First Impressions: A Guide to Lighting Your Facade

In a similar way to the interior of your home, the exterior of your home will always be a space to express yourself. In fact, we’d argue there’s a lot more to an exterior than there is an interior, as much of what makes a good experience for visitors lies in the first impression. 

When someone new comes to your home, the first thing they’re going to see will be the exterior of your house. It’s an inescapable fact and something you’re going to have to get used to. 

Having a good lighting setup for the front of your home can often mean the difference between the average and the amazing, so it pays to know all of the tricks you can. When you have that knowledge under your belt, using a whole variety of lights is always an excellent way to instantly upgrade the front of your home and make a stunning first impression.

In the following guide, we’re going to give you that knowledge as mentioned above and bring a whole new level of street appeal to your home, turning an otherwise unremarkable home into an eye-catching building that will inspire!

Due Diligence

The first thing worth mentioning when creating a genuine lighting plan is understanding the types of lights and lighting techniques at your disposal. Different lights create different experiences and dictate different moods. So, let’s quickly refresh our memories:

• Ambient lighting refers to the style of lighting that is designed to provide as much light to a space as is comfortable. In other words, this is your box-standard lighting that will serve as a base layer for everything that comes afterward. It may sound kind of silly, but ambient lighting is usually helpful for every sort of space in and out of the house and is the first thing to consider when making a lighting plan. 
• Task Lighting is all about having a light that is focused on the task at hand. If you have an intensive activity that requires some concentration and more than a bit of good hand-eye coordination, then task lighting is going to be your friend. 
• Accent Lighting is the final piece of any lighting plan puzzle and is an essential type of lighting for creating a mood within a space. Accent lighting is about increasing visibility and enhancing what is already seen by adding drama and flair to an object or zone. 

Every home differs in its curbside appeal, meaning every lighting plan will be different as well. Good lighting for space is often about making the best aspects of that space shine brightest. If you have a busy garage or farmhouse with a great deal of action happening inside, then utilizing task lighting as a primary focus will make the space more pleasant to work inside and make it safer and more aesthetically pleasing at the same time. 

Conversely, lighting for a wide-open space requires a complete rethinking of priorities. Ambient lighting and accent lighting become far more critical in creating a visible space that can accentuate the areas of interest more succinctly than a task light could ever achieve. 

Below, we’ll take you through some detailed examples to get the idea across even better:

Gorgeous Gardens

For many homeowners, the front yard isn’t just a way to put some space between the world and your front door but a zone of expression through the wonderful world of gardening. Gardening has incredible benefits for mental health and has been an enduring hobby for enthusiasts across the history of humanity. Naturally, it also requires a lot of work and trust in your own methods to be successful. When lighting these types of spaces, a similar mindset towards patience and subtlety is required. 

Ambient lighting becomes vastly essential and can be a massive boon to making a garden shine at all hours of the day. Carefully positioned lights emphasizing drama work best and are critical to creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for visitors. 

Steel Lighting Co.’s own Venice and Highland Park wall fixtures are fantastic examples of this approach, with both lights providing the signature barn-style design of steel lights while also infusing a beautiful sense of theatre in whatever space they’re placed in. Position these lights along the walls of your home adjacent to your garden and enjoy an instantly recognizable atmosphere that makes your garden the star of the show. 

A Space to Entertain

Facade lighting isn’t just about making your front yard, or porch seem more approachable. For many, the perfect lighting plan for their home is one that makes inviting visitors even more pleasant than usual. If you’re something of a social butterfly, then creating a lighting plan for your facade will be principally focused on making the space as visible and aesthetically pleasing as possible. While task lighting might sound like the best way forward, this becomes more of an opportunity for ambient lighting to thrive. 

Large lighting fixtures that cover key areas of emphasis evenly are critical to a good entertainment area and make everything else more viable as a result. Large lights, like Steel Lighting Co.’s Carson and Manhattan ceiling-mounted lights, are the perfect pieces if you have higher ceilings in your entertainment area and cover just about everything in a sumptuous light that’s perfect for gatherings. 

When looking for the perfect accent lights for your entertainment orientated facade, then look no further than the wall-mounted Hollywood Bowl, which features a stunning throwback to the golden age of cinema in its design, making it perfect as a framing device for entranceways and spots of a space that could benefit from some extra flair. 

Whether you choose to make your facade a great place to entertain guests or as a tool to make the best first impression possible, the best way to achieve your design goals is through a solid lighting plan. With the above tips and examples at your disposal, it’s easy to find a technique that works best for your home. 

That’s it for our porch and outdoor lighting guide. If you have any additional questions about how you can light your outdoors, then don’t be afraid to give our team of steel lighting experts a call!