No matter how perfect your backyard is during the day, you have an opportunity to create a nighttime setting that is truly breathtaking. Lighting can make all the difference. Giving your backyard proper lighting requires the use of a few different strategies that enable the best experience. As you renovate your landscape this year, you can up your outdoor entertainment game with these five outdoor lighting concepts in Woodhaven and Flat Rock, MI. Here are a few strategies that will provide both ambience and safety, in a wonderful mix.
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Say No to the Floodlight
The cheapest and easiest lighting strategy is definitely not the one to use to create a welcoming ambience in your landscape. A single flood light that sits up high covering a large area will actually do more harm than good. To cover a wide area, the light source needs to be very bright, which can be obnoxious or even dangerously blinding to someone who looks directly at it. The bright light also causes contrasting shadows that create dangerous obstacles and tripping hazards: too much light in some areas and none at all in others.
Modern landscape lighting uses light emitting diode fixtures (LEDs) which use far less energy than any other type of light bulb and require far fewer replacements in their lifetimes. LEDs last for many seasons and can actually fit in many more hard-to-reach and smaller areas, which gives you unprecedented opportunities for functional and artistic lighting. Some allow you to change colors, intensity, and timing to suit your mood.
The modern approach creates lighting zones that correspond to activity zones: more task-oriented lighting in high-activity zones such as the outdoor kitchen; and softer, more ambient lighting in low-activity zones like a fire pit area. And since LED lighting is so inexpensive over the long term, you can place a multitude of small lights throughout your landscape, without creating a sports stadium effect and still enjoying a safe and pleasurable outdoor experience.
String Lighting
String lighting creates a festive feeling during the summer. Hang string lights around a patio, between trees, or within a pergola. String lights are also useful for creating a boundary for where you want the party to take place and they can guide people to the festivities. Just add some string lights going from your driveway or back door that lead out to where all the fun happens.
Underwater Lighting
Submersible lighting automatically creates drama. The lights inside a pool or water feature will give off a beautiful bluish glow that will wash over the surrounding area, and any ripples or disturbances on the surface will join the light show and add to the festive atmosphere as the party goes on.
Spotlighting
When there’s a particular feature in your landscape that deserves special attention, you should definitely let it shine at night with some spotlighting. This technique uses direct light to illuminate a single point such as a statue, a gorgeous rock outcropping, a mural, a waterfall, or a treasured old tree. It will certainly increase the visual texture of your backyard and make any gathering more exciting.
Moonlighting
Create the illusion of moonlight softly filtering through the tree canopy with moonlighting. This technique uses a single bluish-tinted light set high in a tree and pointed downward to mimic the effect of moonlight. You’ll enjoy soft shadows and when the breeze picks up, the dancing leaves will create a gentle light show on the ground.
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