Landscape uplighting for trees is an easy, affordable way to create beautiful nighttime drama around your home. Highlight the beautiful old oak, maple, or willow that’s been growing for years. Show off those summer greens, fall foliage, or winter branches with lights done right, the way landscape lighting services recommend. Here’s what you need to know.

How to Choose Fixtures for Landscape Uplighting for Trees

Use the right type of fixtures in landscape uplighting for trees to get a professional look that will last through the seasons. What should you look for in lighting fixtures? These four factors: function, efficiency, quality, and style.

Outdoor lighting fixtures do not all function in the same way. They have different shapes, which create a different light spread. Some fixtures are meant to shine a wide spread of light; others to provide a focused, narrow beam. When you install landscape uplighting for trees, you need a fixture that is designed to provide a wide spread of flight. Otherwise, you’ll only light up part of the tree and the final look will not be complete.

“Use different types of fixtures to match the type of lighting you want,” explains Daniel Frost, owner of Outdoor Lighting Solutions. “We work with premium manufacturers, and we have some really cool options from each one at different price points.”

Next, consider the efficiency of the outdoor light fixture. There’s no question about which type of bulb to use: LEDs are a clear winner over incandescent bulbs, requiring much less energy to provide the needed light intensity. You get the bright beam of light you need with a lower load on the transformer and a lower utility bill. All newer fixtures use LED bulbs. If you have old fixtures you want to use, you may be able to upgrade the bulbs to LEDs.

The next consideration is style. Some fixtures are sleek, minimal, and modern. Others are more ornate. You can choose a decorative style that’s more noticeable, or an understated fixture that blends in. The finish is also part of the style: choose the color and finish that complements your home’s exterior for a polished look. For landscape uplighting for trees, the fixture will be more functional and minimal than decorative; you want the attention to be on the tree, not the fixture.

Finally, consider the quality of the fixture. Look for marine-grade aluminum for a fixture that will last through the seasons. Solid brass fixtures are beautiful and durable. A high-quality fixture will include a lengthy warranty, and good landscape lighting services will use high-grade wiring and connectors to keep the system in good shape. If you choose to purchase cheaper, poorly made fixtures, you’ll end up replacing them sooner.

How to Install Landscape Uplighting for Trees

To install landscape uplighting for trees, consider what professional landscape lighting services know: the position, angle, and intensity of the light must be correct.

Position: if the fixture is positioned too close to the tree, it will create shadows and washed-out spots. If the fixture is positioned too far from the tree, it won’t be bright enough.

Angle: if the angle of the fixture is too low, it will only light the bottom of the tree. Too high, and it will only light up the top of the tree.

Intensity: the intensity is the strength or amount of light produced by the lightbulb. It might be measured in watts (radiant intensity) or lumens (luminous intensity). Some landscape LED bulbs have various settings for different intensities, just like you might have a bulb in a lamp which you can dim or turn to different levels of brightness. The right intensity ensures that the tree is fully lit—which is kind of the point of landscape uplighting for trees—but is not so bright that it washes out the color of the tree. A too-high intensity might also light up the surfaces behind the tree, distracting from the tree itself.

How to Plan Landscape Uplighting for Trees

There’s a final question that professional landscape lighting services know to consider: will the light grow with the tree?

Now, if you’re uplighting a fully mature, decades-old tree, this won’t be an important question. But if you want to uplight those saplings you just planted, it’s a key consideration. If the tree is relatively young, it’s going to change shape and size dramatically over the years. To make sure the landscape uplighting will accommodate the growth, you may need a fixture with a wider spread and a brighter intensity. Some professional-grade fixtures have an adjustable piece that allows for different degrees of spread, as well as varying intensity levels for the bulb.

“We have fixtures with adjustable optics built in; these allow us to change the spread of the light. And if it’s not bright enough, we can bump the brightness up as well,” says Daniel. “It’s great technology, built into a fixture which can be resealed to withstand seasonal conditions, and it still has a great warranty.”

When you’re ready to put in landscape uplighting for trees, remember: the right fixtures, correct installation, and a plan for tree growth. And if you don’t want to tackle the job alone, Daniel and Jeremy at Outdoor Lighting Solutions are ready to help. Get in touch for a free estimate.

To create a great outdoor space or make your home look its best, you need the right residential outdoor lighting. Outdoor lights create ambiance, define spaces, and highlight the best features of your house and landscaping. Here are some smart moves you can make to upgrade the lighting you already have, or make sure you get the best lighting systems for your home.

Smart Move 1: Upgrade to LED

If you have an older outdoor lighting system, or even just a few fixtures on your house (such as motion-sensor lights or porch lights), it’s time to check what type of bulbs you’re using. If you are still using old-style, incandescent bulbs, do yourself a favor: upgrade to LED bulbs. There are two styles of LED bulbs: the drop-in style, and an integrated style. With an integrated LED, the bulb itself is built into the light fixture. If you replace an entire fixture, you might choose an integrated style. However, if you want to keep your current fixtures but upgrade to LED bulbs, you can use the drop-in style. They’re designed to simply and easily replace the old bulbs and screw into your current fixtures.

With LED bulbs, you get the same amount of light for a much lower energy cost. In fact, LEDs operate at 80% less energy consumption than standard incandescent bulbs. Not only does this save on your energy bill, it also allows you to expand your residential outdoor lighting system without overloading your transformer.

Smart Move 2: Use the Right Output

You don’t need the same light output for every outdoor lighting fixture in your yard or around your home. It depends on what each fixture is supposed to do. There are a few things to take into account: how high the light needs to reach, how much area you want it to cover, and how wide, or narrow, the beam of light is. If you want to illuminate a low wall in front of your house, you don’t need as much light output as you would need to spotlight that 20-foot tree in the front yard. Using a bulb with too much output not only wastes energy, but also creates a light that doesn’t look the way you want:

• Too little light output creates odd shapes and shadows.
• Too much light creates glare and odd contrasts.

In both cases, the result is an unprofessional look that does not achieve the uniformity needed for a perfect wash of light across your home and landscaping.

Smart Move 3: Install Matching Fixtures

If you want a quick way to upgrade the appearance of your entire home, here it is: install residential outdoor lighting fixtures that match, and that coordinate with the style and color scheme of your house. It’s an immediate boost in the overall feel and appearance.

Consider your landscaping, shutters and trim color, and the style of architecture. A modern home with black shutters, for example, could be complemented by sleek, black fixtures made of marine-grade aluminum. Do you want pathway lights to blend into the landscape mulching? Choose a slim style in a brown finish. Or do you want them to stand out as their own feature? In that case, choose a more ornate style in a finish that complements the trim on your home. For a high-end look, solid brass fixtures are both striking and classic. It’s all about the impression you want to create and the way the fixtures work with the style of your home.

Smart Move 4: Plan for the Future

With residential outdoor lighting, you have options that can make future upgrades easy. You also have options that can end up wasting your money and causing a lot of frustration. Whether you are upgrading your current system, or having a new one installed, here are some things to consider:

• Will the landscaping change significantly? For example, if you’re installing a spotlight on a newly planted tree, you only need to light up 10 feet of tree. But in a few years, as the tree grows, that amount of light will no longer be enough to do the job. Either the top half of the tree will be in shadow, or you will have to upgrade the lighting. Some fixtures have built-in options to allow for increased lighting output as needed, with an adjustment. For a fixture with a drop-in bulb, you can change the bulb. What you don’t want is to be locked into a certain type of fixture that won’t easily adjust to significant changes in your landscaping.
• Will you add on more lighting fixtures and areas? In many cases, homeowners start with residential outdoor lighting around one or two areas in the yard, or with uplights on the home. Then, later, they might add more lighting: lights on the deck stairs and railing, or pathway lights, bistro lights over an outdoor dining area, or lights to create poolside ambiance. If you’ll want to add more fixtures or areas to your lighting system, make sure you install a transformer that is adequate not only for the lighting you have now, but for the energy load you might want to add in the future.
• Will the lighting last more than a year? It’s easy to get caught up in the newest seasonal offer for solar lights or a DIY lighting kit. The question to consider is how long these lights will last. If you only want them for a season, then a plug-and-play, lower-quality system might be fine. But if you want to invest in residential outdoor lights that will last through the seasons, you need contractor-grade fixtures with guarantees, and professional wiring and connectors that won’t corrode after one St. Louis winter.

Every home is different, and every residential outdoor lighting system should reflect exactly what the homeowner wants. We love working with our customers to design the perfect system and helping you highlight all the best features of your home. Get in touch for a free estimate from the best residential outdoor lighting company in St. Louis.

Tired of tripping over the kids’ toys or stubbing your toes on the edge of the pathway? These walkway lighting ideas will light your way from door to garden, to driveway, to deck, or to backyard firepit: wherever you have a path, you can have great outdoor pathway lighting. Here are a few keys to great walkway lighting, and ideas to get you started.

Set the Tone

All professional outdoor lighting systems now use LED bulbs, which require 80% less energy consumption than traditional incandescent bulbs. One of the biggest complaints when LEDs first became popular was the brightness and the color. If you’ve ever felt blinded by a pair of bluish white, glaring headlights shining in your eyes, you understand. Fortunately, you can choose the color of your LED bulbs to set the right tone for your home’s walkway lighting.

A warm white tone is more natural and works well with warmer paint colors and natural stone. Pure white works well for darker materials: if your pathway is black or gray, this might be the better shade of white for the outdoor walkway lighting ideas you have.

Space Them Out

One of the most common mistakes with outdoor walkway lighting is using too many fixtures. This happens because solar pathway lights emit very little light; you need a lot of the dim little lights to actually see the path.

These walkway lighting ideas, however, are different: when using high-quality fixtures, with LED bulbs, you get a good light coverage from each fixture. So you can purchase fewer fixtures, have them installed further apart, and still get great lighting for your pathway.

Switch It Up

With the current options in walkway lighting fixtures, you can choose complementary but differing styles for different areas of your yard and home. For example, you can choose the same finish, but with a different style. You can vary the intensity of the light so you have the right mood for different areas of your outdoor space. It all depends on the vision you have.

5 Outdoor Walkway Lighting Ideas

Show Off the Lights

Here’s a simple but effective walkway lighting idea: if you have simple pathways, and not much landscaping to show off around your walkways, the lighting fixtures can stand in as points of interest. Ornate fixtures, with cut-outs and more complex designs, deserve the notice they get and can create visual interest for otherwise plain areas.

Focus on the Path

On the other hand, if you have beautiful stepping stones, natural rocks, or other path materials that deserve the attention, go the other direction. Minimalist path lights are set almost flush with the ground. Or, more traditional but simple walkway lighting fixtures serve to light the path without stealing the attention.

Highlight the Landscaping

You can also consider this outdoor walkway lighting idea: a combination of strategically placed spotlights to highlight nearby landscaping, with the perfect number of pathway fixtures. It’s important to consider the overlap between one light and another, and the difference in intensity. If you use a light that’s too strong on nearby landscaping, you’ll wash out the pathway lighting. The goal is to have the lights work together for a beautiful, uniform look that highlights the landscaping features and provides a softly lit path to walk.

Create Boundaries

Use pathway lights to designate certain areas of your yard or outdoor spaces, even without a ‘hard boundary’ like a wall, path, or fence. For example, walkway lights can circle the outer seating perimeter around a firepit and instantly create a sense of safety and coziness. The lights are small and low enough not to distract from the fire, but create a perimeter and provide light for walking back to the house when leaving the area.

Add Subtle Lighting

Walkway lighting is also good for areas where you want ambient lighting without a glare. Pathway lights work well around a pool; at night, you can see what’s going on and move around safely. But there are no bright shining lights on your face; it’s a subtle light, without a too-bright atmosphere when you want a quiet swim.

Upgrade Bulbs

If you’re not quite ready to replace pathway fixtures, you may be able to upgrade by replacing older incandescent bulbs with drop-in LED bulbs. It depends on what type of walkway lighting fixtures you have in place; some are too old to be upgraded, or were made for manufacturer-specific bulb styles which can’t be replaced.

If you’re ready to upgrade or replace your walkway lighting—or if you want to see more outdoor walkway lighting ideas—get in touch. We can show you the latest options and help you bring your vision to life.

Outdoor Lighting Solutions LLC is one of the premier outdoor landscape lighting companies in the St. Louis area. With over a decade of experience ranging from small private residences and community entrances to large estates and commercial buildings, the team has handled special challenges, installation obstacles, unique requests, and much more. As co-owner of Outdoor Lighting Solutions, Daniel Frost has seen it all when it comes to outdoor lighting solutions. Here’s his take on what to look for in a professional landscape lighting company.

Get Professional Fixtures from an Outdoor Lighting Company

“There’s a big jump from what you can buy at Home Depot and Lowe’s or Menard’s to the professional-grade fixtures you purchase as a contractor,” says Frost. “You can go to any box store and purchase a landscape lighting fixture, but the quality difference is enormous.”

The reason for the major upgrade with contractor-quality fixtures is mostly about the materials used. Many of the non-commercial fixtures are made out of aluminum, which will not stand up to the test of time out in the weather, in all seasons. Cheaper fixtures may have finishes that bake off in the sun, chipping paint, and be easily damaged by wind or storms. With professional-grade fixtures, however, you get solid fixtures made from quality materials, with warranties. “I have faith in the light fixtures I sell, because they are all contractor grade and come with a warranty,” says Frost. “We don’t give our customers cheap fixtures that won’t last.”

Expect Clear Pricing and Accurate Estimates

Professional landscape lighting companies should have clear pricing, with no hidden fees or surprises. And a key part of pricing is creating an accurate estimate of what an outdoor lighting system will cost, before it’s installed.

For Frost and his business partner Jeremy Ashley, creating accurate quotes is a key part of customer service. “Before we provide a quote on anything, we go out and look at the job,” says Frost. “Jeremy and I are the ones who install and finalize the systems. We know exactly what to look for when we’re creating a quote.”

An experienced installation professional—rather than someone in sales, only—can create an estimate without critical errors. “We don’t ever want a situation where someone sold 20 lights but we only have a way to install 18 of them, for instance,” says Frost. “Or a situation where there are major additional fees because the person who quoted the job does not have installation experience.”

Landscape Lighting Companies Should Design for You

“One of complaints we hear most often about other lighting companies is about the design process,” says Frost. “Lighting is so particular, and there are a lot of companies that want to put an outdoor lighting system together in a certain way. But that certain way may not be what the customer wants.”

When working with an outdoor lighting company, ask how much customization is involved in their design process. Will they work with your vision, or will they try to make a cookie-cutter design work?

A better approach than having a cut-and-paste design is to work with each situation and each customer. There are many variations in how outdoor lighting systems can work, says Frost. The goal should always be to create a design that brings the customer’s vision to life.

Of course, says Frost, sometimes customers want things that aren’t possible. In that case, a demonstration of options helps customers to choose a workable solution that gets the results they want.

Get a Demo from Your Outdoor Lighting Company

Sometimes, says Frost, customers have a specific vision but aren’t clear on the execution that will get that vision. Or customers might not be sure what they want. In both cases, a demo of what the lighting system will look like helps. It’s one thing to imagine, and another to see. “We have a demo process to let customers see what an outdoor lighting system will look like before we install,” says Frost. “Sometimes they say, ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I imagined.’ And sometimes they don’t, and then we adjust until we get the system to match their vision.”

Being adaptable to each individual job allows an outdoor lighting company to ensure that customers get what they want. And that’s really the point. “Our customers are the ones who will see their lights every day,” says Frost. “So nothing matters more than each customer getting the lights that make their home and outdoor space look the way they want.”

When shopping for landscape lighting companies, then, look for one that provides these keys to quality:

1. High-quality, contractor-grade lighting fixtures.
2. Clear pricing and accurate estimates.
3. Customized design of the lighting system.
4. On-location demo of the lights before install.

When you’re ready for a great, high-quality, customized outdoor lighting system, give us a call. Daniel and Jeremy are ready to create a custom design that brings your lighting vision to life.

Summer living in St Louis can mean everything from casual backyard barbecues to formal dinner parties under the stars. We know how to make the most of our outdoor spaces in the warm months. When the daytime temps and humidity get a little too high for comfort, those evening hours become even more important. The right residential outdoor lighting makes those outdoor spaces even better, by creating comfort and ambiance for relaxing summer evenings.

Start with Safety

Use residential outdoor lights to make sure that safety is not an issue during the summer. While the right lights installed at key points around your house can help increase your home’s security, we’re talking more about physical safety when people are moving around at night. Good outdoor lighting will highlight walkways, pathways, and stairs to help prevent injuries. Use up lighting to show handrails and path lights to delineate the edges of walkways or paths. Lights on deck stairs or patio edges prevent falls or stubbed toes.

Landscape lights can also make outdoor play fun and safe at night. If your kids want to enjoy the trampoline or playground in the cooler hours, after the sun is down, residential outdoor lights in the right places can bring visibility to those areas.

Perk Up the Pool

There’s no better place to spend a hot St. Louis summer than in the pool, or lounging beside it. Poolside dinners and evening pool parties have their own special magic. Use well-placed lights to make the whole pool area fun and attractive for everyone:

• Use lights to create a sense of border around an open pool area.
• Light up walkways to and from the house.
• Use lighting to create different lounging areas around the pool.
• Hang bistro lights over an outdoor dining set for a cafe-like feel.
• Use spotlights to light up landscaping or trees for more drama.
• Colored lights add a festive feel to outdoor gatherings.

Increase the Ambiance

Bistro lighting is a popular choice for outdoor spaces, and with the customization options, you can use it to create just the kind of ambiance you want. Want a high-energy dance party under the stars? Light it up, get the music going, and dance the night away! Or perhaps you’re aiming for a more intimate, quiet gathering: dim the bistro lights for the perfect feel, sit back, and relax.

Other lighting options can create ambiance for different outdoor spaces by making them feel like rooms rather than random places in your yard. The ‘spread’ of a light, or the area it covers, creates a natural boundary. By using strategically placed lights to cover different areas of your yard and outdoor spaces, you can create different ‘rooms’ that feel homey, comfortable, and interesting.

Expand Your Activities

Sometimes our customers have large areas of their yards that go unused at night, because they’re further from the house. Maybe it’s the edge of the yard, or down by a creek, or off under some trees: it’s just far enough from the house that it’s not a well-lit area. Fortunately, we can often add on to existing outdoor residential lighting systems and create new outdoor spaces. That hidden little area may be just perfect for a fire pit. Imagine those summer nights sitting around a fire, making s’mores, and feeling so relaxed. All it takes is a set of walkway lights to create a safe path from the house, and a few well-placed landscape lights around the area.

Add Some Drama

If you’ve worked hard to create beautiful landscaping, why not show it off? Residential outdoor lighting can do much more than highlight your home; it can also highlight that beautiful bed of hostas, that giant old oak, or those gorgeous annuals while they’re in full bloom. Spotlighting trees and landscaping can be a bit tricky, so you want to make sure you use the right type of lights and set them at the right angles. Otherwise, you’ll create shadows and dark spaces, rather than uplighting those beautiful features around your home.

We would love the opportunity to help you create welcoming, safe, interesting, and fun outdoor spaces for your best summertime ever. Get in touch and tell us what you’re looking for; we’ll come to your home and help you design a customized solution.