home :: landscape lighting design

Landscape lighting design - How to get started designing

Safety, security and aesthetics are the three components to an excellent landscape lighting design plan. All of which you can either do yourself or hire a landscape professional to help you achieve.

Some of the main considerations before getting underway with your lighting design is to determine your wishes: Do you like high or low levels of lighting? How will you be using your backyard area at night? Will your landscape lighting be used mostly for entertaining or for regular nightly viewing and to provide security around your property?

Getting started

With low voltage landscape lighting, you can save both energy and money. These systems are great for the do-it- yourselfer and many quality brands and fixtures are designed for the 12 volt systems. Of course, you can also choose 120 volt outdoor lighting, and there are good decorative fixtures for both landscape lighting systems.
A good book to read is The Landscape Lighting Book by Janet Lennox Moyer. You can order this online at Amazon.com.
Take a look at articles: step lights, pathway lighting 1 and path lighting 2 as well as outdoor lighting fixtures.

In choosing a garden lighting design, take a look at the overall picture. Step outside at night and imagine your landscape areas being aesthetically lit while providing safety in areas such as steps and staircases, deck edges, pathways, sidewalks and such.

Designing with focal and area lighting such as uplight and downlight fixtures can highlight a beautiful tree at night or statue or plant. Downlighting fixtures act much like the moon above and can create a nice effect and shadows on the ground.

For more information about garden lighting, please click on the link.