Adding lighting to your home and garden is a simple way of creating that extra bit of warmth, ambiance, and, safety to your home. The effects of Covid-19 saw the whole world enter a global pandemic, restricting everyone to the constraints of their own homes. During this time, many people diverged their attention into their gardens, making it a comfortable and relaxing space for the family to enjoy. 

This brings us to the importance of outdoor lighting and how it can transform even the most basic setting into something magical. The beauty of outdoor lighting is that it doesn’t matter what type or size of outdoor area you have, whether it be a large garden or a small patio, lighting can instantly lift your area, creating a relaxing and enjoyable space. To help you achieve the best with your garden, we have put together some simple tips on what to consider when it comes to outdoor lighting.

Types of Lighting

The first rule to remember is that there are three different types of lighting; ambient, task, and accent. Each is very important for contributing to your outdoor area as they are separately focused, however, maximised all together they can create the perfect ambiance. 

Depending on the area you wish to brighten, you might need to do some calculations about the brightness of the lighting fixture you'll need. 

What is ambient lighting?

Ambient lighting is also known as general lighting, which is the foundation of lighting and is mainly part of any lighting plan. Ambient lighting serves to add a central source of lighting that allows you to safely navigate around and adds that warmth and depth to a room or to the outside of your home. Ambient lighting can be achieved naturally but aside from this, you will typically achieve ambient lighting indoors through chandeliers, ceiling, andwall-mounted fixtures. Outdoors, you can achieve ambient lighting with wall-lights at either side of your door, and ceiling lights for porch areas. 

What is task lighting?

Task lighting refers to concentrated lighting that is required for specific tasks that require a stronger and finer light, such as working, reading, cooking etc. In most cases, task lighting is added to an area that already has ambient light but requires task lighting to add further highlight or focus. Task lighting outside is within security lights, driveways so cars can see the path, and bollards.

What is accent lighting?

Accent lighting is great for transforming your home or garden into a work of art. Accent lighting is used to create a focal point and it is usually built upon ambient lighting and adding that extra highlight to emphasise objects or areas. This type of lighting is often used in businesses to highlight artwork or architectural features.

Lighting up your garden

The next important rule to achieving outdoor lighting is looking at your space as a whole and seeing exactly what you want to do with it. This includes the layout of your garden and what areas you want to focus on, highlight, or require extra lighting due to usage. The perfect lighting setup uses all three types of lighting, ambient, task and accent, by layering them on top of one another to create a stunning installation.

How to highlight garden features

Lighting is a great way to highlight features in your garden, giving them a special and unique look, completely different from their usual daytime aesthetic. If you are looking to emphasis features within your garden, such as water features, statues, or any other feature, then it is important you get the correct lighting that will do this. This type of lighting requires accent lighting, which is completely different from the lighting you would require for security or to add lighting to a large area. Typically for garden features, you may use spotlights or wall-mounted lights. 

Garden security

Security is an often overlooked aspect of a lighting installation, mainly because people think security lights can’t look good as well as protect against unwanted visitors. This isn’t true of course, and the right security lights will always look good if chosen well. To add that extra bit of security, motion-sensitive lights are brilliant for suddenly lighting up the shadows, adding that extra bit of reassurance if any unwanted intruders happen to enter your property. 

You also have the option of added solar-powered lights around your garden, covering all hidden spaces so that your garden is sufficiently lit up. To achieve security lighting, you want to incorporate all types of lighting, with a strong ambient light that is assisted with both task and accent lighting. T

his also requires some thought into the level of brightness you need for your area as for security you will want a high level of brightness compared to the level needed to create a nice ambiance on your garden porch.

Usage area

For areas that require strong lighting due to heavy usage such as pathways, driveways or outdoor steps, you may want stronger and focused lighting that will enable you to see clearly no matter what time of the day or night it is. For your outdoor area you may need task lighting or accent lighting, in the form of driveway lights to highlight the area clearly, spotlights and LED solar lights. 

You may find you need this lighting near your garage, back door or drive way, so its important that your ambient light is strong, which may be daylight and then your task lighting will further support and emphasis this so you can see clearly. 

Outdoor lighting solutions

As we have addressed the types of lighting and where you may require the lighting, its important to know that there are many outdoor lighting solutions, especially at The Online Lighting Store. We are experts when it comes to lighting and understand the importance of having safe, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing outdoor lighting. We have a massive range including, LED lights, outdoor wall lights, portable and more!

Talk To The Experts

Outdoor lighting isn’t something you should do on a whim. If planned well, you can transform your garden into something wonderful, turning it into an enchanting fairyland as dusk settles.Outdoor lighting not only allows you to make the most of your garden, but also adds a stunning aesthetic to your home, adding value to your house price.

If you would like to know more about how you can extend your home outside, then contact us today and our friendly advisors will be happy to have a chat about you and your unique situation.