What landscape lighting is for
Landscape lighting lights the yard rather than the building: paths, plantings, trees, steps and the walk up to the front door. The goal is light you see the effect of, not fixtures you count. Done badly, it looks like an airport runway down the driveway.
What usually gets lit
Most plans start with the path to the door, because that is the part you use whether or not anybody is looking. Uplighting on the trees worth showing changes the whole front of a property after dark. Then there are garden beds, stairs and walls where the light is about footing, and the parking area.
The other outdoor lighting people ask about
Homeowners rarely want one category. Patio lighting is what turns a patio into somewhere you sit in the evening. Security lighting lights the places that stay dark, which is a different goal from the pretty work. Accent lighting highlights the parts of the house or yard worth a second look.
What to avoid
The most common mistake is volume. A yard lit evenly at every point has no depth, and flat is the one thing you were trying to avoid. The second mistake is aiming fixtures where people walk, so every guest gets a light in the eye on the way to the door. The third is ignoring how the yard will look in five years, since the bed in front of a fixture fills in.
The commercial side
On commercial property the goals shift. A restaurant patio needs light people want to sit under. A parking area is about people getting to their cars. A neighborhood entrance sets the tone for everything behind it, which is why entry lighting gets attention in planned developments.
How they work as one design
The two do different jobs and look better together. The house has an outline; the yard reads as space. One without the other looks unfinished.Doing them at the same time is easier than doing them a year apart. If the budget has to be split, ask which half does more for your property, and the answer is not always the house.Landscape lighting needs a look now and then. Fixtures shift over time, plantings grow up in front of them, and aiming drifts. Once a year somebody should re aim what has drifted, which takes very little time and makes an obvious difference.
Getting it installed properly
A landscape lighting installation should be designed at
https://jsbin.com/sijifemaqo the property, preferably with somebody who has seen it after dark. EverCrest Lighting does landscape lighting installation as well as patio, accent, security and permanent LED roofline lighting for homes and businesses. They are based in Greenville, South Carolina and serve Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. Consultations are free, and the design gets built around your yard. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].