The best way to light a fence, garden wall, or retaining wall is with low-voltage LED fixtures that wash or graze the surface. This makes it so the boundaries are clear and you can see the textures of the material after dark.
Well-built walls are real investments and they add a lot to the homes where they are found. This is not something most people think about until they disappear in the dark. But with the right lighting, the same wall that disappears into darkness can be one of the best features in the yard.
For this kind of outdoor lighting, two techniques stand above the rest for their sheer versatility. First, there is grazing. This is where fixtures are placed close to the surface and send light steeply along it. Light rakes across stone or brick surfaces, which makes it to where every joint and ridge stands out, casting little shadows. It has a tremendous amount of depth and is quite striking. The alternative is wash lighting which sits farther back and lays softer, more even light across the face. This is often suitable for smoother materials like poured concrete or painted wood fences.
Of course, material is only one part of the larger picture. Another major part is how you’d like the light to make you and your guests feel. It’s here that different techniques lead to different results.
If you have a low glow along a garden wall, that can feel like quiet ambience. But you can have flair and drama, too, if you like that, and with greater ease than you may expect. Shine a single fixture on a stretch of dry-stack stone and watch the material take on a whole new life.
Even seemingly very different types of lighting can be tied together with path lights in between, many of which you can tuck into cap blocks or recess along retaining walls—great for secure footing, but stylish as well.
For your outdoor lighting project, the tricky part will be balancing material, placement, and brightness. But if you’re able to do this well, it will make your wall look like it was illuminated with purpose, rather than simply having a spotlight thrown on it. When you're ready, you can request a free consultation with Outdoor Lighting Perspectives. A COLT-certified technician will come by after dark with temporary fixtures and give you a real-life demonstration of what’s possible on your property.