Accent lighting is a choice about what to leave dark
Most outdoor lighting is trying to cover ground. Accent lighting inverts that. It is selective by definition. Point it at one tree,
https://jeffreyofkm382.lucialpiazzale.com/roofline-led-lighting-how-one-line-changes-the-whole-house-what-makes-roofline-lighting-look-right-the-short-version-considering-roofline-lighting-start-with-the-roof-edge one column, one entry and leave the rest alone. The dark part is not a gap in the plan. It is the reason the lit thing stands out.That is really the whole idea, and it is not complicated. Choose a small number of things and let the rest of the property stay dark. Every plan drifts toward more, from the homeowner and sometimes from the company selling fixtures.
What is worth accenting
Some things reward being lit and plenty do not. Anything with surface relief picks up light and shows it off, because light raking across a rough surface creates shadow and shadow creates interest. Flat painted siding gives you almost nothing back. Form is the second test.
Where accent plans fall apart
Plans go wrong when the list grows. The homeowner likes the first uplit tree and asks for a second, then the whole bed, then the driveway. At some point there is no dark left to contrast against, and nothing stands out anymore. A disciplined plan says no more than it says yes.A good accent plan looks thin written down and right in person, which is an awkward thing to sell and an easy thing to live with.
Where it sits among the other work
Accent lighting is usually one layer of several. The other layers are path and bed lighting, security coverage, and the house itself. It is what makes a plan look considered.
One more thing about brightness
Accent fixtures do not need to be bright. After dark it takes very little light to draw the eye, and too much reads as a floodlight. You are creating a point of interest, not lighting a work area.
From below or down out of a tree
Direction is a mood decision. Light from below is not how daylight works, which is why it suits a column, a trunk or a stone face and flatters very little else. Light from above feels natural, which is why it suits places people sit.
Accent lighting is not set and forget
Landscape accents point at plants, and plants move. Growth closes over a fixture, and ground level fixtures get knocked out of position. Nothing is broken. It simply needs adjusting. Re aiming every couple of seasons keeps the plan looking the way it was designed to.Aim gets checked the way everything else here is judged: by walking out at night and seeing what the light is doing.
Where to start
The choices only make sense in front of the actual house, which is why the design starts with a visit. EverCrest Lighting does accent lighting along with landscape, patio, security and permanent roofline systems for homes and businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. Consultations are free. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected].