Landscape lighting starts with the yard, not the catalog
Where roofline lighting works on the building, landscape lighting handles everything below it: the walk, the beds, the trees, the steps. Done well, you notice the yard and not the fixtures. Done badly, you get a line of glowing dots along the path and not much else.
What goes in a typical plan
Path lighting comes first for most properties, 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 driveway.
Landscape, patio and security lighting overlap
The request is rarely just one type of lighting. Out back, patio lighting is the difference between a patio you use and one you look at. 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.
What to avoid
More light does not mean better. A yard lit evenly at every point looks flat, which is exactly the look people are trying to get away from. The second mistake is glare, so every guest gets a light in the eye on the way to the door. The third is forgetting that plants grow, 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. Parking and walkways come down to safety. A neighborhood entrance is about the first impression of the whole community, which is why entrances get lit carefully.
Landscape lighting and roofline lighting in one plan
The two solve different problems, and most properties want both. The house reads as a shape; the yard reads as space. One without the other looks unfinished.Doing them in one plan beats adding one to the other later. If the budget only covers one this year, ask which half does more for your property, and the answer is not always the house.Landscape lighting
https://evercrestlighting.com/permanent-lighting/ needs a look now and then. Mowers, mulch and time all move things slightly. Once a year somebody should re aim what has drifted, which takes very little time and makes an obvious difference.
Getting it installed properly
A landscape lighting installation should be designed at the property, at night if you can. EverCrest Lighting installs landscape lighting along with patio, accent, security and permanent roofline lighting for residential and commercial properties. They are based in Greenville, South Carolina and serve 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].