Outdoor Lighting Schemes

Fall is the season when I seem to take most advantage of our backyard outdoor lighting. Less daylight means longer evenings in the backyard while it is still warm enough to bar-b-q enjoy the patio set until bedtime. It also means that I turn on the backyard lights a little earlier each evening to enjoy the late summer nights.

During the longer days of mid summer, it seemed that I could cook and entertain relatively late without worrying about turning on the lights. Safety is a big issue for me, and I like having stairs and pathways of my back yard lit well enough so my friends and family don’t end up in a bush. But now that the days are shorter, I just enjoy turning on the lights so that my evening guests can enjoy the ambiance as much as I do.

My love of designing outdoor lighting schemes really only began when my partner and I bought our current house. I first saw how charming and romantic an interesting lighting scheme and a few well placed spotlights could be one time I was dining at a downtown restaurant patio after dark. Since then, we have experimented with the lighting plan in our backyard every year, adding and moving string lights, sometimes adding rope lights, sometimes using twinkly lights. Generally the color palette is only white, though sometimes I use color as an accent.

To start with you should think of any areas that will be tricky in the dark for anyone who is not familiar with your backyard. To keep your guests (and yourself) safe, make sure that doorways, main pathways and steps and stairs are well lit. These are probably the areas that you will want to install permanent lighting. Keeping these main areas well lit will prevent any unexpected tripping.

After ensuring that your main areas have been well lit, you can take care of the interesting part of your backyard lighting design. Wrapping rope lights around the trunks of trees is always a striking effect, as is using spotlights to focus attention on an interesting statue or bush in your garden. For special occasions I have a string of twinkly lights that I’ve placed in the ivy along our neighbours fence. And my favorite effect is always natural light – torches serve double duty as a lovely ambient touch, as well as keeping mosquitoes away by burning citronella oil.

Spending some time to design the lighting scheme of your backyard can be a very rewarding experience. Having guests over to enjoy the outdoor ambiance that you have created is a perfect way to enjoy your outdoor space. Remember that changing the outdoor lighting design is easy and inexpensive, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different placements and types of lighting. You could change your lighting design every year, or your might end up finding the perfect combination, and decide to keep it as a permanent backyard lighting design.