Outdoor Living Space Lighting, Why the Back of the House Needs a Different Plan|How Should a Patio Be Lit? Here Is What Works|Patio Lighting That Gets Used

Two sides, two purposes

Front yard lighting is seen from outside. The patio is for people sitting in it. That flips most of the design rules. Nobody cares how the patio reads from the road. The only test is whether the space gets used.The short version: the patio deserves its own plan. A roofline system does a great deal for the front of a house and almost nothing for where you sit. Two spaces, two briefs, and one design https://evercrestlighting.com/permanent-lighting/ conversation that covers both.

Glare is the enemy

A single glaring bulb undoes an otherwise good plan. Look at a bright source and your eyes stop adapting to the dark. The fix is to keep sources out of the sight line: step lights, under rail, up in the trees, or behind a planter.

String lights overhead do more than they should be able to

The reason overhead strings feel right is that they define a room. A patio without them is a slab under an open sky. With them it reads as a defined space. Warm and dim is the setting that works, since bright overhead light is the wrong mood entirely.None of this costs much more than doing it badly, because the difference is mostly placement and color rather than the number of fixtures on the invoice.

Building the plan

A patio usually needs three kinds of light. Something overhead to define the space. Something low so nobody trips on the way to the door. And something aimed at one or two features worth looking at. Separate switching matters more than people expect.

Restaurants and businesses have the same problem with higher stakes

A restaurant patio is doing the same job for money. Warm overhead light is the difference between seating outside and not. The same rules apply, just with a stronger reason to get it right.

The part that pays for itself

An unlit patio has a usable season that ends when the days get short. A lit one stays open well past the point the sun stops cooperating. In the Upstate there are plenty of mild nights well outside summer, and most of them happen after dark. The lighting is what converts them into usable time.

Warm light near where people sit

Anybody who has sat under a bright outdoor light in July knows what shows up. Insects respond more to cooler and bluer light than to warm light, so a warm setting over a seating area is the better choice for more than one reason. It will not eliminate anything, and nobody should promise that. But it is a free consideration when choosing the setting.If a permanent system covers the rear elevation, set it warm and low for evenings outside, so nothing competes.

Getting your outdoor space planned

The plan comes from seeing how you use the space, not from a template. EverCrest Lighting designs and installs patio and outdoor living lighting for homes, restaurants and businesses in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. Consultations are free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email [email protected].

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