You add curb appeal by drawing out the home's architecture, defining the approach with light along the walk and driveway, and framing a few standout plants or trees with soft accent light.
It is always a little disheartening when the home you take pride in all but disappears the moment the sun goes down. But with thoughtful lighting, you can make sure the front of your house has the same presence at night as it has in daylight, if not a little better.
The facade of your home is the natural place to start here. One of the first things lighting experts like to do is add uplights. These can be added around the base of columns or around an entry, or even a run of brick or stone. This brings out texture and lines that make the house look like itself even after dark. On the colonial and craftsman homes that fill so many Northern Ohio neighborhoods, the aim is to follow the symmetry and the natural materials the house already has, so the lighting complements the architecture in the way homes that have lasted this long deserve to be.
Beyond the home itself, the natural next step is to run light along the driveway. After all, what better way to guide the eye to the front door than to light the driveway and walkways that take them there? This can be done with great care as well, with the fixtures low and out of sight. That way, what you notice is a clear path and not a row of glowing circles of light. Then the landscape fills in the frame, perhaps with a few accent uplights on a specimen tree or a foundation planting. This keeps the house from being a bright island of light in an otherwise dark yard.
Balancing the facade, the approach, and the landscape into one composition that flatters a particular house often comes down to hands-on experience. For that, you can always schedule a free consultation with Outdoor Lighting Perspectives. A COLT-certified technician will come by after dark with temporary fixtures and give you a real-life demonstration of what’s possible on your property.