Has this summer made you think about your exterior lighting?
The weather might be slowly returning to normal but has this incredible summer made you think about making more of your garden? Specifically, has the fantastic weather encouraged you to spend more time in the garden in the evenings? If so, you might well want to look at your exterior lighting. This post was prompted by this photo taken on a tour of the garden for a project we’re just completing. It was snapped on a phone so apologies for the quality but it reminds us what a huge difference even a small amount of exterior lighting can make.
Garden lighting can make your house more secure, more welcoming and it can make your exterior space more usable. This post from last year offers four key tips for planning garden lighting. Those tips focus on the practicalities of designing exterior lighting for both planted areas and hard landscaping. This photo reminds us of another important aspect of external lighting; a little light goes a long way.
One of our key design principles is identify your focal points. It’s as true for exterior lighting as it is for interior lighting and here we’ve got lots to work with. This lovely new build is characterised by the rich natural materials and wonderful garden. It’s also in a quiet, scenic spot. We didn’t want to look like a spaceship had landed in the middle of a national park.
The scheme is very simple. The stonework and wooden posts are lit both from the ground upwards and with downlights recessed into the soffit. The fittings are from the same family with matching light engines specified at a very warm white (2700K).
The lanterns framing the stone steps down to the lawn are ex-display models and look great in their new home.
An additional lantern on the wall at the end of the raised bed at the South East end of the garden extends your sight line down the path. The planting in this area has yet to mature but it’s a design that will only get better as it settles down.
The garden lighting in this photo is part of a larger interior & exterior lighting design project featuring Lutron lighting control and Control4. We will have the project professionally shot as a case study within the next couple of weeks.
To learn more about our exterior lighting service or any of the fittings used in this project get in touch with us here.
