Landscape lighting is a design problem before it is a shopping problem
Where roofline lighting handles the house, landscape lighting takes care of the yard: paths, garden beds, trees and stairs. Done well, it looks like the yard is lit and not like a row of lamps. Done badly, you get a line of glowing dots along the path and not much else.
What a yard normally needs
Path lighting is usually the starting point, since walking to the door in the dark is the daily problem. Uplighting on the trees worth showing changes the whole front of a property after dark. Beds, steps, walls and the driveway round it out, and some of that is safety more than style.
Landscape, patio and security lighting overlap
The request almost never stays in one lane. Out back, the patio only gets used after dark if it has light. Security lighting deals with the corners of the lot, which is a different job from making a tree look good. Accent lighting is the finish work.
Where landscape lighting goes wrong
The most common mistake is volume. Even light across the whole yard removes the shadow that gives a yard shape. Badly aimed fixtures put light in your guests' eyes rather than onto the surface. The third is forgetting that plants
https://troywcwr427.scriblorax.com/posts/accent-lighting-what-it-is-and-where-it-belongs-what-is-accent-lighting-here-is-the-distinction-using-accent-lighting-well-on-a-real-property grow, since the bed in front of a fixture fills in.
The commercial side
On commercial property the brief changes. Outdoor seating lives or dies on the lighting. A parking area is about people getting to their cars. A neighborhood entrance sets the tone for everything behind it, which is why entrances get lit carefully.
Landscape lighting and roofline lighting in one plan
Roofline lighting works on the house. Landscape lighting handles everything else. Most properties want both. Roofline light outlines the building, and the yard lighting gives the front of the property depth.Doing them at the same time 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.Landscape lighting is not entirely hands off. Fixtures get bumped by mowers, plantings grow up in front of them, and aiming drifts. An annual adjustment keeps it looking the way it was designed.
Getting it installed properly
A landscape lighting installation is worth planning on site, at night if you can. EverCrest Lighting installs landscape lighting along with patio, accent, security and permanent 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. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].