Whether in private homes or contract contexts, the design of outdoor environments plays an essential role, especially for locations that aim for excellence, to amaze, and to make a style statement.
Here a garden, large terrace, romantic veranda, or sumptuous pool area represent the starting point to guide you in giving life to evocative contexts capable of expressing the mood of the location right from the first glance.
For this to be possible, the right choice of furnishings and accessories is necessary but not sufficient.
There is in fact an element that, more than any other, is capable of making every room magical and making an immediate style statement: the lighting.
Therefore, finding the perfect outdoor lighting becomes the turning point for the success of your project.
In order for this goal to be achieved, a careful study of the outdoor spaces and clear idea of the atmosphere you want to create and the style you prefer is necessary, but remember not to lose sight of the functionality that the lighting must guarantee.
So how do you choose outdoor lighting without making mistakes in terms of style or visual comfort?
The aim of this article is to provide a guide with useful suggestions for the selection of products and materials best suited to your lighting design project.
In particular, we will take a look at:
- 5 tips for garden lighting
- How many lumens do you need for outdoor lighting?
- How to choose outdoor lighting
- Where to place the light points in the garden
- How to illuminate the outdoors. Final considerations
Alibabig
5 tips for garden lighting
We have said how designer lighting for the garden is decisive in creating the right atmosphere and setting the mood of outdoor environments.
Choosing decorative lamps that best meet the aesthetic needs of a lighting project and identifying their correct positioning will be crucial to obtain the desired result.
There are some best practices that you should follow to choose the most suitable outdoor lighting for this specific lighting design project:
- Carefully evaluate the available space.
This preliminary phase is fundamental because it will help you identify the different areas of the garden (for example, the passage areas, pool area, a veranda, etc ...) as well as the natural, decorative, and architectural elements that you want to enhance through lighting. - Differentiate outdoor lighting based on the specific area that will be illuminated.
For example, a backyard will require a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere. While an entryway will need sharper lighting that guarantees perfect visibility. In addition, the lighting of a barbecue area must be sufficiently intense. - Provide multiple levels of lighting.
As is done in indoor spaces, you should opt for layered lighting, which includes three levels of lighting: ambient lighting (i.e. general lighting), task lighting (to guarantee the necessary light for the activities) and accent lighting (to highlight specific elements).
These different levels of lighting can be achieved by combining lamps with different materials and finishes as long as they match. - Consider the overall mood.
Stylistic coherence is a goal that every project must aspire to. Outdoor lamps must integrate harmoniously with the overall concept and the style of the furnishings to avoid an unpleasant chaotic effect. - Choose lights with the right color temperature according to the atmosphere you want to create.
Following these guidelines is essential to carry out a successful lighting design project.
How many lumens do you need for outdoor lighting?
Calculating how many lumens you need is another fundamental step in setting up the right outdoor lighting.
As lighting professionals are well aware, lumens are a unit of measurement for the amount of light emitted by a light source, therefore, more lumen, more light.
In the case of an outdoor environment the amount of lumens needed will depend on the atmosphere you want (more energetic or softer) and the function of each area of the garden.
For example, a dining area requires at least 300 lux of light. While a relaxation area, where you can drink cocktails with your guests, requires a more intimate and suffused atmosphere, so it should not exceed 150 lux.
In any case, in general, the calculation of the lumens needed for outdoor lighting depends a lot on how the spaces will be used.
Ginger
How to choose outdoor lighting
Like when choosing outdoor furniture, in addition to the style of the lamps based on the mood of the location, it is important to keep in consideration the best materials for outdoor lamps.
Outdoor lamps are, in fact, inevitably subjected to bad weather and sudden changes in temperature, which is why it is necessary that they be made with materials capable of resisting atmospheric agents.
For this reason, the body of the lamps is often made with die cast aluminium, stainless steel, PVC, brass, or copper, while, for diffuses, glass, polycarbonate, and ceramic are widely used.
Some manufacturers also use more innovative materials such as cement or fiberglass, which, in addition to being extremely resistant and very low maintenance, allows you to give life to unique and original designer lamps.
Where to place the light points in the garden
We have said that the correct positioning of the lights in the garden necessarily passes through a careful study of the space and the identification of the areas to be illuminated.
So let's take a look at some examples of some strategic points for outdoor lighting in an outdoor environment.
How to illuminate the outdoor spaces of a villa
A luxurious home, perhaps with a particular architectural structure or where quality materials have been used, certainly deserves to be enhanced.
The right idea could be to install a series of wall lamps on the outdoor walls like Agua, a lamp with an essential and refined style.
It has a mouth-blown glass spotlight with a circular shape that evokes a drop of dew and is able to provide an unexpected light on walls and reflective surfaces.
How to illuminate an outdoor porch
The porch is usually the outdoor space used as a dining area.
Therefore, one of the primary needs will be illuminating the table adequately and with style.
A modern and extremely innovative outdoor lighting solution for those who love to dare and amaze could be Leda.
Inspired by the Greek myth of "Leda and the Swan", this is a collection of modular lighting elements, composed of spheres and cylinders in anodized aluminum and a flexible diffuser which allows multiple configurations.
With an arched configuration, it is perfect for illuminating a large table under a porch in an appealing and unconventional way.
Xana
How to light up driveways
The lighting of external paths is crucial to give life to a unique setting that will guide guests between the different outdoor areas and to ensure freedom of movement in total safety, even at night.
Therefore, it will be more than ever necessary to reconcile aesthetics and functionality, and lanterns are a very popular solution.
Abachina, for example, is a lamp composed of two small spheres in white blown glass, anchored to the parallelepiped-shaped opaque aluminum structure.
The luminous spheres, which seem to float suspended in the void, enchant and surprise, recalling the sliding of the balls on an abacus.
Installing several lanterns, at the two different heights, along the driveway, guests will be guaranteed the right visual comfort, accompanying them on an emotionally engaging journey.
This lamp could be the ideal solution, too, to illuminate the poolside.
How to illuminate the flower beds
Whether you are illuminating the flowerbeds or bushes that line the paths or simply, to create a source of accent lighting that creates particularly suggestive scenarios, the outdoor lighting of these natural elements must not be neglected.
An absolutely innovative idea with a strong emotional impact is a lamp like Pois.
It's matte black aluminum pegs, available in three different heights, carrying a white resin spherical diffuser.
Giving space to your creative flair, dense or rarefied, thanks to their ability to “camouflage”, they will conjure the magic of little fireflies on a summer evening for a guaranteed surprise effect.
Alibabig
How to illuminate the outdoors. Final considerations
We have seen how it is necessary when choosing outdoor lighting to have a careful planning phase that takes into account the characteristics of the space that is available, the different functional areas that compose it, and the relative lighting needs of each of them, taking into account the atmosphere you want to create and the amount of task light needed for activities.
From this point of view, it will also be fundamental to calculate the right color temperature, and the three levels of illumination should not be neglected.
The choice of the materials of the decorative lamps deserve equal attention because they must guarantee strength and durability over time.
Last but not least, you will need to select lamps that are in harmony with the overall concept, as well as with the client's tastes, and that are able to amaze thanks to the perfect balance between technique and design.
For more information, support, and assistance in correctly choosing the right models of lamps for outdoor lighting, do not hesitate to contact us at this link. We are at your complete disposal.
