Sunday, March 2, 2014

landscape lighting design

Landscape Lighting Design
When you are landscaping your house, something that you shouldnt overlook is the lighting. Landscape lighting design is a very different skill compared to the rest of landscaping as it requires a good knowledge of the properties of light as well as the practicalities of installing a lighting system. In this article Ill be talking about how to get the most out of your garden lighting and how to ensure that you use an environmentally friendly lighting system.


landscape lighting design

The best way to start designing your lighting is to draw simple diagram of your garden and where its main features are. You should also draw where the power points are on the map so that you know where all the leads from the lighting have to end up. Once you have a map you can start to decide on where you would like the light to focus. Dont try and pick a lot of different focal points because this will usually end up looking too random and cluttered once the lights are on. Instead you should only pick one, or a maximum of two places in the garden where you think the lights should be focused.

Once you have decided on where and what you would like the lights to illuminate you need to think about how much lighting you are going to use. You should never use too much lighting. The idea isnt to create a daytime effect in your garden at night because not only will this not look good but it is also light pollution. Instead, try and find a way of subtly using lighting to highlight the most attractive areas of the garden. Be considerate of the rest of your neighborhood as they are unlikely to want lots of light pollution every night.

Because the lights are going to be on every night in your garden you should think about how to be environmentally friendly and also cut down on your electricity bill. You can get solar powered outdoor lighting for this. They are also useful because you dont have to worry about placing them near a power socket.

The good thing about outdoor lighting is that it is easy to install and also easy to move around. For that reason you shouldnt be afraid to experiment a bit with different lighting positions and styles until you find a setup that you like the most. While drawing a diagram of your garden is a good way to get your first ideas, you would be surprised how many great combinations of lights you can find when you start to experiment.

landscape lighting design ideas

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