18 Dec Lighting Dark Spaces
By Mike Gambino
If you have a dark landscape that you are trying to light, you probably already know that it isn’t an easy task to accomplish. It’s important to understand how different light fixtures illuminate a space differently. If you really want the best results and have the budget to do so hire a landscape lighting specialist this way you are sure to get the right lighting combination for your needs.
Some things to consider when choosing your lighting…
Plants and architectural wall color: If your architectural features are light colored, you may want to choose a fixture and lamp that will subtly bring out the natural color for the walls since they will reflect the light from the light fixtures better. To bring warmth into the garden, and to help mitigate the brightness of the wall color, consider using optic lenses that soften and smooth out the light effect. Darker colored and densely leaved and branched plants will require more light. Open form and translucent leaved plants less.
Ambient Lighting: To be sure you have adequate overall lighting in the garden it’s good to install overhead lighting—for example, fixtures mounted up in trees, recessed lighting in the ground which bounce light off their subjects such as walls and plants, stem mounted fixtures which spread light softly over a space etc. These lights are what provide a feeling of safety and security in the garden.
Accent Lighting: When you want to highlight a certain part of your landscape, I suggest strategically placing Accent Lighting in your space. Many types of lighting fixtures can be used for Accent Lighting, depending on your needs. To highlight a statue, or maybe a special tree bullet style or recessed direct bury wellights might best suit your needs. For something more diffuse and widespread a wash light that is less focused could be used.
Task Lighting: Sometimes the overhead lights and accent lighting aren’t enough. Instead, you need some lights that directly illuminate a workspace. This is especially useful in an outdoor kitchen, over a counter space, or above or to the side of a BBQ. Under-Counter or step riser Lighting could be what you need. These lights are usually small, and can be unseen, and are very useful in illuminating a space directly. You could also use pendant lighting for this purpose. It depends on the environment you are working in and which fixture would make the most sense for the activity.
As you can see, lighting a landscape is not as easy as buying a lamp and plugging it in—especially if your space is dark. You need to use different lighting for different activities. If paired together properly, you will have taken a dark space and will have made it a very functional, well-lit space instead.
This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 20 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .
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