Accent lighting is a choice about what to leave dark
The difference between accent lighting and general lighting is the question being asked. It is selective by definition. One feature, chosen on purpose, while everything around it stays dark. The dark part is not a gap in the plan. It is what makes the lit part read.The concept is simple to say and hard to hold to. Pick what matters and stop there. The pull is always toward adding, and holding it is the entire skill.
Good candidates
Not everything looks better lit. Texture is the usual test: masonry, tree bark, timber, anything with relief in it. Flat painted siding mostly just gets brighter. Form is the other thing to look for.
The most common mistake
The failure mode is always the same: everything becomes an accent. One feature becomes four as the plan grows. At some point there is no dark left to contrast against, and
https://privatebin.net/?81cbb31d65b1e2a0#CAY5wq9qzN8dsNaoqCX8dL4XYnYsNrNZRTyokZQ7sLqb nothing stands out anymore. A disciplined plan says no more than it says yes.A good accent plan looks thin written down and right in person, which is an awkward thing to sell and an easy thing to live with.
Accent lighting next to the other outdoor categories
On most properties it works alongside other lighting. The other layers are path and bed lighting, security coverage, and the house itself. Accent lighting is the layer that adds intent.
Dimmer than you think
Output almost always ends up too high. After dark it takes very little light to draw the eye, and too much reads as a floodlight. The goal is to draw attention, not to interrogate the shrubbery.
From below or down out of a tree
Direction is a mood decision. Uplighting throws shadows upward, which nothing in nature does, so it reads as dramatic and slightly theatrical. Light from above feels natural, which is why it suits places people sit.
Plants grow. The aim drifts
Anything aimed at a tree or a shrub will be aimed slightly wrong eventually. A shrub uplit perfectly when it went in will grow past the beam. Nothing is broken. The aim just needs a look. Re aiming is worth doing periodically.Aim gets checked the same way the design was made: by walking out at night and seeing what the light is doing.
Where to start
The choices only make sense in front of the actual house, so the plan begins with somebody coming out. EverCrest Lighting installs accent lighting along with landscape, patio, security and permanent roofline systems for homes and businesses throughout Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, based in Greenville. Consultations are free. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected].