Lighted Walkways: Your Guide

When it comes to safely navigating your property in the evening hours, lighted walkways are key. The last thing that you want is for your property to pose trip and fall hazards because of poor lighting. Walkways—particularly those with steps—can be dangerous to traverse if not properly lit.

Of course, lighted walkways add important aesthetic value as well. In general, landscape lighting is one of the best ways to boost your home’s curb appeal in the evening hours. That is, assuming the lighting is done well. On the flipside, nothing detracts from home appeal and value like a badly done lighting job.

Here are a few more considerations as you think about lighting walkways.

Less is More

While you want your walkways to be well-lit, you don’t want them to look like airport runways! One of the biggest mistakes made in lighting walkways is in going overboard on the number of lights or the brightness. When it comes to walkway lighting, less is usually more. Subtle lighting looks better from an aesthetics standpoint and will help gently guide the way as opposed to blinding those who traverse the path.

It may be difficult to know how many lights are needed—or how bright they should be—but a professional can guide you in making just the right selection. There is an art and skill to great lighting.

Placement is Key

Besides the number of lights (and their brightness), the placement is essential to the success of your lighting, too. You certainly don’t want lights to be so scattered around the property that they don’t assist in “lighting the way.” However, placing lights too close together is unnecessary and unattractive and can contribute to that “airport runway look” we mentioned.

One thing that a lot of homeowners don’t consider is that a well-lit path doesn’t always have to mean all of the lights are physically on the path. Well-placed landscape lights around the property might do the job of lighting up your walkways, too. While you don’t want one bright spotlight shining on your walkway and creating a blinding feature, some downlighting from trees near the walkway might do a great job of lighting up your path in an appealing way. Again, the skill and knowledge of a professional can help ensure your walkways are lit in a way that is both functional and attractive.

A Pro Job Shows

While big box stores and hardware stores sell landscape lighting supplies, the truth is, you can tell the difference between a DIY job and one done by a pro. One of those big differences is the art involved in creating a professionally-lit lighted walkway. As we mentioned, there really is some creativity and an “eye for design” involved in the process.

But there’s more to it than that. The materials used by a professional are also going to be superior to what you might buy at the local store. This is important when you want to create a lighting walkway that is going to hold up for the long haul. At Taylor Anthony 365, most of our materials are solid brass and carry a lifetime warranty. That’s not a benefit you’re going to get when you purchase materials at the local big box store.

We also utilize LED technology, again, with a lifetime warranty. That’s because these products are built to last—not like the lighting kits that you’d buy at the home improvement store. While they may cost more on the onset, in the long-term you will save money.

In the end, it’s simply not worth skimping when it comes to something as important as properly lighting your landscape. By investing in professionally lit walkways, you can ensure the safety and the beauty of your property for years to come.