We can’t think of a better way to spend time with family and friends during warm weather than hanging out around the BBQ grill or a fire pit, visiting, tossing a ball around with the kids, or swimming in the lake or pool. It’s a great break from the stresses of daily living and if you’re like us—you aren’t ready for the fun to end when the sun goes down.
Good news: you don’t have to call it a day just because it’s getting dark. When you install outdoor lights in the right places, you can continue to enjoy your outdoor living space until long after sunset.
When our landscaping architects come out to talk to prospective clients about their outdoor living space, patio, or fire pits, they will talk to them about the benefits of adding lighting to their project. Here are the top five reasons they give for adding lighting to your list of must-haves when planning your outdoor activities.
One of the best benefits of adding lighting: more fun!
Choose the scenario that appeals to you most: 1) You’re hanging out with family and friends in your backyard at dusk. Or 2) It’s early evening and you’ve got your feet up on your seating wall enjoying some alone time in the cool evening air. The first stars have appeared and all that’s left of the sun is a few pale, pink beams of light.
In both scenarios, you’re enjoying yourself and you’re not quite ready to go in. But if you don’t have outdoor lighting, you know that if you wait too long, you’ll be sitting in near total darkness. Chances are, if you’ve got guests, they’re going to start talking about going home. And who can blame them?
But with the right outdoor lights, you can continue to enjoy your time in the yard you’ve worked so hard to have. And so can your family.
What do the right lights look like? Good question. J&S Landscaping installs LED cap lighting in places like retaining walls, water features, fire pits, around walkways and patios, and other outdoor features. Unlike flood lights that illuminate everything, but make it impossible to see the stars, cap lighting is aimed at the surfaces you’re most concerned about, brightening the ground and walkways so you can see to move from one place to another. For added enjoyment, they create a subtle ambiance and don’t interfere with your ability to see those stars.
Outdoor lights and Safety
It doesn’t matter how old you are, falling down stinks. It’s embarrassing and painful, but—worse—it can be dangerous. A crack in a sidewalk, or hose that runs across a frequently used path, or even a child’s toy in the wrong place, can ruin your day (walking casts are no fun). Studies have shown that injuries at home are the leading cause of trips to the hospital. And falling down is the number one reason. It’s not just hard on your pride, it’s hard on your body, and if it happens to a guest, it’s hard on your homeowner’s insurance too.
And even if it doesn’t result in a trip to the hospital, it can really detract from the mood of the gathering.
As we see it, one of the most important benefits of adding lighting to your yard and outdoor living areas is accident prevention.
Security
In addition to being a great tool for preventing accidents, another one of the benefits of adding lighting to your outdoor living spaces is that it’s also a smart way to discourage would-be-thieves. When you combine LED lighting with motion sensitive lights, you are adding to your overall home security. Even better? Some insurance companies offer insurance credits for professionally installed lighting, especially if paired with a security system.
Here is a great article on the best ways to use outdoor lights as a security measure.
Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is defined as the general attractiveness of a house or other piece of property from the sidewalk to a prospective buyer. People won’t necessarily know WHY they like the home at first glance. They just know that they are drawn to it. Think of it as creating a positive first impression with the additional benefit of increasing monetary value.
The right lights can play a big role in this. How does this work? Good question.
We all love Christmas lights, don’t we? Have you ever wondered why? They’re welcoming, fill us with hope, and make us smile. There’s a reason many of us leave our lights up until well-past the holidays. And it’s not ALL laziness. It’s that we’re just not quite ready for that feeling to go away.
But we know that those lights aren’t designed to be left up all year. Eventually, they begin to detract from the appearance of our home as bulbs burn out and the weather takes its toll on their placement. In the end, they just look sloppy and out of place.
But when you add permanent LED outdoor lights, you can maintain the mood without worrying about putting them up or taking them down. With professionally installed, soft exterior lights, you create the same atmosphere of welcoming warmth. And furthermore, it’s permanent.
Cost Effective Solution
Anything permanent that you do to your home—whether it’s an outdoor kitchen, new patio, or new walkway will positively affect the value of your home. Even small things can make a big difference. New gutters, exterior lights, and well-kept plants and trees can contribute to your home’s value.
J&S Landscaping only installs economical low-voltage LED lights that are long lasting and won’t raise your electric bill, which makes them a cost-effective addition to any home improvement project.
Want to know more?
J&S Landscaping is more than happy to discuss the benefits of adding lighting to the exterior of your home and landscape. There is no downside to this feature if it’s done right and we don’t do things any other way.
We are a locally owned one-stop, full-service landscaping company. From lawn care, to snow removal, to power washing, to building beautiful outdoor living spaces—including lights—if it has anything to do with your enjoyment of the exterior of your home, we probably do it.
In addition to Walled Lake, we serve West Bloomfield, Farmington Hills, Clarkston, Brighton, Commerce Township, Novi, Wixom, White Lake, Wolverine Lake, and immediate, outlying areas.
J&S Landscaping is a member of the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association. We provide top-notch lawn care and support for plants, trees, and shrubs. And everything we purchase and plant for you has a one-year guarantee.
J&S Landscaping is certified by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute to install paver patios, & walkways, brick paver driveways, retaining walls and more. We are an authorized contractor for Belgard and we’re so confident of our work that we certify our installations for two years. All of our crews are carefully trained, certified, and bonded.
Call today to learn more about what our company can do for you!
