Planning Landscape Lighting
By Russell NealAn effective landscape lighting plan requires harmonizing your indoor and outdoor lighting systems to create a sense of uniformity and style between the two. Your yard and landscape are very much a part of your home, and should be treated as an extension of the living experience you enjoy inside the walls of your house. Covered patios, screen porches, pergolas and other outdoor entertaining spaces may require indoor lighting techniques. Recessed down lights and ceiling fans now come into play, as do special lights for illuminating the grill. By using wall box dimmer controls, one can adjust light levels to adapt to the event this shows off the structure and illuminates the structure. If up lights are used adjacent to house, elegant shadows are created which dance on the facade of the house on windy evenings. Setting the tone between the threshold of your home and your yard in this fashion establishes the conceptual and emotional foundation of your outdoor garden lighting design that will then extend outward into the green and open spaces beyond.
Plan your landscape lighting to use shadows to your advantage.
It is a common misconception among homeowners that shadows are a bad thing, and that the purpose of light is to brightly illuminate everything to the extent that no dark spots appear. The opposite is actually true. Houston landscape lighting works best as a blend between light and shadow, so use a balance of darkness and light when planning your landscape lighting system. Depending on the degree to which you vary this contrast, you can create all sorts of luminary effects and varying states of mind. Bathing exceptionally dark areas of your yard in soft ambient light from tree lights mimics the effects of moonlight and is highly romantic. Up lighting statuary, bird baths, and other ornaments creates an elevated sense of emotion ideal for garden parties. Hiding light fixtures within shrubs and flower beds creates a mystical effect where objects appear to glow with a light of their own. How you plan your landscaping lighting layout and landscape lighting maintenance program is really a matter of how you plan to feel when you look outside your window or spend warm summer nights on the patio. Start by evaluating plant materials, shrubs, trees, and gardens. These are forms that create shadow, and serve as guidelines to follow that are literally already growing right behind your home.
Plan your landscaping lighting with multiple layers of light in mind.
To achieve the type of depth and dimension we are talking about it, is necessary to use more than one layer of light. ILD landscaping pros typically plan a design around four distinctive layers of illumination, some of which distinctly overlap one another; others of which blend and synthesize together. Every landscape lighting design is different and must be planned around the unique dimensions of a yard and the contents within it. Fountains, sculptures, rock formations, bridges, and ornamental structures all provide accent or feature lighting opportunities. Trees provide moonlighting opportunities with concealed mercury vapor lights. Depending on the overall emotional tone you plan to create, any number of light fixture types can be used to illuminate these objects. You may want to install fixtures that are completely hidden so as to only illuminate objects of interest, or you may go the other route and use highly visible, decorative fixtures that add an additional aesthetic to your yard. If you are uncertain as to what type of fixtures to use, call one of our professionals and ask about specialty commercial grade fixtures that are made for specific types of landscapes and particular mood-setting lighting effects.
Be safe and practical when planning a landscape lighting system.
We recommend that the DYI homeowner stick with low-voltage landscape lighting equipment exclusively. 12-volt lights are generally all that you need to illuminate an outdoor area, and represent much less of a shock hazard to children and pets. They are also much safer to install. Do not forget to pay attention to the smaller practicalities of landscape lighting, either. Trip hazards such as steps, sidewalks, and driveways are good candidates for outdoor path lighting. Uplighting around trees can provide a visual aid that helps family and guests navigate in uncharted territory. Since these aspects of lighting involve safety as well as aesthetics, we recommend you consult with a professional firm for a free evaluation of your landscape lighting plan. This will help ensure that that you have thought of all the necessary contingencies, and will eliminate surprises, mishaps, and needless additional expense in the future.
Plan on contacting a landscape lighting professional.
Our landscape lighting crews are some of the best in the business. They understand how light works and where the light should go to maximize your visual nighttime enjoyment. No tree is too high for our professional tree climbers! We are experienced in all forms of outdoor landscape lighting from simple low voltage systems to more complicated high voltage mercury vapor lighting systems. We stock a full range of landscape lighting materials such as fixtures, lamps and replacement parts. We not only service what we sell, but we can assist you with repairs or maintenance to existing outdoor landscape lighting systems installed by our competitors. All of our technicians are experienced licensed professionals and we subcontract no work to outside vendors. The results will be spectacular!
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