Ways to Tailor Your Landscape Lighting for Different Outdoor Areas in Memphis

Since different outdoor areas of your Memphis property serve different purposes, you want to make sure that your outdoor lighting is complementing them. Landscape lighting spaces in different ways can help maximize their functionality and use.

While some spaces are more about functionality, others are more about aesthetics and curb appeal. For instance, lighting for patios and walkways is going to be much more about usage than lighting on the front of your home, which is more about curb appeal and wow factor.

In this article, we’ll dive into lighting all different types of outdoor areas and how to ensure that it is tailored to those spaces.

Jump to:

Spaces that can benefit from outdoor lighting
Ways to tailor your lighting to each space
Technology options for outdoor lighting sections
Choosing landscape lighting design services in Memphis 

Spaces that can benefit from outdoor lighting

All of your outdoor areas can ultimately benefit from outdoor lighting…just in different ways. That’s why it’s so important that a thoughtful design is created. You don’t want a blanket solution that’s the same for everything. You want lighting that is specifically tailored to your space.

Some of the most popular outdoor spaces that can benefit from outdoor lighting include:

• • Patios and outdoor living areas
• Walkways
• Driveways
• Entryways, gates, and fences
• Front of home
• Pool areas
• Gardens

Lighting these spaces can enhance beauty, functionality, usability, value, and more. In the next section, we’ll talk about ways you can tailor your lighting for each of these spaces.

Ways to tailor your lighting to each space

Different outdoor spaces are used and enjoyed in different ways. For that reason, you want to make sure that your lighting plan is custom-tailored to the space. Here are some examples.

Patios and outdoor living areas 

Homeowners love spending time on their patio and they don’t want to go inside just because it’s gotten dark out. That’s why investing in patio lighting makes a lot of sense. Adding lights to your patio or outdoor living space means that you can now enjoy the area after work or on weekend nights. 

The key is to make sure that functionality is thoughtfully considered. If you have an outdoor kitchen or grilling area, you want to make sure that you can see well in food prep areas or where people will be eating.

There are going to be times when you want lights brighter and other times when you want to set more of an ambiance. For this reason, dimming capabilities can be highly beneficial. 

It’s important that your outdoor lighting designer talks to you specifically about how you use your patio as this is unique for everyone. The lighting should be tailored to how you use your space and what your specific needs will be.

Walkways

Whether in the front yard or the backyard, walkways are critical for getting around your property safely. Therefore, safety should be prioritized when lighting a walkway. 

While individual path lights are certainly one option for lighting a walkway, our preferred method is actually downlighting, where we mount the lights in trees above the walkway and cast the light downward. Downlighting can help ensure that the entire walkway is well-illuminated. 

Of course, it’s not uncommon for homeowners to use a combination of lighting methods for their walkways. Bullet lights, built-in lighting, and wall lighting can also contribute to lighting a walkway.

Driveways

While driveways used to be lit with one big spotlight, this is not only unattractive, it can also be blinding. It’s not a very appealing way to light a driveway. Like walkways, we find that using downlighting can also be effective for driveways. It illuminates a large space at one time and helps drivers see where they are going.

With proper downlighting, one light can cast a large area of illumination with the proper placement and angle considerations. 

As you aim to tailor your driveway lighting, you want to make sure that your landscape lighting designer is paying attention to any obstacles or challenges that your driveway may pose. For instance, is there a curve in the drive or maybe a retaining wall that could be accidentally brushed against? These kinds of details should be appropriately lit in a tailored design.

Entryways, gates, and fences

Your entryway should be welcoming and the proper lighting can help contribute to that. As you consider outdoor lighting for sections of your front yard, you want to think about how you can make your entrance welcoming but also safe and secure. 

For the front door landing area or porch, you want high-quality lighting that feels comfortable and welcoming.

If you have a gate at your home’s entrance or perhaps a fence that runs alongside your driveway, these elements should be lit with safety and security in mind. Both welcome visitors and trespassers should be able to see your fencing and gates not only so they don’t run into them, but so they know they’re there as a security measure. 

Fence and gate lighting make your property safer and more secure while also making it easier to navigate.

Front of home

When tailoring the lighting for the front facade of your house, you want to think about highlighting architectural details and other stand-out features that can boost your home’s curb appeal and overall wow factor. You can use architectural lighting to showcase some of the beautiful structural features of your home like stonework, columns, arches, and more.

Pool areas

If you have an existing pool (or are having one installed), then you’re probably looking to enjoy that space to the fullest. Pools are no small investment and you want to use it as much as possible.

That’s why pool lighting should be custom-tailored to your space. A pool is often the center of an outdoor living area and a space that people want to enjoy whether they’re physically in the pool or not. Think about lighting up a pool area in a way that makes it usable and enjoyable when you’re in it, but also beautiful when you’re just looking at it.

Gardens

Garden lighting can be two-fold. We know that some homeowners do like to work in their gardens at night. A busy work schedule can mean that evening hours are the only time they have to spend time in their garden. That means that garden lighting should be functional. You’ll need to be able to see what you are doing.

But people also like garden lighting for the ability to enjoy their garden’s beauty at night. You also want to give aesthetic considerations to lighting up your garden at night.

Technology options for outdoor lighting sections

Technology can also play a vital role in lighting different sections of your outdoor areas.

WiFi control is a big one. With WiFi control, at the push of a button, you can make instant changes to your lighting set-up. 

Often, homeowners pre-program different lighting “schemes” that they prefer for different situations. This is a really great way to have a custom experience in different areas and at different times, depending on what you have going on.

Color-changing light systems are another new technology for landscape lighting that can help you customize a space. This type of technology is still relatively new in the residential space but we’ve recently seen it gain a lot of momentum. 

Homeowners like the idea of color-changing lights to set a mood or even create a festive atmosphere for a party. This can go a long way in custom-tailoring a space.

Choosing landscape lighting design services in Memphis 

When it comes to making sure lighting for patios and walkways, driveways and entryways, and all of your other outdoor spaces is custom tailored, you need to make sure that you’re choosing a landscape lighting designer who will develop a custom plan for your property.

It’s also important to look for companies that are committed to staying on top of “what’s new.” That means the latest lighting techniques, skills, and products. This will go a long way when it comes to creating something truly tailored for your home. You should be able to get a sense of whether a lighting company is keeping up with what’s new based on the content they put on their website and blog.

In order to find the right professional, we suggest that you take your time and do your research. We would recommend spending time looking through the websites of the companies that you’re considering. Go to the “About Us” page of any company that you’re considering so that you can learn more.

As you perform your search, we would love for you to consider Mid South Outdoor Lighting & Audio. We look at each project as a blank canvas, meaning that we are creating your outdoor lighting plan from scratch. Our goal is to custom tailor each of your different outdoor areas so that your exact wants and needs are met.

If you are looking for more ideas as to how you can improve your Memphis property with landscape lighting in different areas, we are here to help.

Are you ready to create a secure, functional, and beautiful property at any hour of the day? If so, let’s meet and discuss some bright ideas.