The art of landscape lighting

Small is beautiful

You don't need acres of land to enjoy a lightscape at night. Even a small apartment deck will do. Light a small fountain, a wind chime or a few pots and a seating area. "If there's rain or snow, it's so cool to see that weather going on at night. It's magical to see snow falling at night," Moyer says.

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Relaxing

Low light levels are soothing in areas meant for relaxation. The human eye is easily overwhelmed by brightness. "We evolved without artificial light beyond firelight," says Tom Williams, of Williams Landscape Lighting Design, in Portland, Ore., who designed the lighting for this outdoor fireplace.

Here's how he did it: He installed a single low-voltage 20W MR16 flood lamp in the home's eaves. Beneath the hearth he inserted and glued in place a "linear" incandescent fixture by Robert's Step-lite into a channel (called a "dado") that had been carved by the stonemason. The mason also made holes in stone steps so that low-voltage wires could be pulled through the stone to the lamps, secreting the path lights from view. Early consultations between lighting designer and stonemason are crucial in such projects.

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Outlined in light

Homeowner Alan Feldstein installed this deck lighting at his Studio City, Calif., home. The fixtures are installed under the deck railings and directed downward to place the light where it is needed for safety on the walking surface and keeping the deck free of glare. Portland, Ore., lighting designer Tom Williams consulted with Feldstein by phone. Williams says he likes the rope lights but, next time, he'd make an improvement: "I'd suggest the homeowner cut a "dado" — a slot cut into the underside of the handrail — to essentially "bury" the rope light and keep the light, emitted from the side, out of our view."

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Entrance

Plan your outdoor lighting so it moves people safely from the street to your home's entrance. This is done by using the brightest lights at the front door. This entry at a home in Stonington, Maine, was lit by Moyer to be attractive and bright even though none of the lights glare or shine directly at visitors. Moyer suggests keeping other outdoor lights somewhat lower, signaling to visitors the bright entrance as their destination.

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Read:  How to light up the night

Mystery

The entrance to this Gunnison, Colo., home is lit quietly but effectively, with depth and mystery. Although the area is not flooded with light, there's plenty of strategically placed illumination for safety on the steps and path. When lighting a path from street to door, make the destination brightest, the beginning of the journey medium intensity and the lights in between the least bright of all.

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Drama

Jan Moyer lit this dramatic but spare scene at the opening of the drive leading to a client's home in Bluffton, S.C.

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Outdoor room

A tranquil effect is achieved using only the light needed for each space. Direct task lamps at work areas, like a grill or bar, rather than blasting an entire deck with light that's too harsh. This lets you dial down the intensity elsewhere. "When you are sitting on your deck at night, enjoying a glass of wine with somebody, you're not reading a book," Williams says. "You just need enough lighting to see everybody, to get up and get another cocktail or use the restroom." Moyer lit this Palmetto Bluff, S.C., home.

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Like Mother Nature

In daylight, objects are lit from all sides. At night, if you shine a light on just one side of something that's three-dimensional, it'll appear flat — and strange, says John Pletcher, whose Kansas City, Mo., company, Natural Accents Outdoor Lighting, designs, installs, maintains and repairs outdoor lighting. These trees, at a home in Pt. Reyes, Calif., were lit by Moyer. Light hits them from several directions and makes them seem deep and full, just as in daylight.

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No floating islands

Professional lighting designers work to illuminate an entire object. If you shine light at just one area — the gable of a home or the top of a tree, for example — it seems to float, ghost-like, in a pool of darkness. You can't see what it's connected to. "Don't leave your eye in the sky," Moyer tells students. This tree, lit by Moyer at a home in Westchester, N.Y., is visible from top to bottom although the sources of the light are hidden.

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Start small

When starting out, it's a good idea to choose a manageable project, selecting a limited number of things to light. "A homeowner should go out and pick out one element: their favorite little red-leafed Japanese maple, or whatever it is, and light that one thing first," Pletcher says. "Light that one thing very well. And then go, 'OK, that's my scene. Where is my scene going from here?'" By lighting a landscape piece by piece — whether doing it yourself or hiring a pro — you get to learn from your mistakes and spread out the expense. Moyer lit this clump of calla lilies at a home in Atherton, Calif.

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Choose a single element

Learn by lighting one favorite thing in your garden beautifully. "It's better to have one element lit very well than to have several elements lit poorly," Pletcher says.

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Maintenance

Keeping a magical garden scene at peak performance requires maintenance. Like everything, outdoor lighting requires attention once installed. The earth freezes, heaves, thaws and settles, shifting fixtures out of adjustment. Rodents dig up installations and chew wires. Light bulbs must be replaced or the rest of the system will draw too much electricity.

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Controls

When planning an outdoor lighting system, think over how you'll control it. Will you install a switch inside the house? Use an electronic timer, which can be set for sunset in your time zone? You might want to install a timer inside the transformer of your 12-volt system and hardwire the transformer to the home's electrical supply, Pletcher says. Or you could plug the system into an outside outlet, on the home's exterior or in the garage. The most elegant (and expensive) approach is to hook outdoor lights into a smart system that runs electronic home systems like security, heating and cooling, and indoor lighting.

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An investment

Hiring a designer and installing an outdoor lighting system is not inexpensive. The upfront cost is higher if you buy better-quality components but the investment pays off down the road, as the system will need fewer repairs and replacements. Outdoor lighting is increasing in popularity. "I think what's changing is that people are spending more time at home," Pletcher says. "If you can't afford a vacation, you can afford a staycation."

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Read:  How to light up the night