Your backyard should be a peaceful oasis, the perfect getaway. Even with all the best features such as a luxurious pool, a beautiful outdoor kitchen, lush landscaping, fountains, and waterfalls, the picture isn’t complete without the right outdoor lighting. Since no two outdoor spaces are alike, it can be tough to choose the right lighting. Here are 7 outdoor lighting design ideas that match unique backyard designs in Lebanon, PA.
Related: 4 Signs Your Landscape Design Could Use Updated Outdoor Lighting in Allentown PA
1. The Zoned Approach
One of the worst ways to illuminate outdoor living spaces is with old-school floodlights. The result is too much light in some areas and too little in others, along with harsh light and deep shadows.
The best way to ensure the right amount of light, as well as the right ambiance, in every part of your outdoor living spaces is to use several different lighting strategies from many sources, to create lighting zones.
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) give you amazing design versatility. They are compact, unobtrusive, and can be used creatively in trickier places such as high in tree canopies, integrated into masonry walls, or incorporated into water features.
LEDs can also be programmed to shine in different colors without using colored filters, to change the mood at your command.
To create zones, first identify the type of lighting you need in each area: for example, brighter illumination at the outdoor kitchen (including task lighting and ambient light); ground-level lighting to illuminate walkways without creating a daytime-bright look; and soft ambient lighting around seating areas and fire pit areas (just enough light to comfortably see, without lighting up the neighborhood and detracting from the magic of the night).
Then, work with a lighting design professional to place fixtures in such a way that they achieve your lighting goals in the most efficient and attractive way.
Creative Lighting Techniques
1. Illumination for safety can be achieved by placing light sources near the ground to disperse light where you need it - on the ground - rather than in the atmosphere. This technique enhances textures and fixtures that can be placed in or under plants, embedded in masonry, or placed at the base of prominent features such as the home or trees.
2. Spotlights can be used to illuminate a treasured tree, a prominent boulder, or a textured stone chimney. This strategy adds drama while also providing ambient light.
3. String lights contribute to a festive atmosphere with a choice of styles and colors. Lights can be strung between trees, a pergola, and the home.
4. Submersible lighting brings magic to backyard water features. The combination of water - whether it’s gently rippling in the breeze or cascading down a waterfall - and light adds a visual spectacle to your space. Lights can be placed under the surface of pools, fountains, and waterfalls.
5. Silhouetting places an object such as a gnarled old tree between a light source and a flat surface such as a wall of the home.
6. Moonlighting places a bluish-tinted fixture high in the tree canopy, where the light filters through the foliage, creating soft ambient lighting along with the beauty of constantly moving shadows. It’s also a good contrast to the often yellowish-tinted hues of most landscape lighting.
7. Small LED fixtures can be embedded into retaining walls, fire features, pillars, pergolas, or even stone steps to add subtle lighting without the need for freestanding light fixtures which clutter the landscape.
Related: Incorporating Smart Lighting in Your Exeter, PA, Landscape Design
