Outdoor lighting can be a great way to decorate your home while accentuating your home’s architectural features. But if it’s not done right, your outdoor lighting can take away beauty from your home and be a safety hazard. Here are some outdoor lighting mistakes that we commonly see and ways you can easily avoid them.

Top Outdoor Lighting Mistakes to Avoid for a Stunning Home Look

1. Choosing Lights That Don’t Fit Your Home’s Style

Choosing outdoor lighting that complements your home’s aesthetic is essential. After all, we want your home to stand out for all the right reasons! Mismatched colors, exposed wires, excessive brightness, and clashing colors can diminish your home’s beauty.

To create the perfect atmosphere, choosing outdoor lighting that will accentuate your home while blending into your home’s aesthetic is key. With Gemstone Lights, you will never have to worry about having lights that won’t fit your home’s style. Our lights are fully customizable, and we work with you every step of the way—from planning to installation—to ensure your home looks beautiful. Here’s how we do it:

• Our track lighting system is color-matched to your home and permanently installed. Each of our installers will ensure there are no exposed wires to distract from the view of your home. The only thing that will be noticeable is your home’s beautiful ambiance.
• We are the largest distributor of smart permanent outdoor lighting. From this, we can create any track type to fit into your home. No matter the architectural design of your home or building, the size, or the arches and angles, we can install beautiful and permanent smart lights there!
• Our smart light features allow you to be able to control the brightness and hue of your lights with a click of a button from anywhere in the world through our Gemstone Lights app, so you can choose or create the perfect light design to accentuate your home.

2. Leaving Your Lights on 24/7

Do you ever wake up to go to work, get home, and realize you have left your lights on all day? Not only are your lights on unnecessarily, but you also get a price spike in your electricity bill. Gemstone Lights will save you from making this mistake ever again!

One of our many smart light features allows you to save up to 64 timers through 3 different timer types, including:

• Sunset to Sunrise Timer will have your lights automatically turned on at sunset and off at sunrise, so you won’t have to worry about turning on and off your lights.
• Timed Automatic Timer is an option to have your lights on for a specific amount of time, so they’re not on all night.
• Scheduled Calendar Day Timer is a great tool so you’re always ready for the holidays. You can set specific patterns to go on for a specific amount of time on any calendar day.

All you have to do is sit down one night and set up all your specific lighting parameters and timers, and then never have to worry about your outdoor lighting and holiday lighting for the rest of the year!

3. Choosing Lights That Aren’t Built for the Weather

Have you ever braved a cold winter day to hang your holiday string lights, only to find part of them unclipped and dangling in the wind a week later? By the end of the season, a few bulbs have burnt out, and you’re left needing a new set for next year. All of this can be avoided with durable, permanent outdoor lighting.

Product durability is key to having a lasting glow, a beautiful aesthetic, and low-maintenance lights. We at Gemstone Lights offer safe, durable, weatherproof, permanent outdoor lighting made with high-quality materials designed to last. From manufacturing to professional installation, our lights are built to withstand extreme winds, high and low temperatures, rain, and snow.

In the unlikely event you encounter issues with your lights, we provide a 10-year Warranty on all components of your Gemstone Lights, plus a lifetime warranty on the light bulbs.

4. Picking the Wrong Bulbs

Not all bulbs are created equally and not all are certified. Some can only produce one hue, overheat easily, don’t work well in extremely cold temperatures, or have a short lifespan. While others can be customizable, long-lasting, and energy-efficient.

We at Gemstone Lights have created a low-voltage LED light bulb that is customizable in up to 16 million different colors and will work pristinely in any type of weather. Our bulbs and lighting systems are ETL-certified and are rated to last 50,000 hours. So if you use your lights for 6 hours every day your lights can last up to 23 years!

We also provide a lifetime warranty on the light bulbs, so if a bulb starts to flicker, burns out, or isn’t working properly, a member from one of our authorized dealerships will come and quickly replace the bulb for you.

5. Placing Fixtures in the Wrong Spots

Even the best lights won’t do much if they’re not in the right place! Poor fixture placement can create areas that are too dark or too bright, throwing off the balance of your outdoor space.

Our commercial lighting comes with many track type options. Our experienced authorized dealers will help you decide what type of light fixation, track type, and app customization would be best to meet your business’s lighting goals and regulations.

For residential houses, our track lighting is professional and permanently installed between the soffit and fascia of your home, creating a beautiful downlighting effect. This design minimizes light spillage and reduces light pollution. Our knowledgeable authorized dealers will ensure that your lights are installed in the proper place and will be available to provide suggestions for your architectural lighting to keep your home looking its best.

6. Overlighting or Underlighting Your Space

Balance is key when it comes to outdoor lighting. Too much light can feel harsh and overwhelming, while underlighting can make a space feel dim and cold.

Gemstone Lights products have full brightness control, so you can find the perfect balance of lighting so that your space can be lit enough, without having harsh bright lights in the area.

7. Forgetting About Functional Lighting

It is so easy to focus on looks, but you can have outdoor lighting that’s beautiful and practical, too!

You can customize your Gemstone Lights to light up specific entrances, exits, walkways, and yards while maintaining an elegant appearance. In our Gemstone Lights app you can easily choose which bulbs you would like on or off, perfectly accentuating the peaks or architectural features of your home.

With a click of a button, you can increase the brightness above a doorway to increase visibility and safety.

Landscape lighting is also a great option to keep your walkways and backyard lit when the kids are out playing in the evening.

8. Mounting Landscape Lights Incorrectly

Imagine getting home from your local store with some charming landscape lights. You set them up, but a month later, one light keeps falling off its peg, others won’t turn on at night, and there’s a chip on the side of another from someone’s dog knocking it over.

Poorly made and uncertified products can ruin any outdoor space and lead to disappointing performance. Some landscape lights may be permanently angled too high, too low, or not highlight the right spots.

Our landscape lighting is designed to save you from these common lighting mishaps. Built to be durable and long-lasting, it provides a beautiful uplighting effect for your outdoor space.

Our authorized dealership will offer recommendations on flood light placement and practicality to ensure your lights are properly mounted in the right spot. Once your landscape lighting design has been confirmed, your installer will install the lights to connect directly to your home power supply while having the wires hidden. You will also have the option to have your lights permanently pegged in a specific location. Plus, we provide a 10-year comprehensive warranty on our landscape lights, so if any issues arise, your authorized dealership will be available to help.

9. Not Getting Smart Lighting

When choosing outdoor lighting, skipping out on smart lighting is a common mistake. The simple switch of getting smart lighting adds ease and safety to your home and allows you to customize your lights for any type of outdoor lighting need.

Whether it is:

• To utilize task lighting to illuminate your yard or entryway with our soffit lighting or landscape lighting.
• Choose from one of the thousands of premade architectural lighting patterns to perfectly accentuate your home.
• Or choose fun and festive holiday lighting patterns to celebrate anything from Christmas to birthdays.

Our smart lighting makes it simple to use your lights for anything through the Gemstone Lights app.

10. DIYing Your Outdoor Lighting

While a DIY approach can be fun and is often a cheaper upfront option, attempting to tackle outdoor lighting without the right expertise can lead to mismatched styles, safety hazards, inefficient setups, and expensive fixes. It’s easy to overlook the essential details like wiring and placement, which are crucial for ensuring proper functionality, energy efficiency, and overall aesthetics.

Each of our authorized dealerships is certified and trained to provide you with the best service and products. Your light installation will be completed safely and efficiently while maintaining your home’s aesthetic, making Gemstone Lights a smart long-term investment for your property.

FAQ

Question: Can I have my old outdoor lighting removed and replaced by Gemstone Lights?

Answer: Yes, it is completely possible to have your old lighting removed and replaced by Gemstone Lights for an additional charge. Connect with your local authorized dealer to request this in addition to your Gemstone Lights installation.

Question: How do I know which architectural lighting pattern is best for my home?

Answer: The best architectural lighting pattern for your home is one that accentuates the peaks of your home. We recommend looking at each pattern and seeing which pattern would have the lights parallel on each side of the peak. If you do not have any peaks in your home’s roofline, you can choose a pattern that has a mix of brightness levels to cast an elegant balance between light and shadow on your home. You can also always customize your own architectural pattern and save it to the app.

Question: What animations are recommended for everyday lighting?

Answer: We offer over 20 animations. A few animations we like to use for everyday lighting are Sway, Motionless, and Isofade. However, if you want more fun and bright light designs, you can use a Starry, Wave, or Gradient and then increase or decrease the speed of the animation to your liking. You can also play around in your Gemstone Lights app to see which animations and speeds you like and set up your favorites in the app!

Avoid These Common Outdoor Lighting Mistakes for a Brighter and Safer Home

There are so many outdoor lighting mistakes that can happen, but the right setup saves you time, money, and stress. At Gemstone Lights, we are here to help your home or business shine its best. Our customizable products are designed to fit any space, and you can easily control them with our Gemstone Lights App.

Reach out for a free quote, and one of our authorized dealerships will guide you through choosing the best outdoor lighting for your space.