If you love your Manhattan, IL, landscape during the daytime, imagine how gorgeous it could be at night with the right lighting. You can take your yard from “OK” to “Dazzling!” With these outdoor lighting ideas.
Related: HOW OUTDOOR LIGHTING CAN IMPROVE OUTDOOR LIVING AFTER DARK IN FRANKFORT, IL
Lighting for Walkways and Driveways
Think about arriving home after dark—can you see to move from the car to the house easily? Are you able to navigate the walkway with no trouble? Landscape lighting can illuminate your driveway for entry and exit from the car as well as make it easier for your guests to locate your home after the sun sets.
In the wintertime especially, it is not uncommon to arrive home after dark with groceries, kids, and dry cleaning to get from the car to the house successfully. Walkway lighting is designed to provide a soft glow that highlights the pathway with a pretty ambiance.
Lighting for Increased Security
When you go outside to the garbage can at night or forget to gather up your gardening tools, the value of feeling secure cannot be overstated. Landscape lighting can illuminate the dark corners where intruders can lurk, keeping your property safer for you as you move about at night.
Well-planned lighting can eliminate the dark areas and black holes that result from insufficient exterior lights while also providing a pleasing transition among outdoor spaces on your property. Deterring would-be intruders can improve the safety of your home and in some cases impact your insurance rates.
Lighting for Beauty
Many landscape features look so gorgeous during the daylight hours—like freshly groomed grass and a spilling fountain—but other features can take the stage after dark. Up lighting from the base of trees can bring definition and details out on your favorite trees and shrubs while down lighting can mimic the appearance of moonlight filtering through the branches.
Spotlights can shine a soft glow on a retaining wall of rustic stone, emphasizing the detail of the rocks. Another way to increase the beauty of your landscape after dark can be to light the fence or wall that separates your outdoor space from your neighbor.
When you are feeling fun and festive, twinkle lights strung above the patio, outdoor living room, and through the trees can bring the whimsey that you want for a celebration or just a fun evening outside with the family.
How a Landscape Specialist Can Help
The right landscape lighting can make all the difference once the sun sets and a landscape specialist has the experience to help you select the best parts of your yard to illuminate for nighttime beauty. They know which features to illuminate to draw the eye directly to them and how to remove the dark corners to provide more safety for you and your guests after dark.
From task lighting for specific activities to lighting that brings the atmosphere you want, they can devise a plan that enhances the dark landscape into something noteworthy. Then when you arrive home after dark or decide to host a nighttime event, you can rest assured that there will be no difficulty navigating the landscape.
When you want your Manhattan, IL, landscape to come to life as the darkness descends, count on a lighting specialist to take it from ho-hum to stunningly dramatic.
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