Your yard and landscape are just as much a part of your home as your house…
so planning your landscape lighting should be done with as much care as you have taken to light your home’s interior. Covered patios and porches, and outdoor entertaining areas may need indoor lighting techniques such as recessed down lights and wall box dimmer controls that allow you to adjust light levels, show off the structure, and make your home a lighting gallery. Setting the tone between the threshold of your home lighting plan and your outdoor lights in such a manner will establish the conceptual and emotional foundation of your design plan that will then extend into the green, open landscape of your yard.
You should develop a landscape lighting plan that uses a combination of light and shadows.
Homeowners often mistakenly think that shadows are a bad thing when planning a lighting design. They believe the purpose of lighting is to get rid of all the dark spots in an area. The opposite is really true. Landscape lights best used to create a healthy balance between light and shadow. Depending on the degree to which you vary the contrast of these two elements, you can create all sorts of luminary effects and differing states of mind. Bathing dark places in your yard in soft ambient lighting mimics the effects of moonlight and is highly romantic. Outdoor path lighting provides a visual aid to trip hazards and other obstacles in the garden. Up lighting ornamental statuary and structures will help create an elevated sense of emotion apropos to outdoor parties. Hidden lighting inside shrubbery and flower beds will create a mystical effect where objects seem to glow with a light of their own. How you plan your outdoor garden lighting will really depend in the end on how you plan to feel when you look out of your window at night, or entertain family and guests outdoors. Begin by evaluating plant materials, flower beds, trees, and gardens. These are elements that create shadow, and they make for excellent guidelines to follow when laying down the basics of an outdoor custom home lighting system.
Think of layering the light when you are developing a plan for illuminating your landscape.
ILD landscaping lighting professionals recommend four distinctive layers of luminance, some of which will distinctly overlap one another; and others of which will blend and synthesize together. Every landscape lighting design is different and has to be planned around the unique dimensions of a yard and its contents. Fountains, sculptures, rock formations, bridges, and ornamental structures provide ideal accent and feature lighting opportunities. Tree lighting with mercury vapor tree lights creates pools of artificial moonlight, and is a favorite design theme among ILD clientele. Depending on the overall mood you wish to create, any number of light fixtures types can be used to light these objects. You may want to install fixtures that are completely hidden and only illuminate objects of interest, or you may go the other route and use highly visible, decorative lights that add an additional aesthetic to your yard. If you are unsure of what type of fixtures to use, call an outdoor lighting contractor like Illuminations Lighting Design and request a consultation with one of our professionals who can explain the benefits of specialty commercial grade fixtures made especially for what you have in mind.
Illuminations Lighting Design is the only “One Stop” destination for lighting design, engineering, landscape lighting services and installation in the state of Texas, and remains unrivaled by any lighting firm in the United States for lighting that is art. As homes grow larger and needs become more complex, having a single resource provides home owners with peace of mind. This translates into a smoother process, reduced costs and a better product.
The Takeaway
Landscape lighting can greatly enhance the beauty and value of your home. Illuminations lighting design is serious about designing the best lighting for your home. We can offer you a free consultation along with our expert advice to tailor a solution for you. While we’re located in the great city of Houston, our surge protection and lighting services have a reputation for being top-notch in the entire Texas region.
Contact our electrical experts at Illuminations Lighting Design by calling us at 713-863-1133 or toll-free at 800-863-1184. Let’s talk about how we can help you surge-proof your home.