Landscape lighting starts with the yard, not the catalog
Landscape lighting puts light on the ground level of a property: walkways, beds, trees, steps, driveways, the path from the car to the door. Done well, you notice the yard and not the fixtures. Done badly, it looks like an airport runway down the driveway.
What usually gets lit
Path lighting comes first for most properties, because it is the part that does a job every night. Uplighting on the trees worth showing
https://evercrestlighting.com/permanent-lighting/ changes the whole front of a property after dark. Beds, stairs, retaining walls and the driveway round it out, and the step lighting is safety more than looks.
Landscape, patio and security lighting overlap
Homeowners rarely want one category. Out back, the patio only gets used after dark if it has light. Security lighting deals with the corners of the lot, which is a different goal from the pretty work. Accent lighting picks out the details worth picking out.
What to avoid
The most common mistake is too much of it. A yard lit evenly at every point looks flat, which is exactly the look people are trying to get away from. The second mistake is aiming fixtures where people walk, so the path lights blind you instead of showing the path. The third is ignoring how the yard will look in five years, when the shrub in front of the uplight has doubled.
Commercial grounds lighting
On commercial property the goals shift. A restaurant patio needs light people want to sit under. Parking and walkways are a footing and visibility question. A neighborhood entrance is about the first impression of the whole community, which is why entrances get lit carefully.
Landscape lighting and roofline lighting in one plan
The two solve different problems, and most properties want both. The house has an outline; the ground has layers. One without the other looks unfinished.Doing them in one plan beats adding one to the other later. If the budget has to be split, ask which half does more for your property, and the answer is not always the house.Unlike a roofline system, ground level fixtures shift. Fixtures shift over time, plantings grow up in front of them, and the aim wanders. Once a year somebody should re aim what has drifted, which is a short job with a visible result.
Getting it planned properly
The plan should be made standing in the yard, not picked from a page. EverCrest Lighting does landscape lighting installation along with patio, accent, security and permanent roofline lighting for homes and businesses. Working out of Greenville, South Carolina, they cover Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. Consultations are free, and the design gets built around your yard. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].