What landscape lighting is for
Landscape lighting puts light on the ground level of a property: paths, plantings, trees, steps and the walk up to the front door. Done well, it looks like the yard is lit and not like a row of lamps. Done badly, it looks like an airport runway down the driveway.
What usually gets lit
Path lighting is usually the starting point, since walking to the door in the dark is the daily problem. A well placed uplight keeps the yard from going flat and black at nine at night. Then there are beds and low plantings, stairs and walls where the light is about footing, and the parking area.
Landscape, patio and security lighting are related jobs
The request almost never stays in one lane. Patio lighting is what turns a patio into somewhere you sit in the evening. Security lighting covers the dark corners, the side yard, the area behind the garage. Accent lighting highlights the parts of the house or yard worth a second look.
Where landscape lighting usually goes wrong
More light is not better. A
https://travistdpv080.wpsuo.com/custom-exterior-lighting-design-what-a-real-design-contains-is-your-lighting-quote-actually-a-design-four-questions-that-settle-it-why-custom-design-matters-in-outdoor-lighting-a-buyer-s-guide yard lit evenly at every point has no depth, which is exactly the look people are trying to get away from. Badly aimed fixtures throw glare down the walk instead of on the ground. The third is forgetting that plants grow, since the bed in front of a fixture fills in.
Commercial landscape lighting
Businesses light the grounds for other reasons. Outdoor seating lives or dies on the lighting. A parking area is about people getting to their cars. A neighborhood entrance is about the first impression of the whole community, which is why entry lighting gets attention in planned developments.
How they work as one design
Roofline lighting handles the building. The yard is a separate job. Together they finish the picture. The house has an outline; the ground has layers. One without the other looks unfinished.Doing them in one plan beats adding one to the other later. If the budget has to be split, a good designer will tell you which half to do first, and the answer is not always the house.Unlike a roofline system, yard lighting moves. Mowers, growing shrubs and seasons all move things slightly. Once a year it is worth walking the yard and correcting the aim, which takes very little time and makes an obvious difference.
How to start
The plan comes from walking the property, not picked from a page. EverCrest Lighting does landscape lighting installation as well as patio, accent, security and permanent LED roofline lighting for homes and businesses. Working out of Greenville, South Carolina, they cover Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. The consultation is free and the design is drawn for your property. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected].