With the weather getting warmer and the days getting longer, you’ll want to spend less time inside the house and more time outdoors.  For many, this means lounging outside in the sun, or eating meals out on the patio. So it’s no wonder that when the weather gets warmer, the best space in the entire house becomes the backyard. When a backyard can offer so much to you and your family, why not create your own backyard oasis? With these five simple landscape lighting techniques, you can turn your outdoor space into the backyard of your dreams.

Illuminate Plants and Gardens

You work hard to create and maintain the beautiful gardens and landscaping around your home, so why let these great aesthetic features go unnoticed after dark? With a landscape lighting design that illuminates your trees, gardens and shrubs you can add a sense of depth and ambience to your outdoor space.

Highlight Decks and Stairs

Illuminating hardscape features such as decks and stairs can go a long way in creating warm ambient light effects while also improving the safety of your outdoor space. Installing outdoor lighting on your steps, posts and rails will help distinguish changes in elevation while adding depth to your backyard oasis. Better yet, if your porch, patio or stairs are made of stone, integrating light fixtures will cast a warm light and emphasize the unique texture of the stone.

Shine a Light on the Outdoor Kitchen and Dining Area

Whether inside the house or outside, the kitchen and dining area tends to become the main area for entertaining. So don’t leave your family or friends to dine in the dark! A well thought out landscape lighting design for your outdoor kitchen and dining area will go a long way in creating an entertaining space that you’re guests will want to come back to night after night. In this area, try spotlighting from above and hardscape lighting to see exactly what you’re doing when preparing a great meal or raising your glass for a toast.

Illuminate Pools and Water Features

To create a true backyard oasis, your landscape lighting design should illuminate more than just your porch and dining area. If you have a unique feature in your backyard, such as a pool, hot tub or water feature, make sure it gets the attention it deserves – even after dark.

A pool or water feature gives you the opportunity to get creative with your landscape lighting design. Instead of simply casting light on the water, work with different lighting techniques to create ambiance and depth. For example, a lighting design for a pool might use up-lighting on surrounding trees to cast a cool mood-setting reflection on the surface of the water.

Light up Trees

If you don’t have a pool or a unique water feature in your backyard, chances are you have a tree, or a number of trees, that add character to your outdoor space. Tree lighting is a great way to give your backyard oasis the wow-factor you’ve been searching for.

When it comes to illuminating trees in your outdoor space, there are a number of different techniques that will create their own unique lighting effects. If integrating trees into your landscape lighting design is an option for you, consider techniques such as up-lighting, down-lighting or overall lighting.

Contact a Professional

With summer quickly approaching, you’ll want to create your outdoor oasis sooner rather than later, so you can enjoy it to the fullest. If you feel inspired to get started but don’t know where to begin, contact our team of landscape lighting professionals at Nite Time Décor Oakville. Whether you’re looking for more ideas and options or you’ve already planned out the lighting design of your dreams, our experienced staff can get you started on the right track. Contact us today!