Exterior lighting not only adds dimension to a landscape, it also extends the time outdoor spaces can be enjoyed. This property features several options, including path lighting, spotlighting of architectural details, and up-lighting of a water feature. Photography by Carl Scultz

You only have one chance to make a first impression: This adage holds true for many homeowners who want to utilize outdoor lighting to highlight their properties. With so many options available—from stylish table lamps to Modern free-standing cast-stone wall fountains equipped with submersible lights—creating attractive nighttime settings has never been so easy. “Many people leave home early and come home when it’s dark,” notes Michele Swetesich of Night Art in Scottsdale. “On certain days, you only see your landscape at night.” So why not make it the highlight of your day. . . or evening.

To find out the latest trends, we talked to several outdoor lighting professionals. Here and on the following pages, they share a variety of tips and information.

Bright Ideas
• Pick your location. To produce a dramatic effect, be selective when illuminating trees, plants and other landscape elements, advises Mark Mueller of Creative Designs In Lighting. Nick Cervi, owner of Night Lights of Arizona Inc., suggests emphasizing small vignette areas. “You don’t just wash everything with light. That detracts from the interest. You want change in contrast and variations in levels.”  
• Use “invisible” light. For designer Miho Mizukami Schoettker, a Phoenix Home & Garden Master of the Southwest who works for Scottsdale’s Akali Lighting Design, the goal is to highlight interesting features in the yard without drawing attention to the light fixtures. The intent is to make them essentially invisible. Illumination Professional Outdoor Lighting Designers’ Wes Osborn considers well lights that can be buried in the ground a must-have: “They provide good light spread, but you don’t see the fixture.” In addition, lenses can help narrow or broaden the beam of light to achieve the desired effect. Leaves and dirt, however, can blow onto lights set at a low grade, warns Mueller. Also, be aware of natural washes when determining placement, as submerged fixtures can fail.  

Fixtures are available in a range of designs to fit almost any style, including new offerings from Kichler Lighting (clockwise from ltop right): path lights from the Larkin Estate collection inspired by early-20th-century architecture; an LED fixture; and a teak wood path light.

• Select a bulb type. “Design with the light first,” Swetesich advises. “Then think about fixtures.” Incandescent bulbs
produce a warmer tone of light, she points out, while halogen lighting is cooler. Halogen is excellent for preserving natural colors, adds Mueller, and thus is appropriate for illuminating such features as trees and cacti. Incandescent, with its warmer light, is ideal for decorative features around the patio. Almost any type of bulb can be softened with a frosted lens or diffuser, notes Cervi.
• Mix it up. For highlighting trees, down-lighting has become a trendy choice. Try hanging lights or installing lighted ornaments at the tops of trees so that light shines downward. Down-lighting of branches illuminates the tree’s canopy and shines on the ground or on furniture, points out David Kyle of Lighthouse Landscape Lighting. Swetesich concurs: “Sun and moonlight come from above, so why not your lighting?” Mix it up, she suggests. An up-light placed on the ground can highlight an interesting tree trunk, while complementing the down-lighting. 

Pathway Pointers
• Get creative. For pathway lighting, Mizukami Schoettker avoids the “runway” look, preferring instead to accentuate interesting landscape features—a palo verde tree, for instance, or an attractive rock grouping. She also recommends using enough light for people to walk safely from place to place.
• Go for asymmetry. Cervi’s taste leans toward a nonsymmetrical, meandering design for pathways. “Take advantage of natural curves and elevations. Study the flow of the landscape, and position lights accordingly, rather than placing them every 20 feet. Make it look more natural rather than staged,” he suggests.
• Consider how a fixture will weather. Copper fixtures are popular for pathways, says Cervi, because they patina nicely. “Sun doesn’t damage the finish. The patina looks like it belongs. It doesn’t ever look faded.” Brass patinas nicely as well, notes Mueller.
• Choose fixtures to scale. Homeowners often think pathway lights on the ground must be small. Cervi recommends matching path lights to the scale of the home. If the home is on a grand scale, use bigger fixtures, but use less of them.