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When you’re focusing on how to light your outdoor living space, you’ll want to concentrate your efforts on three areas: accent, task, and overall. Accent lighting highlights a specific element, like a water feature. Task lighting makes it easier to see as you’re accomplishing an activity, such as enjoying a meal with family and friends. Overall lighting aims to brighten up the entire space so that you can enjoy cookouts, pool parties, and birthday festivities. Regardless of the type of lighting you’re looking to add to your outdoor living space, here are some points to consider before you begin the project:
Have a plan ahead of time
If you purchase fixtures with no sense of the overall vision for your outdoor living space, you’ll probably end up with some regrets. Though you may want to start your outdoor lighting project immediately, put in the necessary pre-planning work to ensure that the lighting options you choose give a cohesive feel while illuminating the desired areas perfectly.
Choose your fixtures carefully
When selecting a fixture for your outdoor living space, you’ll want to consider the area in which you’ll place this piece. You may spot a great fixture that you’d love to have in your backyard, but if it won’t fit easily over the table you purchased, you’re going to be in for a disappointment. Also, don’t forget to carefully check the materials. You want your fixtures to be made of weather resistant, durable  substances that won’t take a beating during heavy rain or humidity.
Focus on key spots to brighten
While lighting adds ambiance to your outdoor living space, it also serves an important function: to keep guests safe and to deter intruders. When you’re deciding where to place outdoor lighting, there are a few areas that should earn your focus, including:
- Your home’s entry points
- The sides of the house
- Outside of the garage
- Pathways
If you’re not totally sure which spots you’d like to illuminate, think about how your backyard looks when you’re sitting inside your home. What are the focal points? It may be a fountain, a pergola, a pathway, or a deck.
Beware of light pollution
You want to maximize the use of your outdoor living space, and proper lighting makes this possible. However, improperly placed lights can cause significant light pollution as they negate your view of the stars, make it hard to sleep, and drive energy bills up. Here are some ways to keep light pollution to a minimum: 
- Use low-wattage lighting: Higher watt bulbs drain energy and don’t necessarily improve your ability to navigate your backyard at night. Opt for low watt choices whenever possible in order to create a soft glow, without an unpleasant glare and high energy bills.
- Place lights on timers: This will ensure the lights are in use only when you’re actively enjoying the space, and not when you’re trying to get rest or watch TV inside the home.
When brightening up entertaining areas, keep the lights soft and subtle. No one wants to feel like they have a spotlight on them as they’re enjoying a meal.
Consider the use of LED bulbs
Not only are they more energy efficient than other options, but they also last longer!
Looking to brighten up your outdoor living space just in time for your next cookout, pool party, or barbecue? We’d love to shed some light (pun intended!) on the situation! Contact us today to get started.
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