Leading your guests with Outdoor Path Lighting

Ever find yourself wandering around your yard not able to see what your stepping on? Outdoor path lighting is a really easy solution to finding your way through your landscape without being too intrusive.

Your goal with outdoor path lighting is not so much to emphasize the path but to provide your guests a passage to follow. Direct them where it is you want them to go. People naturally follow wherever the light leads them.

Be creative and place your path lights wherever you feel they fit best.

Path fixtures, post lights, or bollard lights are a good choice for use in path lighting. Recessed wall lights are also great for concealing your light fixture and a great source of path lighting.

Wider paths may require a bit of a different lighting effect. By applying downlighting or moonlighting to a wider path you can produce adequate lighting while covering a wider ground surface area.

Path lighting should give your guests an idea of the underlying surface they are walking on. Usually its pretty flat and smooth, thats why you don't need to over do it with too many fixtures.

Spread your fixtures far enough apart but try overlapping the light output from fixture to fixture. By avoiding dark areas your path looks smooth and unobstructed.

Regular spacing of outdoor path lights is a good idea but not necessary. It's good enough to space them according to personal preference as long as you keep the light consistent and not spotty. Spacing them too exact can take away from your landscape's ambiance.

Making your path lighting flow with it's surroundings is whats most important, don't get too caught up in making it too perfect.

Take a mental walk along your path. Are there any focal points you may want to bring attention to? Remember to let your landscape's surroundings be the show stoppers, you and your guests should be more impressed with your landscapes design not your path fixtures.

Paths are a good way to move your guests along your outdoor landscape. Moving them along your landscape while entertaining them with your nicely lit landscape will put them in a calm and relaxed state.