Start with what you want to see
Where roofline lighting handles the house, landscape lighting handles everything below it: the walk, the beds, the trees, the steps. Done well, it looks like the yard is lit and not like a row of lamps. Done badly, you get a line of glowing dots along the path and not much else.
What a yard normally needs
Most plans start with the walk, which is the piece that earns its cost every single evening. Uplighting on the trees worth showing changes the whole front of a property after dark. Beds, stairs, retaining walls and the driveway fill in the rest, and some of that is safety more than style.
Where the categories blur
The request is rarely just one type of lighting. Out back, the patio only gets used after dark if it has light. Security lighting lights the places that stay dark, which is a different goal from
https://collinmxkf729.quantlynix.com/posts/year-round-christmas-lights-what-they-are-and-how-they-actually-work the pretty work. Accent lighting highlights the parts of the house or yard worth a second look.
Where landscape lighting usually goes wrong
The most common mistake is volume. A yard lit evenly at every point has no depth, which is exactly the look people are trying to get away from. Badly aimed fixtures put light in your guests' eyes rather than onto the surface. The third is ignoring how the yard will look in five years, when the shrub in front of the uplight has doubled.
The commercial side
On commercial property the goals shift. A restaurant patio has to be comfortable to sit in after dark. A parking area is about people getting to their cars. A neighborhood entrance is about the first impression of the whole community, which is why entry lighting gets attention in planned developments.
Landscape lighting and roofline lighting in one plan
The two do different jobs and look better together. Roofline light outlines the building, and the yard lighting gives the front of the property depth.Doing them in one plan is easier than doing them a year apart. If the budget only covers one this year, a good designer will tell you which half to do first, and it is not always the roofline.Landscape lighting needs a look now and then. Fixtures get bumped by mowers, plantings grow up in front of them, and the aim wanders. An annual adjustment keeps it looking the way it was designed.
How to start
A landscape lighting installation is worth planning on site, preferably with somebody who has seen it after dark. EverCrest Lighting installs landscape lighting as well as patio, accent, security and permanent LED roofline lighting for residential and commercial properties. They are based in Greenville, South Carolina and serve Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. The consultation is free and the design is drawn for your property. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].