‘Tis the season when homeowners start thinking about barbecues, pool parties, water gardens and landscaping. With all that outdoor activity, it’s no wonder they’re also planning ways to make the backyard more attractive – and fun!
“As humans, we’re attracted to light and its effect on our surroundings,” explained Curtis Hogan, president of Nite Time Décor. “It is increases the value of your home and adds another level of security for your family.”
Few homeowners realize that proper landscape lighting can expand the living space when viewed from windows inside the house. The correct choice or placement of the lighting fixtures can also create a tranquil, even romantic ambience.
These eight tips can help you create a soothing feeling with landscape lighting:
1. Use different light levels to create focal points. A common mistake is to light everything with equal brightness, creating a “parking lot” effect. The light should “draw” the viewer’s eyes to specific points on your property. If you enjoy viewing a feature during the day, it should be lit up at night.
2. Highlight the beautiful accents in your yard. Experts know how to use various techniques including uplighting, shadowing, moonlighting and silhouetting to achieve dramatic effects when lighting a canopy of trees, statues, gazebos, water fountains and plants.
3. Use indirect lighting. Let’s say you want to illuminate a concrete walkway for safety. Rather than using path lighting to highlight unattractive concrete, you can light up the surrounding trees and the “spill” will illuminate the walkway.
4. Think about multiple viewing angles. Make sure your lighting is aesthetically pleasing from all angles – from the gazebo, from the back porch. Otherwise, glare can interfere with the effect you’re trying to achieve and the resulting enjoyment.
5. Take your plant materials into account. Different plans require different lighting techniques. For example, due to their density and non-reflective value of their needles, pine trees require more light than ash or birch trees to achieve the desired effect.
6. Ensure the voltage is correct. Voltage diminishes (and lighting dims) as you move farther from the power source. Lighting experts use specific transformers, wiring methods and solid connections to minimize voltage loss in the lighting system.
7. Don’t try to do it yourself. It’s impossible to achieve a professional lighting portrait from a boxed system purchased from the local hardware store. With substantial materials and inadequate design knowledge, an elegant, well-balanced lighting portrait is unattainable. In addition, with do-it-yourself lighting setups, water and dirt get into connections and lights often go out within a year.
8. Perform maintenance on your outdoor lighting at least twice a year. But, a professional installation will incorporate techniques to reduce system malfunctions. Your backyard is a dynamic environment where trees grow, lawn maintenance crews hit fixtures and lenses get dirty. Maintenance is a must!