Adding landscape lighting to your project adds a tremendous amount of value, by making the space enjoyable 24/7, 365 days a year! For just a small investment it becomes the difference of coming home late to a dark yard, or a well-lit, outdoor space that highlights landscape features and provides a safe and inviting ambiance. But for many Vancouver homeowners, they just don’t know where to start, so we have created this helpful guide to give your backyard the evening “glow-up” that it deserves!
Our Top Tips after several years of installing landscape lighting:
1. A common mistake we see is lighting contractors and/or homeowners getting hung up on the lighting fixtures, when it’s all about the FEATURE that the light creates. Forget about the type of light fixture and focus on the features of your yard that you would like to highlight (ex. Water feature, a favorite tree, pathways, steps, sculptures, putting greens, etc.)
2. In general, you’ll get what you pay for with lighting, so sticking with a reputable brand such as Kichler will yield a “night and day” difference versus the cheap-o light you might find at Amazon or Canadian Tire. You will pay marginally more up front, but the system will last much longer and give your yard that luxury ambiance at night. Please don’t waste your money trying to “save a buck” on cheap lighting.
3. Solar-powered lighting sounds great in theory, but does not work well in Vancouver, as most yards do not receive full sun all-year round. Bottom line, stay away from the solar lights, they will barely work and will not do a justice for illuminating your beautiful yard.
4. Ensure that lights are not pointing into anyone’s eyes! The light fixtures and wires should be pretty much invisible, with the beam of light pointing away from the typical angle of viewing.
Armed with this information, here are some ideas for illuminating your yard at night to create that beautifully inviting ambiance:
This yard we did in the Point Grey neighborhood features 4 illuminated golf cups, an üp-light” for the Japanese Maple, step lights, pathway lights and a porch light. All in, this 9-light system cost about $2850
Here we have a beautiful Basalt Column Fountain which clearly deserved a spotlight at night! Notice how you can barely see the lighting fixtures at all, that is intentional!
This is one of my personal favourite lighting effects, know as the “moonlight”. It involves climbing a tree to mount a downlight that purposely catches a couple branch, which creates some cool shadows on the ground (and especially cool when the shadows sway in the wind!) Overall, it also provides great illumination for a space up to ˜400 square feet with a single light
Here we have a nice in-ground light installed along a paving stone pathway which provides safety at night. We try to avoid those traditional pathlights that stick up out of the ground, as these become a major tripping hazard unless they are tucked away in a garden bed. Recessed landscape lighting can be installed in garden beds, paving stones, artificial turf, decks and more!
We hope this has been helpful to give you some insights and ideas for illuminating your yard. If you need any help installing a lighting system on your upcoming project, please reach out to us here and we’ll be happy to assist you!
For a more in-depth guide on what to budget for a landscape lighting system here in Vancouver, please click here
