Outdoor LightingAdding tasteful lighting to the areas surrounding your home will not only enhance its security and enable you to enjoy your garden throughout the year but also transform it into a beautiful and atmospheric haven when the sun goes down.After deciding which areas and features you want to illuminate it is important to consider the combination of lighting techniques with which to transform your space. There are several techniques which are ideal for providing practical illumination in functional areas of your garden (such as pathways and those used for entertaining) and others which are perfect for enhancing beautiful and unique features in your garden. Used in combination and with some careful planning you can achieve striking yet subtle illumination of your outdoor space and really make your garden come alive. Downlighting is ideal for providing soft illumination over larger areas of your garden, simulating the glow of moonlight. It is the perfect technique for lighting areas used for entertaining as well as for illuminating paths and driveways as a form of security light. When placed high off the ground (i.e. high in the branches of a tree or under the eaves of your house) they cast a large pool of light over the area below, these are particularly effective when several downlights are used in combination so as to eliminate shadows and provide a more consistent coverage. It is important that you angle downlights so as to avoid glare. It is important to illuminate frequently used paths and steps in your garden, low level path lighting used alone or in conjunction with downlighting can attractively illuminate such walkways. Many people make the mistake of placing fixtures either side of their path every 3 or 4 feet; this is not a practical or particularly attractive use of light and has the effect of making the path look like a runway. If is best to choose low level, shielded fixtures controlled by photo voltaic cells (so they illuminate from dusk til dawn). This style of fixture will direct light towards the ground where it is needed reducing both light pollution and glare. These are particularly attractive when staggered in amongst shrubs as this softens the light further whilst illuminating attractive borders and avoiding that airport feel. Placing tiny recessed lights along the edges of steps and patio or decking areas provides a pleasant level of illumination whilst defining the edges for safety purposes. There are several lighting techniques which can be used in conjunction with these more practical forms which specifically enhance and draw attention to specific features within your garden. Uplighting can be used to both accentuate the presence of an object in the garden and to enhance its texture. By placing recessed or camouflaged lights at floor level close to the object to be illuminated, its appearance will be enhanced and attention drawn towards it. By placing the light fixtures close to the base of the object a dramatic contrast is created between shadow and light increasing the texture and depth of the object ? this technique is called grazing. If you have a beautiful statue or unusually shaped tree situated in front of one of the walls of your home, shadowing can be used to enhance this feature within the landscape. By illuminating the feature from the front, dramatic shadows are created on the wall behind, softer shadows can be produced if a light is used at ground level either side of the object. The later, cross-lighting also reveals more detail making it more suitable for showing off intricate features. Silhouetting is the opposite of shadowing, with a recessed light being placed at ground level behind the object. This technique is incredibly attractive as the edges of the feature appear to glow. Spread lighting can be used to illuminate attractive beds of plants and shrubs; it is best to used fully shielded, low level light fixtures which cast light in a downwards direction and across over the beds. This will act to add another layer of soft, focused light to your outdoor space. When installing light fixtures for use with any of the above techniques, it is advisable to make final adjustments to the focus and direction of the light at night time to ensure that glare and light pollution and minimised whilst each overall effect is maximised. By combining a selection of the above techniques you can achieve striking effects but always remember that when it comes to outdoor lighting, less is always more. |
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