The back of the house is not curb appeal
The front of a property gets judged from the street. Out back the light is around you, not in front of you. Everything changes once you are the one sitting under it. Nobody is grading the back yard from the street. The only test is whether the space gets used.All of which adds up to one point. A roofline system handles the street view and almost nothing for where you sit. Two spaces, two briefs, and one design conversation that covers both.
What actually drives people inside
The fastest way to make an outdoor space unpleasant is a bright fixture in somebody's line of sight. Look at a bright source and your eyes stop adapting to the dark. The fix is to put light low, high, or behind something: step lights, under rail, up in the trees, or behind a planter.
String lights overhead do more than they should be able to
Strung lights above a patio create a ceiling where there was not one. A patio without them is a slab under an open sky. Add a canopy of light and the
https://cristianjvip513.talesignal.com/posts/soffit-lighting-why-that-spot-on-the-house-why-permanent-lights-mount-at-the-eave-soffit-eave-fascia-which-part-is-which area has walls it did not have. Warm and dim is what you want, since bright overhead light is the wrong mood entirely.None of this is a question of spending more, since most of what separates a good patio from a harsh one is where things point.
Layers, roughly in order
Think of it as three jobs, not one fixture. Something overhead for general warmth. Something low so nobody trips on the way to the door. And a little accent somewhere at the edge. Put them on separate controls if you can, since you want a bright option and a quiet one.
Restaurants and businesses have the same problem with higher stakes
A restaurant patio is doing the same job for money. Bistro and string lighting over an outdoor dining area makes the space usable and inviting after sunset. The same rules apply, just with a stronger reason to get it right.
The part that pays for itself
Without light, the back yard has a curfew. With light, the space is available whenever the weather is. Mild evenings happen most of the year here, and the dark is what keeps people indoors. The lighting is the thing standing between a nice evening and an unused patio.
Something worth knowing about color
Anybody who has sat under a porch light in summer has shared it with insects. Insects respond more to cooler and bluer light than to warm light, so a warm setting over a seating area is the better choice for more than one reason. It helps. It is not a solution. But it is a free consideration when choosing the setting.If a permanent system covers the rear elevation, keep it warm and dim when people are out there, and the patio and the house agree.
The next step
Patio lighting has to be planned in the actual space, preferably at night. EverCrest Lighting does patio and outdoor living lighting for residential and commercial properties in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, out of Greenville. Consultations are free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].