Poughkeepsie, NY landscaping professionals, Harmony Hill, design and install low-voltage outdoor lighting systems for Dutchess County residents. Photo: Cast Lighting.
From impressive specimen trees to breathtaking hardscaping, establishing an immaculate landscape is a formidable achievement. Often the unspoken envy of friends and neighbors, a well-designed yard emphasizes its own natural beauty, exudes visual appeal, and boasts one or more livable outdoor spaces. Plenty of time and hard work goes into creating such a masterpiece, so don’t let it all fall to the wayside when dusk approaches.
An outdoor lighting system illuminates your yard’s inherent artistry, highlights key features, and keeps outdoor living spaces functional well after dark. Use these tips to work more effectively with your Poughkeepsie, NY landscaper to design the ideal outdoor lighting system for your landscape. Your neighbors might not be able to keep their compliments to themselves!
Choose the areas you want to brighten
A successful outdoor lighting system keeps your Poughkeepsie landscaping safe, spotlights eye-catching features, and enables you to use functional outdoor spaces at any hour of the night. How basic or complex a system your yard needs depends on your goals. If safety is your main priority, station no-frills task lights along your driveway, as well as stairs and pathways. To maintain visual interest after dusk, isolate key features to highlight, such as a bubbling fountain or garden bed of prized plantings.
Is there an area or two you’d like to be able to enjoy at night, such as an outdoor kitchen or workspace? Think about how much light such spaces will need in order to create true extensions of your interior living spaces. As Certified designers and installers of low-voltage outdoor lighting systems in Dutchess County, NY, Harmony Hill Landscaping provides a perfect balance between beauty and function.
Know your lighting techniques
Designing an outdoor lighting system involves more than just placement. A variety of outdoor lighting techniques are used to efficiently light an entire property. A few popular lighting techniques are below.
Up-lighting
Utilize accent or spot/bullet lights, floodlights, or well lights to dramatically showcase a featured object from below. Impressive trees, flags, or statues commonly benefit from up-lighting.
Moonlighting
Place accent lights, floodlights, or well lights slightly above and shining down through mature tree branches to project feathery shadows below. Use this technique on pathways and outdoor living spaces, such as a patio, to mimic the effects of a full moon year-round.
Grazing
Highlight unique textures on your landscape by installing spread lights directly underneath or parallel to featured spots for soft, yet captivating emphasis. Implement a grazing technique on stonework or winding ivy.
Brush up on light sources
The perfect outdoor lighting system consists of one or a combination of high and low voltage fixtures.
Low-voltage Lighting
Most commonly used for outdoor lighting and landscapes, this system employs low-voltage lights encased in fixture housing for cost-effective and weather-proof lighting. Low-voltage lights cast a pleasantly warm and practical glow evenly across your landscape, keeping pathways and outdoor spaces functional and safe.
Line-voltage Lighting
High-voltage lighting fixtures are traditional used by entrances, mounted to the side of your home. Another common spot for line voltage fixtures is at the entrance to your driveway, either in the form of post lights of mounted to masonry driveway pillars. Regular line voltage light sources employs a 120-volt system that must been installed by a licensed electrician. If installed in conjunction with a landscape lighting professional, line voltage fixtures can work to provide much needed depth and visual interest.
Designing the perfect outdoor lighting system begins with a functional concept; what really brings it to life, however, are the techniques and light sources employed. By understanding the fundamentals of today’s outdoor lighting systems, you’ll be sure to preserve your Poughkeepsie, NY landscape’s beauty around the clock.
