Start with what you want to see
Where roofline lighting works on the building, landscape lighting takes care of the yard: 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, it looks like an airport runway down the driveway.
The pieces of a plan
Path lighting comes first for most properties, since walking to the door in the dark is the daily problem. A light aimed up into a tree gives the yard depth after sunset. Then there are beds and low plantings, stairs and walls where the light is about footing, and the driveway.
Landscape, patio and security lighting are related jobs
Homeowners rarely want one category. Patio lighting is what turns a patio into somewhere you sit in the evening. Security lighting covers the dark corners, the side yard, the area behind the garage. Accent lighting is the finish work.
What to avoid
More light is not better. 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 throw glare down the walk 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
Businesses use the same tools for different reasons. A restaurant patio has to be comfortable to sit in after dark. A parking area is a safety question first. A neighborhood entrance is about the first impression of the whole community, which is why entry lighting gets attention in planned developments.
Combining the two
The two do different jobs and look better together. Roofline light gives the house a shape after dark,
https://rylaneuko655.cavandoragh.org/year-round-christmas-lights-why-the-ladder-can-stay-in-the-garage and the yard lighting gives the front of the property depth.A single design avoids a mismatched result, which is what happens when two companies work the same property in different years. If the budget has to be split, a good designer will tell you which half to do first, and the answer is not always the house.Landscape lighting needs a look now and then. Fixtures shift over time, plantings grow up in front of them, and aiming drifts. Once a year it is worth walking the yard and correcting the aim, which takes very little time and makes an obvious difference.
Getting it planned properly
A landscape lighting installation should be designed at the property, preferably with somebody who has seen it after dark. EverCrest Lighting installs landscape lighting along with patio, accent, security and permanent roofline lighting for residential and commercial properties. They are based in Greenville, South Carolina and serve 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].