Entryway Lighting Ideas to Keep Your Home Safe at Night


The front entryway of your home is one of the most important areas of the property that must be lit properly at night. It keeps everyone safe and sound in a couple of ways. First, it lets passersby know that you are home as a means of deterrence against any intruders or thieves who may have designs on entering the home uninvited.

Second, good outdoor lighting at your home’s entryway allows you to be able to see clearly anyone who does step up to your front door and rings the bell. In most cases, this would be an invited visitor whom you are expecting, but for those instances where you have an unexpected caller, you want to know who it is out there before you answer the door.

Finally, good entryway lighting on your home makes it easier to maneuver near your front steps and walkways. This is a benefit to you, your family, and your guests, making it easier to see where you’re all going in the dark. Poorly lit walkways and steps can be a hazard, making it easier to sustain an injury in a trip and fall accident.

With all of these benefits, you should be thinking about putting up some entryway lighting outside the front of your home. But before you call your local outdoor lighting services Fairfax,  VA, consider some of these outdoor lighting tips to ensure that you have plenty of illumination to keep your home safe at night.

An Inviting Atmosphere

Besides signaling that you aren’t home, a dark front step can also be a little bit intimidating to anyone who does approach your home without nefarious intent. The bad guys thrive in the dark, while friends and neighbors might be reluctant to come over after the sun has gone down.

But installing a smart outdoor lighting scheme around the home, particularly at the front door, can increase your home’s curb appeal and give invited guests a welcoming atmosphere that will make them feel comfortable about arriving at your front stoop. It will also let the bad guys know that they have come to the wrong house and they should move along quickly.

A good way to achieve this effect is by placing fixtures at both sides of your front door. You don’t need these to be too bright, just a warm pleasant glow should suffice.

Walkway Lighting

The walkway leading to your front door can be perilous in the dark. You want to make it easily accessible with the right lighting so that your guests can see their way back and forth from the front of the house. This is even more critical if there are steps leading up to the front door of the home.

Placing a set of path lights along the walkway leading to the front step is an ideal way to ensure that nobody gets hurt falling over in the dark tripping over something they didn’t see. The way you install these lights is important, you want to be sure that the lights are spaced from one another at just the right distance.

Failing in this task could leave dark spots in the walkway which can increase the likelihood of a trip and fall accident. If they are spaced too close together, you get pools of light that can be too bright. A little overlap is acceptable but too much of it is not.

Timers

Putting your exterior lighting on a timer, especially at or near the front door, can be very effective at making your home look occupied even when you’re not home. Consider a thief or intruder who might be watching your home, ready to strike when the lights go home. Even if he or she might suspect you are not home for the evening or away on a trip for the week, you can fool them into thinking the opposite by programming your timer to turn the lights on and off at certain times.

You may not be home but it sure looks as if you are. That can be all the difference between becoming a victim and outwitting the bad guys.

Bulb Choices

More homeowners who are installing up to date lighting fixtures outside the home are turning to LED bulbs to give them the illumination they need. These types of bulbs are becoming more common because they are much more energy-efficient and last much longer than their traditional counterparts. LED’s are also versatile and allow you to create all kinds of moods to match any aesthetic you want to portray outside your home.

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