At Astra Lumos, we believe that your garden should be enjoyed both day and night. Whether entertaining guests or looking for a place to relax after a long day at work, your garden can really come into its own at night. All you need to do is add a little light. Adding light to your garden is a great way to ‘extend’ the space from your home to the outside, creating an additional ‘room,’ which allows a seamless transition between the two.
The right lighting can illuminate your garden, bringing to life an almost ethereal and magical outdoor space you can enjoy well into the night. During the day, the flowers and plants are the key focus. At night, the mix of light and shadows allows a different type of interest at another point of the day.
You can transform your garden lighting by:
Using natural materials within your garden lighting design
Natural materials are a fantastic way of creating interest within your lighting design. Lighting designs incorporating natural materials help enrich your outdoor areas, by drawing your eye to key features, creating texture and keeping a natural feel to your garden. They also work really well when washed with light at night. This works to create further interest throughout the different times of day and year.
Use layers of light
Layers of light can create both a sense of beauty and function within your garden, regardless of the time of year. Changes in levels are perfect for creating highlights within your garden, as they allow you to move from inside your home, to outside your home seamlessly. From lighting pathways to lighting larger structures and seating areas, layers of light are key for creating the feel that you wish to have. This can transform your garden from “bland” to beautiful, whilst creating the functionality you desire. Layers of light help to create individual spaces within the garden. This helps to focus, highlight or even change moods within the same area. Lighting control systems are key for allowing this specific control and creating personalised moods for you. Have your space, your way, it’s that simple.
Use Spot Lighting to highlight key areas of interest
When used well, spotlighting is brilliant at drawing the viewer’s eye to specific elements of your garden. Whether this is a seating area, sculpture or pond (the list is endless). If you want your garden to stand out, it is worth considering using spot lighting to light up and draw attention to the parts of your garden you are most proud of.
Create contrast
You can create contrast (and interest) within your garden in a variety of ways. Whether you want to emphasise the difference between the light and shade to create a cosy atmosphere or highlight the difference in textures used within your garden design, your lighting choices are key for implementing this. You could use lighting to highlight the differences in colour in your garden. Maybe you want to light up the seating area, but leave the surrounding area darker to create a cosier ambience.
Consider how you want your garden to feel
This then informs your choices on things like lighting structures, colour temperature and the overall design of your garden lighting. Do you want it to feel relaxed? Or maybe you want a slightly more energetic feel? Use this as a guideline to inform your decisions regarding the entire garden lighting design.
Finally, consider how your garden lighting design could impact others
Whilst you will have an idea about the main purpose of your garden design (creating a space to entertain guests, eat outside, relax on a Summer evening etc.) it’s important to consider the implications that lighting design could have on others too. If you live in a rural area, you may want to consider how your design could affect the local wildlife. Equally, if the garden is close to other houses, it is worth considering how you can minimise the disturbance the light may have on those around you. Whatever the implications of the design, there are ways to work around this to minimise impact, and still make sure the design is fit for purpose.
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If you are ready to transform your garden with a great lighting design, contact us today to find out how Astra Lumos can help you do this!
