Lights.com—Decorative Outdoor Lighting
Decorative lights do not, by definition, have to be dim or shed narrow beams of light. What is most important in choosing decorative lighting is how well the chosen fixtures and bulbs fit into their surroundings. Pairing a set of antique-finish, baroque-style, outdoor lighting fixtures with a cream-tone, ranch-style exterior might be a bit jarring to the eye. Major home improvement retailers and distributors have dozens of options for decorative fixtures. If you include smaller, niche outlets, your options are nearly endless.
Not Just for Decoration
In addition to enhancing the beauty of your home's exterior, decorative lighting can enhance your home's security without installing massive flood-lights. Between low-voltage walkway lights, photo-sensitive post lanterns, and miniature spot-lights, you can achieve an acceptable level of security without sacrificing aesthetics. For added security, you can install motion-sensitive flood-lights that will not interfere with your exterior lighting design. (For higher traffic areas, this is obviously not the ideal solution.)
Outdoor lights can be installed at ground level, on decorative lamp posts, or on exterior walls. Ground lights can even be sunken to maintain clean landscaping lines and facilitate ease of lawn maintenance. The best overall lighting design is one that mixes several of these elements to achieve the desired effect. Too much uniformity can look institutional or clinical, but lack of a unifying design can look chaotic. The right mix will not only supply the needed light, it will supply it in an interesting way that enhances your home's architectural beauty.
Color and Light
The color of light produced by different decorative fixtures can greatly impact your home's exterior aesthetic. Wavelengths of light from different sources can interfere with each other--and with the colors of your home. Each type of light bulb may use different filament materials, different gases, different color-correction coatings, and filters that affect the color of light it produces. If possible, compare the different lights with a color swatch while you shop. If not possible, try to get bulbs with similar color temperatures or bulbs that are color-corrected to white.