Mood Lighting Ideas for your Property

Mood Lighting Ideas for your Property

By Mike Gambino

Garden Lighting is one of the biggest opportunities for homeowners to subtly but effectively influence the ambiance of your property, whether for your own comfort and convenience or to set the mood for your guests. When skillfully applied, lighting can elicit a wide range of emotional responses, helping to make a party more cheerful or a romantic dinner more intimate.

There are many options for LED lighting: overhead lights, spread lights, accent lights, etc. With these tools, the scene can be set for literally any type of mood.

Here are 5 mood lighting ideas, which you can be applied throughout your property to impress your guests and increase your own levels of comfort and enjoyment.

Entertaining Friends

Brighter light will set a cheerful mood and encourage activity and alertness. People don’t like to sit in bright, direct light, however, so lighting should be focused away from viewers eyes and onto points of interest. For example, use light to accent a prized statue or water feature, or an interesting design element of your property.

Textures can also be emphasized with light—light reflecting off stucco or rough concrete surfaces can make a space lively. A shadow cast on a wall by direct light cast through a plant is another effective technique for creating visual interest.

Enhancing  color with lighting can also be effective, if it’s not overdone. Warm colors like red and orange will increase the cheeriness and warmth of a space, and quality LED light on red flowers will intensify the effect.

Romantic Dinner

A relaxed and intimate feel can be achieved by lowering overall lighting levels in the dining area, and subduing colors. Warm, soft light is more flattering to a person’s features, and a few choice lighting accents on the walls or dining table centerpiece can enhance the mood.

Here are two tricks for creating a romantic mood: keep ambient lighting low, and hide light sources. This will add a touch of mystery to your romantic dinner.

Relaxation

Everyone needs to unwind from the stress of the day and lighting can help them transition from the activity of the day to the calm and restfulness of relaxation. Lighting has the unique ability to help you on your way toward a good healthy rest.

Lower light levels can transition you from the brightness of day. If you like to read on the patio, a dedicated spot can be set at a level just bright enough for comfortable reading. The rest of the space should be much lower, but still bright enough to find your way around and be effective.

Nighttime use of the property

There are certain times when you want to spend time outdoors at night and enjoy your property, but if you’re hit with bright lights and glare from visible light sources it could be a harsh and unappealing place to be. That is why it is imperative to lessen viewing angles of light sources and eliminate glare possibilities as best as possible.

The ideal lighting for property navigation after dark would provide just enough light to find your way through the yard without stumbling over garden furniture. Your eyes won’t be pierced with blinding light, and you’ll find your way to the home and back safely. Spread lights can light a pathway to the pool and back

Welcoming Guests

The entrance of your home is a great opportunity to welcome guests and set the tone for the evening. Lighting can serve the dual purpose of transitioning visitors from the dark street into the lighted interior, and accenting conversation pieces or points of interest along the way.

For example, at night your entrance shouldn’t be too dark that it takes someone a few moments to find it. Similarly, at night it shouldn’t be so bright that guests are startled by the contrast when coming in from the street.

People are naturally attracted to illuminated areas, so use light to your advantage as you lead guests into your home. Show off trees and plants and architecture by accenting it with direct light. If you want your guests to take a certain path to the front door or side gate, make sure it’s well lit and that other paths aren’t.

Creating Lighting Zones

When your property is effectively illuminated, you can create multiple customized lighting scenes for every area of the property. That way, going from party lighting to a romantic dinner is as easy as a press of a button.

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 30 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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