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If you want to create a lovely outdoor entertainment space for you and your guests, garden lighting is crucial. In this article, we will explore some of the best garden lighting for outdoor entertaining. We’ll also offer some garden entertaining lighting ideas and general garden party lighting tips to get you started.
Why Lighting is Important for Garden EntertainingÂ
When setting the tone of any given space, lighting plays a critical role. The same is true about outdoor living spaces. If you want to create a truly memorable garden area, you’re going to need quality lighting.
Perhaps the most important reason for this is the clear visibility it offers. Good quality outdoor entertaining area lighting makes it easy to enjoy each zone of the garden to the fullest. Whether you’re lighting an outdoor cooking or dining area, or are lighting up decorative elements such as sculptures and architecture, you’ll need quality illumination to get the best results.
Then, there is the ability to create atmosphere with garden lighting. Carefully deploying accent lighting and other types of mood lighting can transform your garden from drab to delightfully dramatic.
Outdoor wall lighting, such as recessed garden wall lights, are an easy way to integrate such lighting into your space. They wash over the walls, providing both decoration and indirect lighting.
Lighting Tips for Setting the Mood in Your GardenÂ
Outdoor mood lighting is crucial to creating a memorable outdoor space for you and your guests. Due to the different structures and nature of the space you have to work with, you can really get creative in bringing your dream to life.
Incorporate Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is your best friend when it comes to setting a mood in your garden. Defined as a layer of light that accentuates and highlights, the role of accent lighting is to bring out the beauty of an area. With the indirect lighting it provides, you can create a soft, inviting glow in the garden.
Illuminating Architecture
If you have any unique pillars, sculptures or accent walls, you can use accent lighting to draw attention to them. In doing so, you will create points of indirect light. These will work together to offer gentle lighting while also enhancing the general appeal of the garden.
Lanterns and String Lights
If you aim to create a more whimsical garden area, including rustic floor lanterns or fairy or Edison bulb lights is a great idea. String lights and lanterns lend themselves to a magical vibe that sets the perfect mood for your summer garden parties.
Make Garden Lighting Work for You
From garden wall lighting to garden path lighting, there are ways to make enjoying your new lights as simple and convenient as possible. Smart garden lighting allows you to control the lights according to your whims or your schedule, depending on which works best for you.
Connecting your exterior lighting fixtures to a smart hub will give you the freedom to turn your lights on or off from your phone or using your voice. The ability to control your lights individually permits you to do things such as running only your accent lights to create a mood, for instance.
Beyond that, you can set the lights to run on a timer or otherwise put them on a schedule. Automating your lighting schedules will give you one less thing to keep track of. Furthermore, the lights turning on and off themselves will be gentler on the environment, while potentially saving you money on your electric bills.
Creating an Inviting Entertainment AreaÂ
Landscape lighting for entertaining areas is only one of the ways you can make the most of your outdoor living space. Decorative lighting is crucial, but so, too, is the rest of what you fill the space with. There are a few other considerations you should make when planning your entertainment spaces.
- If you want your guests to be truly at ease in your entertainment space, providing them with a comfortable place to be is important. Prioritise furniture that is inviting and soft, while also ensuring it is weatherproof to resist exposure to the elements.
- Use your outdoor living space to communicate personality. From island inspired tiki bars to relaxed cottage vibes, you can use the opportunity to create a place you are excited to escape to.
- SAFETY AND VISIBILITY. Path lighting, such as bollard lighting and post lighting, is instrumental in the ability to safely navigate the garden space. By lining walkways with lights, you can help guests get to and from various areas of the garden without tripping and falling.
If you have any raised areas or steps in your garden, lighting them is important as well. Stair lights ensure each step you take is a safe one as you move up and down elevated paths.
Why LED Bulbs are Best
LED lights have long since become the preferred style of light bulbs both indoors and outdoors. By choosing to implement LED lighting for outdoor spaces, you can enjoy many perks that you wouldn’t otherwise get with incandescent or halogen bulbs.
Above all else, LED lights are remarkably versatile. LED lights are available in a huge array of both cool and warm colour temperatures. This helps you create an intimate or energetic vibe, whichever you prefer. Since they are also available in a variety of brightness levels, you have total control over the level of illumination.
If you’re concerned with having energy efficient garden lighting, LED bulbs are what you’re looking for. This style of light uses 80 percent less energy than halogen bulbs, which reduces the amount of electricity they need to run. Lower energy usage will translate to a reduction in your power bill from running outdoor lights all night.
Lower energy use also means an extension of their lifespans. LED lights will run for tens of thousands of hours as opposed to the 1,000 hours or so of traditional bulbs. Thanks to their much longer life, you will enjoy fewer replacements and far less general maintenance.
In a similar vein, LEDs are arguably more durable. They come with IP ratings which will indicate how well the light can resist damages from exposure to the elements.
General Style Tips for Entertainment Areas
Below, you’ll find some quick tips for making the most of your outdoor living space.
- Include garden wall lights for entertaining guests under the warm glow of indirect lighting
- Bring in some character and personality by including planters and pots in patio and seating areas
- Seamlessly integrate your outdoor space with your home’s interior by adding mirrors and art that mimic the style indoors
- Cover unattractive or bland flooring with outdoor-safe rugs
- Ensure the patio has a cover so you can enjoy your outdoor space even in hot weather
Conclusion Â
Good lighting for your entertainment space can make or break the atmosphere and overall enjoyment of your garden area. Keep this article close at hand when shopping and planning for your outdoor living space to make the most out of your efforts.
Decorative Garden Lighting Ideas
Elevate the look of your garden with the ODL055 3 Watt Recessed Black Outdoor Wall Light. This wall light features a sharp square shaped backplate that hosts the raised square lighting fixture. Complete with a ring of opal acrylic, the light is softened and diffused as it leaves the fixture. It generates 300 lumens of 3000K warm white light with a CRI of >80, which will accurately show off the colours of the items in the garden. This IP65 rated light is fashioned out of aluminium and resists rust and corrosion. It measures 87 millimeters by 87 millimeters in size and is finished in sleek black.
Add indirect lighting for your patio and other seating areas with the LWA491 6 Watt Black Outdoor LED Wall Light. This wall light features a cylindrical post and an umbrella shaped lamp shade, both fashioned out of high quality aluminium finished in black. It generates 500 lumens of 3000K warm white light that is softened by the opal acrylic diffuser. It measures 232 millimeters in height, making it ideal for most garden walls.
Delineate the spaces in your garden with the LFL006 5 Watt 450mm Tall Black LED Bollard Light. This bollard light works well as zone lighting or path lighting, making it easier to navigate the outdoor living space. It generates 500 lumens of 3000K warm white illumination that lights up the area immediately around it. Fashioned out of aluminium, this durable light has an IP65 rating that protects it against damages from the weather. The fixture measures 450 millimeters in height.
Outline your paths in a modern way with the ODL028 6 Watt 316 Stainless Steel Recessed LED Ground Light. This light outputs 430 lumens of 3200K warm white light through its clear glass front. It is crafted out of high quality aluminium with a 316 grade stainless steel front plate. Thanks to the IP67 waterproof rating, you won’t have to worry about it taking on water damage.
