Make Your Outdoor Space Visually Pop At Night With Uplighting

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Even after you've planted bulbs that continuously bloom from spring to fall, installed a charming fence or whimsical water feature, and picked an exterior paint color that brings the perfect touch of warmth to your home, you might still be missing one critically important curb appeal element: uplighting. Unlike a simple porch light or sconces flanking your garage door, uplighting illuminates unique architectural features and landscaping to enhance the overall look and safety of your home. Adding landscape lighting, like uplighting, can provide a high return on investment by increasing a home's value by $2,400 on average.

According to Dara Greaney, president and owner of LED Light Expert, as long as you choose the right color lights and think through your plan for powering them, uplighting is an outstanding way to make your outdoor space visually pop at night. "These are lights that aim up, typically to illuminate a building or wall and draw attention to it at night," Greaney told House Digest during an exclusive interview. "Historically, they were known as wall wash lights," he added, but today you'll find a variety of uplighting styles available. "With more beam angles available now, some are full wall wash lights while others are spot lights to create a more dramatic effect between light and dark."

The LED light expert said uplighting is popular for everything from illuminating a water tower with ground-mounted lights to lighting up a flag, which you can do easily with products like the highly rated FALOVE Solar Waterproof Spot Lights from Amazon.

Although you may have already invested in a few solar lights for your front walkway or strung a few strands of cafe lights around your patio, your home's exterior is probably one of the overlooked spots in your home that needs better lighting. During his exclusive interview with House Digest, Dara Greaney said that he's a "big fan" of uplighting. The expert explained that when it comes to residential exteriors, he recommends "at least one-fourth or more of the lights are up lighting, drawing attention to trees, bushes, fences, walls, etc." He added that they can also bring "a nice balance with landscape path lights hitting the ground below." 

Although Greaney finds that colored lights are more frequently used in commercial settings, you can easily find color-changing options meant for your yard, like the LEREKAM LED RGB Landscape Solar Path Spotlights from Amazon. However, the expert cautioned that "some colors just don't work well enough," and suggested avoiding black, white, and red.

The LED lighting expert said there are both pros and cons of uplighting your landscaping. "They can bring big curb appeal as they tend to pop more than homes or businesses that do not have them," he explained. Before investing in DIY or professionally installed uplighting, though, make sure they are permitted in your area. "They are not legal in mountain communities or where dark sky ordinances are in effect, so check before you install," Greanley suggested. He also said to plan ahead for the best end result. "Make sure you budget to do the whole visible part of the building as just a few look odd," he added.

There are two important things to consider when choosing the right uplights for your outdoor space, Dara Greaney told House Digest during his exclusive interview. "Where are you going to power them from? Where are you going to mount them?" he said. The best uplighting will illuminate a variety of elements, highlighting features like your mailbox, walkways, specimen trees or plants, and even the texture of your exterior walls. "We like landscape [uplighting] because wiring is easy, no conduit required, and mounting is usually a stake in the dirt or drilled into concrete if needed," Greaney added, calling the process "very easy to do."

Uplighting isn't the only way to light up your yard at night. Greaney said sconce lighting is also popular. "This is up and down lighting, and you may have existing junction boxes that can be used for these," he explained. The expert said a pair of sconces in front of garages is a particularly common outdoor lighting style.

Remember that you can choose solar-powered lights, hardwired ones, or a combination of both. "Often you may have a powered wall light pointing down and can add the up lighting fixture above it using the same power source," he suggested (although if you aren't familiar with wiring, adding exterior uplighting may be among the electrical projects best left to the pros.) Step lighting, flood lights, lanterns, and even decorative options like the PASAMIC Solar Lamp Posts from Amazon can also help your home sparkle at night.