If you haven’t read Part 1 of KingsHaven’s “5 Things To Know About Terrace Lighting,” click here, and get started with our recommended steps 1-3 for your outdoor lighting design plan before another gorgeous spring sunset sinks below the horizon.
Without further ado, here are the last two, but all-important, tips from our lighting design team.
4. Make sure to choose light fixtures for your terrace that add design form, even when the lights are turned off. After all, summer is growing nearer, and a lot of your time spent on the terrace will be in the late-afternoon and early evening hours- just before, during and after sunset as the natural light changes.
Because of this, it is always a good idea to choose light fixtures that will in some way make the terrace look appealing, even when the lights aren’t being used. To avoid picking a light fixture that may look less attractive during the daytime, envision it in your space during both daytime and nighttime.
You should find the light fixture as alluring and interesting in its form and look as much in the daylight, as when the light is switched on at dark. Make sure the fixture doesn’t “stick out” visually or draw too much attention, but rather balances the entire space while remaining equally unique.
For example, the designers at KingsHaven chose the Hammersmith Lantern Sconce for the above-pictured Pennsylvania farm-style estate because of the fixture’s transitional versatility and its unfussy charm. The light obviously draws your attention even when its lights are off, and the fixture is not overwhelmingly invasive for the terrace’s spring-time farmhouse garden aesthetic. The Hammersmith Lantern Sconce’s tasteful handmade qualities, mixed with its other handsome details, also contribute to this 200-year-old farmhouse.
Pictured: KingsHaven Hammersmith Lantern Sconce
5. Light outdoor corners, stairways and other exterior spaces that tend to be darkest for the safety and security of your home, family and friends. No need to “invite” unwanted prowlers to hang around your house at night. There is also the need to have well-lit terraces, patios, and steps leading down to the lawn or driveway, so you and your loved ones can walk safely without the fear of tripping in the dark.
We always emphasize to our customers that lighting design plans for outdoor spaces should involve light sources to fully or adequately illuminate walkways and any outdoor setting that is used at nighttime.
Much of this blog post offers the essential “must-know” lighting ideas to engender beautiful lighting in its best forms. Though, with insights and tips for lighting form alone, we’d be remiss. So, we recommend function as another critical part of the outdoor terrace lighting equation.
Start by walking around your patio or other outdoor room at dusk and again when it is completely dark outside. See where dark corners, shadowy alcoves or dim nooks present themselves as being too dark to see well for safe passage and the security of your home. Plan new light fixtures for each of these dark spots that will not only provide sufficient light to brighten them, but also to disperse light to far-reaching areas of need. Yet, gauge how far the light will spread out, so as not to shine your new lights in the windows of your home.
The Hammersmith Lantern Sconce pictured above was permanently fastened to this home’s outdoor stairway balustrade precisely on a landing. It not only provides an interesting design appeal, but its presence yields just the right amount of light to cover the landing and the steps leading up and down from it.
We hope that after learning these 5 “need-to-know” concepts about terrace lighting, you feel well-versed on the topic, and are excited to get started picking out KingsHaven lights for your own outdoor setting. If your terrace presents a hard-to-light challenge, or you simply would like some help, we can light the way for you.
We offer free in-store, phone and email lighting design consultation. Call us at 844-546-4799, or connect through email info@kingshavendd.com.
Or, if you’d like to get inspired about other factors surrounding lighting design, placement and installation before making your lighting decisions, we encourage you to read our, “Where There is No Light, There is No Beauty,” blog.
Happy spring, and let there be light!
~ Your KingsHaven Lighting Design Team