Getting Started With Professional Landscape Lighting in Alexandria, VA

One of the best ways that you can boost the value of your property while also getting more enjoyment and use out of it yourself is to add landscape lighting.

A quick trip to the box store will get you landscape lights. Highlighting your home in a way that's elegant and reliable takes a professional touch.

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• Why Consider Landscape Lighting?
• What Are the Benefits of Professional Landscape Lighting Design?
• How Much Should I Budget for Landscape Lighting?
• Is Landscape Lighting Worth the Cost?
• What Are Some of the Best Landscape Lighting Ideas?
• What’s New with Landscape Lighting Technology?
• Choosing Landscape Lighting & Design in Alexandria, VA

Incorporating professional landscape lighting to your Alexandria, VA home can be a game-changer - assuming that it’s done right.

In this article, we’ll shine some light on the things that you ought to know about landscape lighting so that you can make the best choices for your property.

We’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions and give you an idea of what to expect if you want to start the process of adding lighting to your home.

There are a lot of benefits that you can anticipate from incorporating landscape lighting that can have an impact on both return on investment (ROI) and return on enjoyment (ROE).

Let’s talk about some of these benefits.

Curb Appeal

The aesthetic factor is a huge benefit of landscape lighting. A great landscape lighting design is going to give you mega curb appeal by making your home look better.

This is where the ROI comes into play. If you do go to sell your home in the future, a home with great lighting will sell much easier than one without it.

Enhanced Safety & Security

Another valuable benefit of landscape lighting is that it creates both safety and security. These are two separate things and both important.

Landscape lighting creates safety by allowing you to navigate around your outdoor areas after the sun goes down. By illuminating stairs, walkways, and objects that can be run into, you prevent trip and fall hazards.

This is obviously incredibly important for you and your family, but it also means minimizing a liability when guests are on your property.

On top of that, landscape lighting also enhances security by deterring would-be thieves. When a home is well-lit, burglars, trespassers, and other criminals will be less likely to attempt to come onto your property.

Increased Functionality

This is where your “return on enjoyment” or “return on entertainment” comes into play. With thoughtful landscape lighting, you’re able to use your outdoor living space even after the sun’s gone down.

This enhanced functionality is a big deal. After all, if you’ve invested in having a beautiful patio or outdoor area, you want to be able to use it to the fullest. With outdoor lighting, you can enjoy an evening drink, dinner, or other entertainment without the need to bring the family (or party) inside.

What Are the Benefits of Professional Landscape Lighting Design?

In order to ensure all of the benefits discussed above, it’s essential that you are choosing a professional landscape lighting design.

DIY lighting or even lighting from a company that uses subpar materials is going to be inferior.

At Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape, we only use high-quality fixtures. There are all types of different finishes and styles—so much more than you’d ever see at the hardware store!

We are also utilizing LED lighting which lasts longer, is more durable, and is more energy-efficient than traditional lighting. It’s more expensive on the front end but will save you money in the long run since it does not need to be constantly changed.

Of course, even the installation job can really differ when you compare a DIY approach to that of professional landscape lighting companies. There is a real art to a fantastic landscape lighting design. The rule of thumb is that “less is more.”

You don’t want a ton of lights blinding you. You want just the right amount of light for your needs. One of the biggest mistakes we commonly see in DIY lighting jobs (or lighting installed by an unskilled “pro”) is the use of way too many lights (or lights that are too bright). It shouldn’t look like an airport runway.

How Much Should I Budget for Landscape Lighting?

As with any project, there are many factors that will impact landscape lighting cost including how many areas you’re lighting and how many lights are needed. Also keep in mind that you should be investing in high-quality fixtures and LED bulbs.

For a ballpark idea, if you were to light the front of your home with some high-value accent lighting, using around 10 fixtures, it would probably cost around $3,000.

Is Landscape Lighting Worth the Cost?

Yes, for all of the benefits that we discussed, we think that landscape lighting is a worthwhile investment, assuming that you are investing in high-quality, professional lighting.

It’s definitely worth paying a little bit more for a better product, high-quality design, and proper installation.

As with most things in life, you get what you pay for when you invest in landscape lighting.

What Are Some of the Best Landscape Lighting Ideas?

There are a lot of different ways to get creative with landscape lighting ideas. Trees can be uplit to showcase their beauty in the evening hours. We can also light the facade of your home, to show off the architectural details. Things like stonework, corbels, and columns can really take on a unique look at night.

Moonlighting is another great landscape lighting strategy. This involves strategically installing lighting in the trees to light up the ground below. It can be used for walkways, driveways, and patios. This is a softer, subtler way to light a space as the light is cast downward, like moonlight.

Custom focal point lighting is also an idea that many people embrace. Often homeowners have specific focal points that they want to highlight on their property using landscape lighting. This might be a specimen plant, a statue, or a water feature. It’s a matter of what’s important to you and what will help enhance your property best.

At the end of the day, the best landscape lighting ideas are those that are customized to your property and its unique features. This is why landscape lighting design is so important. You want a design that is custom-tailored to your property.

What’s New with Landscape Lighting Technology?

There have been a lot of advancements with landscape lighting technology and it’s also important to work with a company that is staying ahead of the curve so that you have options.

Obviously, the switch to high-quality, LED bulbs is one big advance. While this is now the standard in outdoor lighting, you’d be surprised that many companies are still installing outdated, incandescent lightbulbs.

Another big advance has been the introduction of zone-controlled transformers. We can create “zones” and then automate them to come on when you want. For instance, you might want the pathway lights to come on first in the front of your home as you’ll want that area well-lit when you get home from work. But you might have the deck lights come on around the time you’ll be letting the dog out.

And maybe there are some lights that you only need on when people come over.

There have also been advances in color-changing light technology, which is something that some homeowners like.

While many homeowners just want the warm white, we can also offer bulbs in which the colors can be changed using an app on a smart device. That means you could have orange at Halloween or red and green for the holidays. It’s a simple way to add some festivity to your home without the hassles of hanging string lights.

Choosing Landscape Lighting & Design in Alexandria, VA

If you’re looking for a project that’s really going to give you a good ROI and ROE, then landscape lighting is a great consideration. But getting the most out of your landscape lighting design and installation will boil down to choosing the right company for the job.

You want to make sure that you’re working with a landscape lighting provider who invests in high-quality materials and is well-trained in proper installation. This can help ensure you get the most value out of your investment.

If you’re exploring landscape lighting companies, we’d love for you to consider Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape.

At Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape, we can help you with a design that’s going to suit your property best. That means a customized solution that will take the specifics of your property into account.

Although a lot of homeowners think that professional lighting is going to be incredibly costly, in comparison to an outdoor living project, it’s really just a small cost upgrade. When you think about the fact that it will allow you to use that space more fully, it’s a minimal investment for all of the benefits that you reap.

If you’d like some guidance on adding landscape lighting, request a consultation, get your customized plan, and get ready for the royal treatment.