If you're one of those homeowners that devotes their life during the warmer months of the year tending to the space around the home, you want to ensure it's always looking its best.
Whether it's beautiful flower gardens, carefully groomed topiaries, or an interesting water feature - there is certainly a lot of time and effort that goes into making the yard look its best.
Whether or not you entertain outdoors, when the sun begins to set, lighting can make a huge difference in your landscape's design.
By adding some simple accent lighting throughout your yard to highlight some of the features you've created, you'll add a beautiful glow that can be utilized throughout the entire year.
One of the easiest ways to achieve accent lighting is to install some simple ground spotlights that you can hide under leaves, vines, or in the grass to create a hidden spotlight.
If you have statues or other garden ornaments (like a gazing ball), lights can help the piece to stand out even when the sun isn't shining.
Another great place to install ground level spotlights is near a water feature.
If you have a pond or a small waterfall in your landscaping, adding a light can create a beautiful element of reflection and increase the aesthetic qualities even more.
By adding simple features like these to your hard design work, you'll be able to truly get the most out of your landscape.
If you have small topiaries or shrubs in your yard, you can instantly add a pop of light by installing white light strands and stringing them evenly throughout the leaves of the plant.
You'll be able to create a subtle "twinkling" light look with the small white lights, while still adding a luminous quality to your yard.
A great time to purchase white light strands is right after Christmas since most outdoor strand lights are on sale.
You can stock up on them then and not have to worry about over-paying once the spring and summer months come.
If you have a pathway anywhere in your yard (even consider the walkway leading up to your front porch or front porch steps), it creates a great opportunity to install pathway lighting to ensure guests don't accidentally overstep and end up with their foot in one of your carefully maintained flower beds.
Many different styles of pathway lights are available and if electricity is an issue - there are many models that can charge during the day from the light of the sun and then use that energy to omit their warm glow during the evening hours.
If your pathways are lined with flowers or plants, pathway lighting is a great option for your home.
Finally, if you have an outdoor space with a cover, like a deck, patio, or even gazebo - think back to the white light strands for an interesting lighting option.
By stringing the lights evenly throughout the top of the covering - you'll be able to create a "starry night" effect while still providing the space with some subtle lighting.
Often times, if you entertain outdoors, you know that too much outdoor lighting can be overwhelming during evening hours and it can certainly jack up the electric bill.
By installing subtle and creative lighting solutions like these, you'll be able to give your home a unique touch while still providing your space with the necessary lighting.
So the next time you're looking to up the ante on your outdoor design, consider where you can add some interesting lighting features.
You'll not only be able to entertain outdoors much more easily - but your landscape's design will finally get the attention it deserves - even during the darker hours of the day.