It’s official.

March 20th is the first day of spring. With all of us enjoying more and more time outdoors before the summer heat hits, you might consider giving your backyard lighting a bit of a spruce-up!

Backyard lighting adds a nice touch of ambiance and helps you relax in your outdoor sanctuary. It’s also a great extra touch when you’re entertaining guests year-round!

Whether you’re using solar lights or installing a low voltage system from your local hardware store, installing outdoor lighting is an easy do-it-yourself project.

Follow these simple tips to make sure your do-it-yourself project comes out beautiful and looking professionally installed!

1. You don’t want the lighting in your yard to look like an airport runway, right? Of course not. You can avoid this runway-look by staggering the lights on a pathway and ensuring they’re not all in a row

2. One of my favorite lighting tips, is to place lights high up IN your trees. It casts lights on the limbs and can create a moon-like glow. (Important: Be sure to secure these lights well so they don’t fall in our heavy monsoon winds!!).

3. You’re going to want to vary the intensity, or brightness, of the lights. If all the lights are the same brightness, it won’t give you a feeling of a central focal point — because everything will be highlighted.

4. Outdoor lighting should be used as a navigational tool for steps, pathways (and their changes in direction), points of interest in the backyard and any potential trip areas.

5. Shadows and dark areas in your landscaping are just as important to the overall lighting effect and mood as having light is.

6. Outdoor lighting should not be harsh or overdone. It should be subtle and relaxing. Given this, err on the side of having fewer lights.

7. Pointing lights up into the trees, or from the base of the saguaro or palm tree also creates a great up-light effect/highlight.

Of course, if you don’t want a do-it-yourself job, you can always hire one of our Rosie-Certified Partner landscape designers or lighting specialist. They can easily help you come up with and install a personalized design for your backyard sanctuary.

You can find more advice and do-it-yourself tips, for your house, home, castle or cabin, at every Arizona homeowner’s best friend: Rosie on the House. Be sure to tune in to KTAR every Saturday morning from 7-11 a.m. for the Rosie on the House broadcast!