Lighting Techniques
Whether it’s a wall wash or a spot accent, we can help you achieve what you want.
Typical Lighting Techniques
Before you begin buying fixtures for your outdoor low voltage lighting project, you need to decide what you would like to accomplish for each section of your landscaping. Maybe you installed new stone veneer on the front of your home and would like to showcase it. Perhaps the contour of the hedge looks great at night. These effects are all accomplished by using different techniques and fixtures. We’ll describe some of those below.
Wall washing is a good technique to use when you have a relatively simple surface and would like to use it as a lit backdrop for an interesting landscape line. Using fixtures such as the LM-4522 Wash Light placed between 18 -36 inches away from the wall allow for an even dispersion of light across the entire surface of the wall.
The primary goal of wash lighting is to brighten the surface of the wall or hardscaping to hide imperfections or create a sillouhette in front of it, rather than focus on the wall. If you’re looking for a way to make the hardscaping the focus of your lighting, consider a technique called grazing.
In-ground lighting is a great way to accent a particular piece of landscaping, such as a tree or flag pole. Placing a light at the bottom of a small tree adds shadows and highlights to its leaves, creating a unique look in the evening.
In-ground lights can also be used as their own features, creating interesting patterns on a brick walkway and drawing attention to it..
Talk to us at Lume Outdoor Lighting to find the best result for your particular project or browse our lighting fixtures here.
Often called “silhouette lighting”, backlighting creates a halo light around an interesting shape or landscape by lighting an area behind the subject. The resulting backlit feature is seen as a shadow with highlights on the backdrop of a lit scene. Fixtures such as the LM-0431 are a good way to create vertical accents to create a silhouette effect. View our fixtures here.
Grazing is a technique used to accent the features of a wall or hardscape surface. By placing the light source closer to the subject, the light creates accents and shadows rather than a wash. While the technique is similar to washing, the effects are quite different. Use this technique when you want to draw attention to your hardscaping. See our fixtures here.
Path and walkway lights are both functional and decorative. They add much needed light to your path at night while providing a beautiful accent to your outdoor landscape. Fixtures such as the LM-3891 Walkway light add both light and elegance to the path you’ll be following. These lights spread illumination across the surface of the walkway and surrounding area, ensuring ease of sight at night.
Manufactured from durable brass, these path lights will give your walkway an elegant look which will complement the rest of your home. See them here.
