We’ve said it before and I’m sure we will say it again, but at Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we believe that outdoor lighting is all about the effect, not the fixtures. When creating an outdoor lighting design, we look to illuminate all the important aspects of a property without using too many lights. And just a few fixtures (when they are the right fixtures) can make a world of difference.
Take the above example of outdoor lighting in Birmingham for instance. The home’s brick façade is beautifully up-lit , enhancing the color and texture of the bricks. Additionally, the tree in the front yard was illuminated as well. How many lights do you think this takes? 10? 25? 20?
5.
5 LED lights was able to make this home this beautiful at night. The reason it took so few? Marlin Bennetch, of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Birmingham, used the right fixtures for the right effect. LED lights were his choice to reach the top peak of the home and make the brick look warm. A common misconception about LED is that it looks bluish-white, which you can see is not the case here. And the best part? It will cost $7/year for the family to operate.
Path lights are the most over-used fixtures. We’ve all seen the walkways that look like airport runways with rows of lights on either side of them. That is bad outdoor lighting.
This pathway is an example of well design path lighting. As you can see, the entire path is well-lit to ensure safe footing. While you can easily see the path, your eyes do not go to all of the fixtures that are doing the work and that’s because there aren’t that many! At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we only use the path lights. Not only are they solid copper, but they have a wide light spread so not very many are needed.
When looking at an outdoor lighting system, if your eyes go to the fixture before the effect, that’s a sign that something is wrong with the design. If you would like to talk to a trained outdoor lighting designer about enhancing your property at night, please contact your local Outdoor Lighting Perspectives office.