Patio lighting

Patio lighting is wonderful, not just for allowing you to spend more time outside at night, but also for accentuating the best parts of your garden and patio. Patio lighting can really create some wonderful effects and make your patio nighttime experience even more enjoyable. Just as importantly, patio lighting can make your patio and yard a safer place to be at night.

The question is: what kind of patio lighting should you use? There are many different types of patio lighting for you to choose from. Here are a few, short descriptions of some of the most popular types of patio lighting:

Deck Lighting

Your deck lighting can be a great tool for highlighting and spotlighting any changes in elevations, drop-offs, or deck-edges. In doing so, you create not only a dramatic effect, but a safer deck, as well. You can conceal the light fixtures beneath railings, beneath benches, or on vertical posts.

Step Lighting

This type of patio lighting will allow both you and guests to navigate up your steps and through your yard in safety. Place step lighting beneath railings, on vertical posts, or recessed into the steps.

Fountain Lighting

If you have a fountain on your patio or elsewhere in your garden, you want to be sure that it is not just item of beauty in the daytime. There are many great types of patio lighting that will make your fountain even more beautiful at night. You can have underwater lights that really give a dramatic appeal to your fountain. You can also consider colored lights for even more fun (you may even change the colors of the lights based on the season [i.e. red and green for Christmas]).

It is also possible to create a mirrored effect on the surface of the water if you light the area behind the reflecting surface of the water.

Shadowing

Use this technique to highlight and interesting shapes that you may have in your garden, including branch structure, sculptures, etc. Place your light fixture in front of the item or plant that you want to shadow, and aim it so that the item will cast its shadow on a surface like the wall of your house. The closer the light is to the item you want to shadow, the larger the shadow will be.

Silhouetting

Silhouetting is a type of patio lighting that really highlights the shape of an object. To create the silhouette effect, place a light behind the subject, and shine it up against a vertical surface like the wall of your home.

Moon Lighting

Place light fixtures up into a tree and shine them downward. The light will be filtered through the branches of the trees, creating an effect like the moon shining down.

These are just a few types of patio lighting that you may want to consider. To decide which type to use at your home, think of which particular subjects you want to spotlight. Think of which subjects will look best as a silhouette or as a shadow. Consider which areas may pose a threat if a person cannot see them.

Be sure to have fun with your patio lighting!

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