6 Landscape Lighting Ideas That Showcase the Architecture of the Home in Fitchburg and Middleton, WI Areas

Your home is beautiful during the daytime, but why not show off its beauty after dark, and highlight features you may not notice when the sun is out? The right landscape lighting can make your home even more dramatic or homey at night. Here are __ landscape lighting ideas that showcase the architecture of the home in Fitchburg and Middleton, WI, areas. 

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You’ve customized your home with finishes and colors that appeal to you. As you design your landscape lighting scheme, you’re probably focused on practicality within your outdoor living spaces. But don’t forget that light reflects. You can take this opportunity to showcase your home while adding functional and decorative lighting to enhance the ambience of your patio, driveway, pool deck, and walkway.

Each outdoor area has different lighting requirements for safety and livability. The lights used to  illuminate your entryway will be different from the dramatic uplighting used to accent focal points such as fountains. As you consider the functionality of the lights in each area of your outdoor spaces, think about bringing attention to focal points in the immediate area: including your home.

Uplighting and Downlighting

Highlight the focal points of your house with the use of uplights or downlights. Use an attention-grabbing spotlight to highlight the texture of a brick facade, or soft, ambient downlights along a walkway to show off the more subtle textures of wood siding. 

Silhouetting

Your home’s walls can function like a canvas or a projection screen, especially if the walls are relatively smooth and there aren’t a lot of windows. Use silhouetting to cast shadows from interesting trees or a fountain onto the home. Experiment with different qualities of light, such as soft or bright, as well as with colors that let you express your personality and set the mood. For example, blue lights give a romantic yet mysterious flair to your outdoor spaces. While silhouetting doesn’t directly highlight the home’s architecture, it does draw the eye to the home - where other types of lighting take over and create drama and interest.

Shadowing

Shadowing is similar to silhouetting but it creates a softer shadow. It works best with trees with more delicate and open foliage. The movement of the tree “dancing” on the walls of your home is nothing short of delightful!

Washing

Washing, or wall-washing, creates a softer, more even glow across a wall. Wide-angle, low wattage lighting fixtures are placed a few feet away from the home (you can disguise them in foundation plantings) and angled slightly sideways to avoid casting harsh shadows.

Accent Lighting

Accent lights are a more subtle way to bring attention to your home, while adding safety and ambiance to your landscape. Ground lights that line your walkway will also cast soft light onto the home. Decorative lanterns or string lights give a festive feel to your patio or pool area, and because they’re positioned at intervals, cast a more even light across your home. 

Submersible Lighting

Submersible lighting placed in a reflecting pool, a bubbling fountain, or a pool adds the dynamic movement of water to your lighting design. As the shadows dance on your wall, you can’t help but be mesmerized by the movement! At the same time, the softness of “liquid shadows” contrasts beautifully with the harder lines of your home’s architecture.

Related: Incorporating More Texture Into Your Landscape Design in Madison, WI