An outdoor fireplace is a prominent feature in your landscape, and it deserves to be highlighted at night when it can become a real show-stopper. If an outdoor fireplace is majestic during the day, it can become a dramatic focal point at night. Here’s how outdoor lighting can be used to accentuate your outdoor fireplace in Wyomissing, PA.
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Before we get into specific lighting techniques, it’s important to keep one thing in mind: less is more. A few relatively subtle accent lights will create a much more pleasing effect than if you were to use many lights or a few bright lights. After all, you want to maintain the magical atmosphere of the night, while bringing attention to the masonry.
Since many fireside gatherings occur around dinner time and linger well into the evening, the right lighting strategies are important. You want to ensure safety around the fireplace for moving around when the fire isn’t lit, as well as a pleasing ambience.
1. Uplighting
Placing a few small lights at the base of the outdoor fireplace and pointing them up so they shine on the fireplace itself, will accentuate the textures in a very dramatic way. The lights used for this technique should be very small (LED bullet lights are ideal), so they are not obtrusive during the day. The lights must be aimed upward and angled toward the top of the fireplace, not just up - which would be blinding for anyone standing directly next to the fireplace.
2. Downlighting
A similar technique places lights on the walls or chimney of the fireplace - or even under the mantel if your fireplace has one - and pointing them directly downward. This technique not only highlights the texture but also offers lighting for the patio next to the fireplace. Again, the lights should be very small and unobtrusive for the best effect. You don’t need bright lights, or many lights, for this to work.
3. Washing
If the outdoor fireplace is in the proximity of the home and fireside gatherings face away from the home, then aiming a spotlight on the side of the home (if there aren’t windows on that wall) will cause light to bounce off the home and indirectly illuminating - or washing - the seating area around the fireplace.
4. String Lights
Though they don’t directly accentuate the outdoor fireplace, string lights add a fun and festive atmosphere to your patio. And because they are hung relatively high, you will get somewhat of a downlighting effect that will highlight the wonderful textures of the fireplace. Whether you prefer tiny lights or big Edison bulbs, there are many styles of string lights to choose from: and they all say, THIS is where the party is! Consider having a landscaping professional hang these lights from the tree canopy to illuminate the entire space; or, hang them at ceiling height for a more intimate feel.
5. Layered Landscape Lighting
To prevent your outdoor fireplace from standing out too much - which can happen if it is brightly illuminated and the surrounding landscape is pitch black - opt for a softly layered lighting strategy in the landscape. This involves placing a few low-lying fixtures “randomly” throughout the landscape - usually beneath shrubs or nestled in plant beds - to give subtle illumination and offer soft ambient light beyond the outdoor living area itself. The result is a much more welcoming nighttime atmosphere without stark contrasts.
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