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. The goal is to see the tree, not the light pointed at it. Done badly, it looks like an airport runway down the driveway.
What a yard normally needs
Most plans start with the path to the door, because that is the part you use whether or not anybody is looking. Uplighting on the trees worth showing changes the whole front of a property after dark. 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
Homeowners usually want more than one thing. Out back, the patio only gets used after dark if it has light. 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 goes wrong
More light is not better. Even light across the whole yard kills the contrast that makes it look good. Badly aimed fixtures put light in your guests' eyes instead of on the ground. The third is ignoring how the yard will look in five years, when the shrub in front of the uplight has doubled.
The commercial side
On commercial property the brief changes. A restaurant patio needs light people want to sit under. A parking area is about people getting to their cars. A neighborhood entrance sets the tone for everything behind it, which is why entry lighting gets attention in planned developments.
Landscape lighting and roofline lighting together
Roofline lighting works on the house. The yard is a separate job. Together they finish the picture. The house reads as a shape; the ground has layers. One without the other looks unfinished.Doing them at the same time beats adding one to the other later. If the budget only covers one this year, a good designer will tell you which half to do first, and the answer is not always the house.Landscape lighting needs a look now and then. Fixtures get bumped by mowers, beds fill in around them, and aiming drifts. An annual look and re aim 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
https://zionjzjx710.cavandoragh.org/architectural-outdoor-lighting-how-buildings-get-lit-properly-what-does-architectural-lighting-actually-mean-a-plain-answer-understanding-architectural-lighting-for-a-real-building installs landscape lighting along with patio, accent, security and permanent roofline lighting for residential and commercial properties. Working out of Greenville, South Carolina, they cover Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. Consultations are free, and the design gets built around your yard. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].