Drive Home to Beauty: Stylish and Practical Driveway Lighting Ideas
If you’re tired of your driveway looking dull and gray, you’re likely in the mood to see it in a new light. Literally.
Making it look stylish will add aesthetic appeal and raise the value of your home, but making it look practical will do even more by enhancing its safety and security at night.
Now, this might be easier said than done for some people, so we bring you a few ideas, tips, and tricks to help you make smart choices when adding lights to your driveway.
The Importance of a Well-Lit Driveway
Driveway and outdoor lighting will do more than make your beautiful property more stylish. One of the most important benefits of driveway lighting is how it's actually crucial for safety when you park, especially if the driveway entrance is not as wide or you have another vehicle to watch out for.
Imagine it’s dark outside, and the street lights are off. Surely, you have your car’s headlights, but that might not be enough to do a good parking job. The issue is even more complex if you have to park out going in reverse.
Or, you regularly park your car outside or not use the garage, meaning you’ll want to keep a good eye on it constantly. You need proper, ample lighting in your driveway for this reason, too.
A few path and driveway lights can light up the area and any dark spots, making everything around you visible enough for safer and easier parking.
Tips for Driveway Lighting
We've put together some essential and creative driveway lighting ideas that any outdoor lighting project and driveway lighting design plan should always take into consideration. Nonetheless, we always recommend hiring a professional lighting installation and maintenance service to truly make any lighting solution stand the test of time.
Choose Durable Materials for Lighting Fixtures on Driveways
For several reasons, durability is key when installing outdoor lighting fixtures on the driveway.
First, they’ll be exposed to potentially harsh weather conditions such as strong winds, sun heat, and rain, and you don’t want them breaking from all that.
Second, you’re installing them on a driveway where they’ll be exposed to people driving right next to them. Make sure they can withstand any nudge, bump, or slips of the foot on a pedal.
Strategic Placement is Key for Function
Because you’ll drive your car around these lights, you want to install them somewhere safe. Place the light sources far enough away from where you pass to avoid accidentally hitting them when parking in or out. And where their light (depending on the type of lamp or light fixtures they are) covers the most area.
Bollards and Post Lights for Elevating Your Driveway
Bollard lights and post lights are highly effective because they’re so easy to see from inside your car.
You’re unlikely to hit these because they’re so big, and in most cases, they’re durable enough not to break even if you accidentally lean your car onto one of them. Plus, driveway post lights add a modern classiness to your driveway in ways simple pathway lights don’t.
You can also use them as path lights in some cases, depending on the width and length of your pathways in your outdoor spaces.
Downlighting from Trees for That Moonlight Effect
If you don’t want the driveway to be too bright, you can use the surrounding trees to downlight the areas. This creates a moonlight effect, which is great for those who want dimmed light.
Always Go LED
LED lights might be initially be a more expensive option for driveway lighting than incandescent lights, but they are more long lasting and offer more energy efficiency therefore saving you money on your electricity bills in the long run.
LED lighting will also throw white light onto the area instead of the yellow light from incandescent light (although many newer models come with different color and temperature settings for any personal preference).
In short, LEDs can last up to 200,000 hours, whereas incandescent lights don’t typically last longer than 1,200 hours.
Spotlight and Wash Lights Are Useful But Give Different Effects
Spotlights are great if you want strong lights that focus the area well. They’re also excellent for making different elements, like trees and bushes around the driveway, stand out. On the other hand, wash lights give a more diffused light.
They throw enough light to make the area safe to navigate, but they’re softer than direct beams and don’t create as many shadows while also blurring out any imperfection on the driveway.
Recessed Lighting for Modern Look
Recessed lighting gives a modern look and an unobstructed light, which makes them great for lining the edge of the driveway. This way, they line the driving path, creating a guide for where you should go. On top of that, these lights prevent glare and are good at minimizing light pollution.
If You Have Retaining Walls Next to Driveway, Put Lighting There
Last up on this list of driveway lighting ideas, we want to highlight retaining wall lights. Retaining walls are always good spots for adding lights, especially lights that illuminate the area next to them. If you have retaining walls next to your driveway, you should consider putting outdoor wall lights there to make the space more visible.
For this, you can use any wall mounted lights you like, from spotlights to recessed lights. It's a tip that's also useful when installing path lighting if you have a wall or fence right next to a pathway.
