Most lighting designers agree that wash lighting is the best way to make your landscape seem even more vivid during the night than it is during the day. The indirect light created by wash lighting can transform a dark and gloomy backdrop into one of welcome and delight. Here are the 3 best wall wash lighting techniques today.

1. Architectural Wash Lighting

Architectural Wash Lighting is all about beaming light on the walls, pillars, and other prominent architectural components in the home. It prefers the use of low angle in-grade light fixtures to highlight texture and add depth. Lamps can also be used if it is compatible with both the wall’s height and the effect you want to create. Lamps excel in beam spread and brightness. LED lamps offer even more variety when it comes to angle, spread, brightness, and color. Just be careful not to go overboard in using lamps as doing so can make your lighting distracting.

2. Shrub and Japanese Maple Wash Lighting

Shrub and Japanese Maple Wash Lighting focuses on the little things to create balance and facilitate interesting symmetry. The core foundation of this technique is the use of a selection of wide and soft lamps to softly wash the hedges or small shrubs. This effect guide’s the eye from one feature to the next and has the potential to fully captivate the viewer. You can augment the effect with transitional lighting that focuses on fine details. Instead of putting the spotlight on prominent objects, this approach makes each element of the landscape have their own little shine.

3. Downlight Wash Lighting

This technique intends to emulate the effect of natural moonlight as it shines down on the landscape. This is usually achieved by mounting concealed lighting fixtures on things large landscape components such as trees. The mounted fixture then washes light down to ground covers, flagstone pathways, water features, etc. This is the most underused technique of the three. It recent years, however, it has surged in popularity. In fact, many designers and homeowners today believe that it is the best and easiest to applyoutdoor wall wash lighting technique.