You have spared no effort creating a beautiful house and garden that capture the attention of all who pass by, so why let all that hard work recede from view when the sun goes down? With the flick of a switch and strategically planned landscape lighting design, you can spice up the darkness and put your home and garden on display.
Make the most of your garden and backyard by highlighting your home’s best architectural features and drawing attention to your favourite trees and plantings.
Not only will your home and garden be the best on the block, but with strategically placed outdoor lighting and ideas you will boost your home’s security and increase your safety when you walk around at night. You do not need a barrage of lights. When it comes to brightening up your landscape, a little goes a long way.
Think about it – your eyes need less light outside than they do indoors. So long as you have enough light to seek out shadows and patterns, you are on your way to creating a stunning landscape lighting display. There is no limit to the effect you can achieve.
From ethereal moonlight beaming down through tree branches to the subtle glow of light washing over a backyard wall, you can tailor your landscape lighting to suit your needs.
The experts at Bondilights would like to share their outdoor lighting design and ideas with you when you consider the best placement of landscape lights, correct fixtures to use and how you can put them all together to create a well-lit outdoor space that you will enjoy long after the sun has gone down.
First, let’s take a look at how lighting is often divided into three layers based on its function.
Overall lighting
Overall lightingOverall light delivers illumination for a whole space. In terms of a garden or backyard, here we are referring to the whole space which includes plantings, trees, pergola, deck, and more. In the overall lighting of a garden, we do not have to worry about reflection because most surfaces are dark and will not reflect light.
It is far more important to focus on safety as well as the position and shielding of light so that we can prevent glare. Glare often occurs when a light source is too big or too bright. When reflected directly in people’s eyes glare can be blinding. This is the last thing we want for our family and guests.
Outdoor lighting gives us permission to play around with direct and indirect light. For example, a downlight outside a side entry door will illuminate the object it is aimed at, while indirect light can reflect on surrounding surfaces to create a soft wash.
Task lighting
Task lighting is used for specific purposes, such as lighting aimed at brightening paths, entry ways, driveways, steps, decks and patios.
Accent lighting
Accent lighting is designed to showcase an object or area such as an old tree, architectural feature or textured wall.
Leading landscape lighting ideas
For the best landscape lighting we suggest you incorporate a variety of fixtures and lighting themes. For instance, you would not normally use the same light fixtures to illuminate trees and shrubs as you would pathways and architectural details. Instead, consider installing a combination of spotlights, deck lights, up and down lights and pathway lighting to give your garden the appeal it deserves.
Now, why don’t we take a closer look at the various features of your garden and the best ways to brighten these up?
Path
One of the most important locations to light up at night for the safety of your family and guests is your path. High illumination is not necessary so consider lighting up the path to your front door with ambient lights such as Bondilights’ LED Slim Bollard or Piccolo 40 which work well when recessed in your garden beds.
Front door
You want visitors to arrive safely at your front door without difficulty. First, ensure your house number is lit adequately with up or downlight lights, such as our LED Cube Wall Light Up and Down
And second, place lights either side of the door or overhead.
Driveway
Low-voltage landscape lighting is typically installed along each side of your driveway. Our LED Pole Light is perfect for this application.
Steps
Adding light to stairways and steps should be high on your priority list. Preventing potential injury, there are a number of ways you can brighten up your steps. If you are building outdoor stairs, consider adding recessed lights for an element of style. Or install the lights in the riser of the step and watch the light that is thrown down from the centre of the steps toward the sides. Another bright idea is to attach lights to either side of the steps. Our Piccolo 20 with hat is perfect for this application.
Decks or patios
Decks or patios are ideally suited to entertaining. Who doesn’t get excited about having friends and family over for a little backyard soiree? Whether you are cooking up a storm on the barbecue or chit chatting about the latest reality television series with friends, Bondilights has the lights for you. The LED Pivot Light is an excellent option for the barbecue and the LED Wedge Wall Light Up and Down is ideal for washing light up and down that uniquely textured wall and shedding light on your guests.
Architectural feature
Do you have an old tree or statue you would like to give prominence to? Why not have some fun with the lighting by creating a contrast between light and shadow? Our LED deck circle light will send light upward giving an indirect effect while adding a layer of elegance and style.
In a nutshell
As we have observed, when done right, landscape lighting really does make the best of what you have when it comes to your home and garden. From highlighting your architectural features and textured walls to showcasing your prized trees and plantings, designing your landscape lighting is more than just picking the right fixtures for the right locations. It is also about artistry. And who better is there to assist you to achieve your dream lighting scheme than Bondilights’ lighting designer and technicians. Contact Bondilights, leading landscape lighting designer in Sydney, today.