The days are getting longer and the nights are getting warmer, which means it’s time to start thinking about optimizing your outdoor spaces! From lighting and furniture to grills and firepits, a lot goes into making sure your outdoor living spaces are ready for summertime fun. Here are a few of our favorite outdoor lighting tips that will help you take your backyard lighting to the next level and ensure you get to enjoy every moment summer has to offer!
Light Your Dining Area
Tis’ the season to dine with the fireflies. Really though, there is something whimsical and downright magical about being able to take a meal outdoors. By highlighting your outdoor dining spaces you are establishing a main zone and making it not only accessible, but also inviting well after the sun goes down. Chandeliers, string lights, pendants, you name it! Consider the design aesthetic of the rest of your home and the ambiance you wish to achieve for this space and go from there. Adding well-thought out lighting to our outdoor dining areas helps ensure the meals are never rushed and invites a little magic to your summer dining experience.
Highlight Your Landscaping
A lot of work goes into landscape design – trees, bushes, flowers, they all come together to create a beautiful and serene experience, yet, after dark, all of its beauty is hidden under the dark cloak of nightfall. Utilizing landscape lighting, post lights, string lighting, etc., are all wonderful ways to bring life to these areas and create a beautiful backdrop to your outdoor living areas. Don’t know where to begin? Look at your yard during daylight hours – do you have trees that could use uplighting? Fence posts that are begging for fixtures? A firepit area that could use the magic of some string lights?
Illuminate Your Walkways
Help you and your guests navigate the yard safely by properly illuminating paths, walkways and steps. These simple, yet necessary backyard lighting additions define zones in the dark and help guests move from living spaces to fire pits, pools, and other entertainment areas safely and securely.
Keep It Simple, But Give Yourself Options
It may be tempting to go overboard and choose lighting that will keep your outdoor entertaining areas bright at the flip of a switch; however, less is more when it comes to lighting a dark backyard. Instead, good practices include focusing on the types of fixtures (you may only need one of your desired fixtures to create the ambience you are looking for), mixing in a variety of lighting types and options, and installing dimmers. We love keeping things calm and cool during dinner parties and get-togethers; however, having the option to flip another switch or two and brighten up the whole space for cleanup is key!
Take A Look From The Inside
Lastly, in order to truly understand how your outdoor lighting looks, you should take a peek from inside! Consider how the lighting in your outdoor spaces look from inside your home. If the lighting looks cluttered, heavy, or overwhelming, we suggest spacing things out a bit to create a more relaxed and natural looking feel.
Nashville’s Lighting + Outdoor Living Specialists
Ready to optimize your outdoor living space? The friendly and knowledgeable team at Graham’s Living is here to help! Call to schedule an appointment with one of our lighting + outdoor living specialists, or swing by the showroom. We look forward to seeing you!