How to Light Your Patio or Garden
Adding lighting to your patio or back yard can enhance the ambiance of your outdoor living area while creating a safer environment to enjoy the great outdoors. Stumbling against furniture or tripping over unseen steps in the dark is unpleasant and dangerous for you and your guests. Here are some tips on how to light your patio to extend the usefulness and fun of your yard.
Choose Lighting for Durability
Remember that the lighting you install will be exposed to the elements for years to come. It's a good idea to invest in higher quality fixtures today so that you won't have to bear the expense of replacing your lights every few years. Avoid materials with a high chance of fading or rusting and lighting fixtures that look weak or have shoddy construction.
Mix Up Your Lighting Types
You have many options when it comes to lighting up your patio - take advantage of them! Instead of being satisfied with a simple porch light, think about hanging lanterns, installing track lighting under your eaves, winding rope lighting through your garden, and putting brighter lights in your treetops to filter down through the leaves. Exercise your creativity to build a fun and enchanting ambiance in your back yard.
Pay Special Attention to Hazards
Steps, changes in elevation, decorations, and fish ponds are a cinch to avoid during the day. At dusk, during the night, or when the lighting is poor due to foggy and misty evenings, these decorative touches can turn into dangerous traps for the unwary. To keep yourself and your family safe, you should take special care to highlight these dangerous situations with well placed patio lighting.
The good news is that you can easily combine safety with beauty in your outdoor lighting. Consider placing floating solar lights at the edge of your fish pond or stair lighting underneath your porch steps. This will create a romantic ambiance while reducing the risk of accidents.
Other useful lighting tips
- Don't install lighting at eye level or lighting that is likely to shine directly into your eyes. This will become annoying over the course of an evening as it is almost like looking directly at the sun.
- Install a timer so that you can set the time for the lights to turn on and off. This is also useful if you are away as it will still look as though someone is at home.
- If you are in an area that receives a lot of sunlight then consider the use of solar lighting. It may be more expensive to begin with but in the long run you will save money.
Article provided courtesy of the Outdoor Heating Guide - a resource for outdoor fireplaces and fire pits.
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