When enhancing a client’s property – residential or commercial – landscape contractors should factor in features that create outdoor areas that extend the living space, provide an element of safety and highlight their beautiful landscape at all hours of the day. Adding landscape lighting, such as path lights or uplighting, allows clients to extend their hours spent outside and can bring some visibility, comfort and safety to entertainment spaces. We searched our featured project archives to share a selection of unique and complementary landscape lighting examples.
1. Ohio Prize-Winning Backyard Lighting Project
“With just about any project, lighting really sets the tone. It’s not just the fixtures, although the path lighting provides character and aesthetic appeal. The result of any good lighting can really set off a landscape at night,” says Ric Haury, owner of Suncrest Gardens based in Ohio.
2. Stunning Minnesota Lakefront Hardscape Project
From a simple request for a pizza oven, this hardscape project changed in scope and took two years to complete. There’s about a 25-foot grade change between the lakefront and the pool terrace level. The main interests were season-long color and texture. Mom’s Landscaping & Design has an ongoing contract to maintain the landscape twice a week.
3. Landscape Renovation Success Due To Customer Relationship
Lighting for this project includes lights on the hardscape as well as throughout the front and back landscapes. “With the lighting, they wanted to make sure that the evenings felt inviting but not glaring. The spa has lighting and a sound system that’s controlled by their phones. Various trees in the backyard are up-lit so you have a sense of depth of the yard in the evening,” says designer Elena Andrews and the crew at Hilliard, Ohio-based Hidden Creek Landscaping, Inc.
4. Waterfall Provides Big Finish For Multi-Year Project
Both the waterflow and the lighting system are controlled from the house. The job includes an award-winning lighting system incorporating three different styles: downlights, up lights and path lights, plus the underwater lights in the pond. James Godbold from Hill’N Dale Landscaping says the wrong light in the wrong place can make things harder to see and less safe.
5. Enhancing Landscape For Client’s New Home
“The whole pool environment is pretty special. I love the combination of colors and the spa. At night, it really comes to life with the lighting,” says Pete Atkins, designer for Summit Services. The company had approximately 10,000 square feet to work with for this project which includes two shaded outdoor pavilion areas, an outdoor kitchen, pool, spa, fire pit and putting green.
6. Masonry Shines In Backyard Showcase
This project’s pavilion features a full bar with sink, refrigerators, custom-made cabinets and granite countertops. An enclosed area behind the bar contains the pool equipment and the controls for the low-voltage landscape lighting and sound systems.
7. Gas Lamps Light Up a New Orleans-Style Project
Matt Burton of Minneapolis-based Southview Design says, “This was my first time working with gas light fixtures. It was uncharted waters but after discussing them with my plumber and building inspectors, we know the installation is acceptable in every city we work in, and I’m trying to use more of them.”
8. European, American Elements Highlighted in Renovation
For this project, the client requested a pergola over the kitchen both to provide shade and support a ceiling fan and pendant lights. New lights were also installed with the pool upgrade. European style was what inspired this landscape and Becca Bastyr, a designer from the Shakopee, Minnesota-based Mom’s Design Build says, “With the fountain (in the front yard) going and at dusk when the low-voltage lighting is turning on, it’s so charming.”