Most property owners here in Michigan already know that custom outdoor lighting can be the perfect finishing touch to any outdoor living space. However, many people don't know which lighting techniques to use that will best showcase the features of their landscape. 3 lighting techniques that will upgrade your curb appeal include shadowing, grazing, and wall-wash lighting. Shadowing allows you to create dramatic silhouettes of your favorite landscape features. Grazing is a great way to highlight the unique texture of walls and other hardscapes. Wall-wash lighting can make your outdoor living space feel larger or more grand.

1. Shadowing

Shadow lighting placed on a property in Cascade, MI.

Shadowing is a traditional lighting technique where an object is lit from below, which casts a shadow of the object on the wall behind it. By placing the light source low to the ground and pointing it upwards at the object, the shadows it creates can give your landscape a more dramatic feel once the sun goes down. The shadowing technique also allows you to naturally incorporate depth and contrast into your landscape. You can use this lighting technique on almost any object that has a wall behind it; however, some popular things to highlight using the shadowing technique include tall plants, statues, and water fountains. This technique is less about highlighting the object itself, and more about drawing attention to its unique silhouette.

2. Grazing

Grazing light placed along a textured wall on a property in Cedar Springs, MI.

Grazing is a lighting technique used to highlight any walls on your property that have unique textures or irregular surfaces. This technique can even be used to accent stone columns, statues, or sculptures if you're aiming to make your landscape look more Romanesque. In order to implement this technique, you would need to place the light fixture close to the plane of the object you're highlighting and direct the light beam across its surface. This technique allows you to play around with light and shadow to accentuate the one-of-a-kind look of the object you are drawing attention to. If you have a stone or brick wall on your property, or any other object with a unique surface, grazing is a great way to showcase its beautiful texture.

Outdoor lighting can significantly increase the overall value of your property.

3. Wall-Wash Lighting

A black outdoor light pointed towards a wall in Lowell, MI.

Wall-washing is another lighting technique used to highlight a favorite wall on your property. However, unlike grazing, wall-wash lighting is used to illuminate the surface of a flat wall rather than accentuate any unique textures or features. Wall-washing is designed to eliminate shadows and draw attention to the smoothness of the wall by flooding it with bright, uniform light at a wide angle. In order to successfully achieve this effect, you need to place the light source at least 1 foot away from the wall being lit. This landscape lighting technique allows you to create the illusion of space on your property by making the wall feel much larger than it is. If you have a large, flat wall or surface on your property and you'd like to make your landscape feel more palatial, wall-washing might be the lighting technique for you.

Call our experts to install your custom outdoor lighting setup!

If you are looking for the perfect feature to add to your outdoor living space, our landscaping team here at Rose Landscape Services is the one to call. We will work with you to design and install the custom outdoor lighting setup you've always wanted. For the last 19 years, we have offered this service to the homes and businesses in Grand Rapids, Ada, Cascade, and nearby cities in Michigan. Give us a call at (616) 293-0361 today to sign up for our outdoor lighting service!