07 Feb Design Tips that can make your landscape lighting Spectacular
By Mike Gambino
Landscape Lighting technology has never been better — today, in your own back yard, experienced and professional designers can even exceed the visceral quality of lighting effects experienced during your last vacation at a 5 star exotic resort. Whether you want to showcase your property , entertain after a dinner party or simply want your friends and family to easily find your home on the street after dark, there’s a landscape lighting solution out there to suit your needs. Here are 10 suggestions for bringing landscape Lighting magic into your life.
Determine primary viewing points and angles- Front yards are mostly viewed from the street by the public although there may be certain window views from the interior that may be prominent so lighting should be designed accordingly. Backyards are private spaces and their use at night should be determined before lighting schemes are designed. Again window views out on to the backyard become even more important at night so lighting can be enjoyed even from within the home.
Safety First- Your property can be very unsafe at night without proper lighting. Changes in grade, steps, obstacles all should be effectively illuminated. Pathways that lead to areas of the garden that you use after dark such as pool areas, patio, trash can areas should have light to lead you safely to and from those spaces at night. In rural areas lighting is even more important to deter wild animals are at least make their presence known after dark before venturing outdoors.
Security- Placing large motion sensor fixtures on all corners of the building can be an annoyance to neighbors and create light pollution. The fixtures are also obtrusive and do not blend well with architectural elements. A much more effective way is to tuck smaller fixtures under eaves so the shine down on architectural walls not only providing aesthetically pleasing light but light for security as well. If it’s not possible to downlight then uplighting from the ground can be just as effective when fixtures are hidden in grade or behind foundation plantings.
Accent the positive and downplay the negative- Every garden has appealing and not so appealing aspects to it. Points of interest like Water features are always a natural for accent lighting, statues, spectacular trees and shrubs as well. These are the focal points that should draw the eye at night with extra special lighting.
Conceal electrical equipment– It’s all about the effect and not the equipment otherwise known as lighting fixtures and transformers and they shouldn’t be on display in the garden. Efforts should be made wherever possible to conceal them in the landscape. Both pioneers of Garden and outdoor standard and low voltage lighting respectively, Frank B. Nightingale and Bill Locklin, taught about the importance of “Seeing the effect not the source”. Almost without exception “pretty fixtures” that are meant as ornaments during the day in the landscape do a very poor job of performing desirable functions at night and should be avoided.
Avoid “Dark Holes”– This doesn’t mean that the entire property should be flooded or evenly spread with light. Quite the contrary. Darkness and shadow are important elements as well when used properly (see below). Dark holes are obtrusive areas of darkness that draw the eye in an unappealing way. This can be avoided by using supporting lower brightness lighting fixtures that complement but don’t compete. They are equally as important as those higher brightness fixtures that are drawing our attention to their subjects. Landscaping is comprised of focal points and accent plants that make up the supporting cast. Finding the proper balance of lighting between the two is important to achieving an aesthetically pleasing scene at night.
Depth and Dimension- It is impossible to create depth and dimension with lighting at night by placing only one fixture per tree (like many inexperienced lighters do) and call it a day or night pardon the pun. If the intent is to draw the eye through the landscape without being impeded then lower level lighting is going to be used in the foreground with brighter levels being used towards the mid and backgrounds. Brighter levels towards the furthest points of your yard draw the eye and create depth in the scene. When done properly this can be very appealing.
Avoid Spotty or overly high contrast lighting- “Hot spots” on subjects can quickly destroy a landscape lighting scheme at night. Overly bright or intensely focused light in an inappropriate manner unnecessarily draws the eye. This can be avoided by moving light sources away from their subjects or by lowering light levels until the scene is once again pleasing.
Appropriate use of Shadows and Darkness- Sometimes determining where the dark and lower levels of light should go is more challenging than determining the higher brightness ones. Intuitively one would think that simply the areas of the yard that are unappealing during the day should be kept in total darkness at night, It doesn’t always work out that way. I’m sure you have heard the expression that everything looks better in good light. Well this is especially true in the landscape. Landscape lighting can be very forgiving and even flattering to subjects that do not look visually appealing in daylight.
Relax and Enjoy- Effective landscape lighting is a lifestyle enhancer and should be designed with the intent of getting the utmost enjoyment of your property by bringing safety , security and beauty to your home environment regardless of the weather. During mild evenings lighting should entice you to spend some time out of doors and on the patio , reading a book, or in a hammock, sitting alongside your pool enjoying the serenity of your own yard after a hectic day at work. During inclement weather windows should become like portals providing exceptional views out on to your beautiful external spaces. Landscape Lighting should Inspire serenity and tranquility and accent the beauty that already exists but this beauty cannot be appreciated without it after dark.
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