Lighting for Patios and Outdoor Living, Why the Back of the House Needs a Different Plan|How Should a Patio Be Lit|Outdoor Living Lighting Done Properly and Why It Is Not the Same as Curb Appeal

Two sides, two purposes

The front of a property gets judged from the street. Out back the light is around you, not in front of you. That flips most of the design rules. Nobody cares how the patio reads from the road. What matters is whether the space still works after dark.All of which adds up to one point. The front and the back need different work, and one light over the door is the usual result of not planning it. Two spaces, two separate sets of requirements to satisfy.

Glare ruins more patios than darkness does

A single glaring bulb undoes an otherwise good plan. A bare bulb at eye height blows out your night vision, so the rest of the property vanishes. Aim for light you notice the effect of but not the source of.

Bistro and string lighting

Strung lights above a patio create a ceiling where there was not one. A patio without them is a slab under an open sky. Add a canopy https://trevorwzuj557.evercolumn.com/posts/lighting-the-roofline-a-plain-guide-to-lighting-the-roof-edge-why-roofline-lighting-works-the-short-version-considering-roofline-lighting-what-to-know-first of light and the area has walls it did not have. Warm and dim is the setting that works, because bright overhead strings turn a dinner into a parking lot.The good version is not the expensive version, it is the planned one, and the planning is the part that costs nothing.

Building the plan

Think of it as layers, not one switch. Overhead, low, and a feature or two. Put them on separate controls if you can, since you want a bright option and a quiet one.

Restaurants and businesses have the same problem with higher stakes

A restaurant patio has to solve this every single night. Bistro and string lighting over an outdoor dining area is what keeps guests seated once the sun goes. Nothing changes technically. Only the reason does.

Lighting stretches the season

Without light, the back yard has a curfew. With light, the hours stop being the limit. In the Upstate there are plenty of mild nights well outside summer, and almost all of them are dark by six. The lighting is the thing standing between a nice evening and an unused patio.

Something worth knowing about color

Anybody who has sat under a bright outdoor light in July knows what shows up. Warmer light is less interesting to most insects, which conveniently matches what looks good anyway. It helps. That is all. But it is worth factoring in.Worth adding: whatever runs along the roof edge above should match, so the two do not disagree with each other.

Getting your outdoor space planned

The plan comes from seeing how you use the space, not from a catalog. EverCrest Lighting does patio and outdoor living lighting for residential and commercial properties in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. The consultation is free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email [email protected].

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