The back of the house is not curb appeal
Front yard lighting is seen from outside. The patio is for people sitting in it. Everything changes once you are the one sitting under it. Nobody cares how the patio reads from the road. What matters is whether the space still works after dark.All of which adds up to one point. A roofline system does a great deal for the front of a house and very little for the space behind it. Two spaces, two briefs, and one design conversation that covers both.
Glare ruins more patios than darkness does
A single glaring bulb undoes an otherwise good plan. A bare bulb at eye height blows out your night vision, so the yard turns into a black wall. Aim for illumination without a visible bulb.
Bistro and string lighting
The reason overhead strings feel right is that they make a boundary. A patio without them has no top to it. With them it reads as a defined space. Keep them soft, always.The good version is not the expensive version, it is
https://donovanflqs118.theburnward.com/holiday-light-installation-what-to-ask-before-you-book-hiring-a-christmas-light-installer the planned one, and the planning is the part that costs nothing.
How the pieces stack
Think of it as layers, not one fixture. Overhead, underfoot, and a feature or two. Put them on different circuits, since you want a bright option and a quiet one.
The business version
A restaurant patio has to solve this every single night. Bistro and string lighting over an outdoor dining area makes the space usable and inviting after sunset. The same rules apply, only the consequences are measured in covers.
Lighting buys you months
Without light, the back yard has a curfew. A lit one keeps working well past the point the sun stops cooperating. Mild evenings are not limited to July, and the dark is what keeps people indoors. The lighting is what converts them into usable time.
Warm light and the bug question
Outdoor light brings company in the summer. Insects respond more to cooler and bluer light than to warm light, so a warm setting over a seating area is the better choice for more than one reason. It will not eliminate anything, and that is not a claim worth making. But it is a free consideration when choosing the setting.Worth adding: whatever runs along the roof edge above should match, so the two do not disagree with each other.
Where to begin
The plan comes from seeing how you use the space, not from a template. EverCrest Lighting does patio and outdoor living lighting for residential and commercial properties in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, out of Greenville. The consultation is free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].