New Florida Outdoor Lighting Design Guide for Homeowners
Are you looking to enhance your Florida home’s exterior ambiance with outdoor lighting, but aren’t sure where to start? The best place to begin is with a consultation with a local outdoor lighting contractor like Pro Lighting Outdoors in Jacksonville, Florida. Outdoor lighting design is an art that can create beautiful textures against your home and set a welcoming atmosphere for your family and guests during the evening hours. Good outdoor lighting systems also enhance safety and security by illuminating dark areas throughout your property.
As a leading outdoor lighting expert in Northeast Florida, Pro Lighting Outdoors has created this Florida Outdoor Lighting Design Guide to help educate homeowners about the correct and incorrect ways to light up their homes. For a personal consultation or estimate, please call (904) 924-4496.
Basics: What is Outdoor Lighting Design?
Outdoor lighting design (or landscape lighting design) encompasses the exterior lighting of your home and property – the front porch, fence perimeter, backyard, pool or patio, trees, landscaping, driveway, stairs, boat dock, or any other area. The lighting specialists at Pro Lighting Outdoors are skilled in choosing the best type of lighting product and placement for your custom outdoor lighting installation. Our experts will work with you to identify your property’s lighting needs, understand your personal style, and select high quality outdoor lights that will perform well in the local climate. The end result? A stunning outdoor lighting system for your Florida home.
Basics: What Types of Outdoor Lighting Does Pro Lighting Outdoors Offer?
Pro Lighting Outdoors is proud to be Jacksonville’s top outdoor lighting contractor. We serve customers throughout Nassau County, Duval County, Clay County, and down to Flagler County. We specialize in low-voltage landscape lighting design, installation and repairs or replacement of old lights. The lighting products that we recommend are high-quality and proven to withstand the harsh outdoor weather that Florida homeowners experience, including high temperatures, sunlight, and rain. Keep reading to discover common types of lighting that our customers ask for.
- Home Exterior Lighting – Basic home exterior lighting is at the root of outdoor lighting design by Pro Lighting Outdoors. If you’re unsure where to start, Pro Lighting Outdoors is happy to set up a sample home exterior lighting package so that you test out what it looks like at your home. We believe being able to see the possibilities of your outdoor lighting installation can help Florida homeowners make more informed decisions and choose the best outdoor lighting design for their homes. Don’t forget about your driveway and garage lights, too!
- Recessed Soffit Lighting – Outdoor recessed soffit lighting is an excellent way to keep your outdoor lighting design flush and seamless with your home. The placement allows beautiful downlights to be cast and provides a level of security against trespassers. Illuminating your home with outdoor perimeter lighting is also an excellent way to stay safe and enhance your home’s aesthetic beauty.
- Front Yard & Backyard Lighting – Choosing your front yard for an outdoor lighting installation by Pro Lighting Outdoors not only boosts your Northeast Florida home’s curb-appeal, it also enhances the security at the main entry point of your home. Illuminate walkways and steps using hardscape lighting, install tree lighting for a dreamy and functional effect, and utilize landscaping elements like water fountains, fences, and retaining walls for your home’s outdoor front yard lighting.
Similarly, when it comes to the backyard of your home, backyard lighting design should illuminate dark spots and encourage safe navigation of your backyard while remaining beautiful and ambient. Utilize outdoor string lights to add ambient light and welcome guests into your backyard space, and make sure your sitting area is well-lit with our outdoor patio lighting installation. Upgrade your pool and spa with our pool lighting outdoor design, we install both above-ground and underwater lights!
- Dock Lighting – Boating is a way of life in Northeast Florida, so it’s no surprise that a lot of homeowners require specialty lighting for their private boat docks. Not only are boat docks used functionally here in Florida, they’re also used as a space to gather with loved ones. Safety is also of big importance when it comes to outdoor lighting installation near the water. Boat dock lighting should be positioned in a way that illuminates the safe walking paths and clearly distinguishes the dock perimeter. Pro Lighting Outdoors specializes in lights for dock posts, dock stairs, underwater dock lights, and boat lift lights for Florida boaters who want to enhance the security, safety, and nighttime ambiance of their boat dock.
What NOT To Do: Examples of Poor Outdoor Lighting
It’s an unavoidable habit to evaluate other people’s outdoor lighting as we drive through neighborhoods. Above are some examples we’ve seen of systems with incorrect and inconsistent outdoor lighting. These photos demonstrate lack of coverage, lights that are too dim and angles of spread being too narrow. Some of these homes also have no lighting on any trees or landscaping, which is a major missed opportunity. The causes for these mistakes may range from a lack of knowledge and experience about outdoor lighting design, to incorrect installation or incorrect materials.
