Lighting for Patios and Outdoor Living: Lighting the Space You Actually Sit In|How Should a Patio Be Lit? Here Is What Works|Patio Lighting That Gets Used: A Homeowner's Guide

The back of the house is not curb appeal

The front of a property gets judged from the street. Out back the light is around you, not in front of you. Everything changes once you are the one sitting under it. Nobody is grading the back yard from the street. The only test is whether the space gets used.All of which is a long way of saying the back yard is its own project. A roofline system does a great deal for the front of a house and very little for the space behind it. Two spaces, two briefs, and one design conversation that covers both.

Glare ruins more patios than darkness does

A single glaring bulb undoes an otherwise good plan. A bare bulb at eye height blows out your night vision, so the rest of the property vanishes. The fix is to keep sources out of the sight line: step lights, under rail, up in the trees, or behind a planter.

String lights are not a shortcut, they are a real technique

The reason overhead strings feel right is that they define a room. A patio without them has no top to it. Add a canopy of light and the space closes in. Warm and dim is the setting https://becketttllq918.vantagequill.com/posts/outdoor-lighting-greenville-sc-from-roofline-to-walkway-your-outdoor-lighting-options-in-greenville-explained-simply that works, because bright overhead strings turn a dinner into a parking lot.None of this is a question of spending more, since most of what separates a good patio from a harsh one is where things point.

Layers, roughly in order

A patio works best with a few layers rather than one solution. Overhead, underfoot, and a feature or two. Separate switching is worth asking for.

Restaurants and businesses face this too

A restaurant patio is doing the same job for money. Warm overhead light turns an empty evening patio into occupied tables. The same rules apply, only the consequences are measured in covers.

Lighting stretches the season

Without light, the back yard has a curfew. With light, the hours stop being the limit. Mild evenings happen most of the year here, they just happen at night. The lighting is the thing standing between a nice evening and an unused patio.

Warm light near where people sit

Anybody who has sat under a porch light in summer has shared it with insects. Insects respond more to cooler and bluer light than to warm light, which is a second argument for keeping patio light warm. It helps. That is all. But it is worth factoring in.Worth adding: the same warm setting suits the roofline above the patio, so the space reads as one thing.

Getting your patio looked at

Patio lighting has to be planned in the actual space, ideally after dark. EverCrest Lighting does patio and outdoor living lighting for homes, restaurants and businesses in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, out of Greenville. The consultation is free. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or [email protected].

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