landscapes can be fixed with the right lighting fixtures.

Four landscape fixtures to look out for this year

Landscape lighting is more than just motion sensor spotlights and floodlights, and perhaps it's time we overwrote that cliche. Modern-day lighting fixtures can shapeshift from the traditional dual functionality of safety and security to decorative additions, ambience creators and architectural features highlighters. All you need is a little insight into what the world of landscape lighting offers, and for that, we've got you. Buckle up as we take you through four light fixtures that'll brighten up your home's exterior.

Bollards

Bollard fixtures are a sleeker and more stylish choice for path lighting. These fixtures are heavy-duty in build and come fitted with bulbs on their body, ideal for safety and task lighting. Why do we love them? Unlike traditional path lighting fixtures, bollards are ornamental and versatile; these gorgeous beauties would perfectly fit into any driveway with their various bulb temperatures and structure textures amping them up. If you fancy your garden walkway with a touch of nature, consider investing in a tree trunk imitation bollard to do the trick.

Tip: Try matching your bollard light body to its surrounding features; say concrete walls or metal railings, for complemented landscape fluidity. You can thank us later.

Luminaries and lanterns

This season has us gushing over luminaries and lanterns, and we'll tell you why; these landscape fixtures can shape up as task, ambient, ornamental and functional lights. With their compact build, luminaries and lanterns make excellent landscape lights for space-conscious homeowners, and their portability feature gives them an extra edge over most outdoor lighting fixtures. Hang your lanterns on your porch to illuminate your house address, or set them up in your garden for a subtle ambient glow for impressive landscape illuminance at night. Alternatively, you can have luminaries lined up along your patio's perimeter for brightened outdoor lounging and hazard safety. Talk of flexibility!

String lights

We refuse to save the string lighting for the festive season this year. String lights are making a name for themselves in landscape lighting with their gorgeous appearance in outdoor dining spaces, exterior lounges, garden seatings and fence and deck edges. These fixtures have a moody feel about them that is often fun and whimsical. The fact that string fixtures are easy to install and maintain is why we can't get over them. Adorn your backyard trees with led fairy lights for brilliant functional illumination and a touch of aesthetics. If you can get your hands on colour changing string lights, use them to extend your landscape lighting efforts to the outdoor ambience. 

Tiki torches

Tiki torches are a unique way to light up your backyard; these Polynesian-inspired fixtures gorgeously grace outdoor spaces giving you the ultimate vacation feels. Tiki torches make adaptable landscape lights thanks to their metallic and wooden pole design that holds up the flammable fluid container and wick; tiki torches also have an oil infusion perk helping you ward off those unwanted pests and insects outside. Most homeowners are quick to embrace tiki torches thanks to their maintenance ease and multipurpose traits- whether you choose to set them up in your backyard, driveway or poolside, tiki torches will always stand out and bring their A-game. Consider installing them in a staggering placement for the best lighting effect.

Conclusion

Landscape lighting can be transformational when pulled off right. With the numerous fixtures, styles, and technologies present in today's illumination market, there's no telling where you can go with outdoor lighting. You'll find the variety to be simultaneously liberating and overwhelming; however, with a bit of insight, there's nothing you can't manoeuvre in this lighting game. Take some time to explore the landscape fixture options available to you and weigh them against your lighting needs, budget and landscape space to find your ideal fit. If all else fails, you can always refer to this short guide for some inspiration.