Landscape lighting serves both practical and aesthetic reasons. For homeowners in Chelsea, Michigan great landscape lighting can make you feel safe, secure, and protected. But it can also be a visually stunning and warm aesthetic experience each night you drive back home. When considering your landscape project’s lighting design it is important to keep in mind three factors: security, safety, and aesthetics.
The better lit your home, the less likely it will be invaded or burglarized. A good lighting system for security purposes factors in the placement, coverage, and quality of illumination. Unfortunately, most homeowners in Chelsea Michigan lack the necessary outdoor lighting to prevent home invasions and burglary.
A few overly bright floodlights positioned around isolated areas in your property leaves your home vulnerable to unsuspected intruders. In fact, the brighter the light is, the longer it takes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, making it harder for them to see in unlit areas. An intruder may be only a few feet away lurking in the shadows without you ever knowing.
For security purposes, dimly lit lights blend better with the surrounding darkness, taking less time for your eyes to adjust and distinguish objects. Therefore, security lights that are dim and have broad coverage should be strategically positioned in key areas around your home to make it harder for intruders to pass unseen.
The purpose of safety lighting is to illuminate safe passages through your property in order to avoid any accidents that might occur. They should cover areas with steps and tripping hazards, and where there are any water fixtures or pools.
It is better to use lights with bulb filaments that are not visible. Sometimes they can momentarily blind you, putting you at risk for an accident. As with security purposes, dimly lit lights work better serve this purpose than do floodlights or entry lights. They make it easier to distinguish objects and discern details, while not obscuring the surrounding darkness.
However, elderly people need brighter illumination to navigate pathways than younger people do.
The goal of aesthetic lighting is to create a beautiful and visually pleasing experience that triggers a wide range of emotions and feelings in the viewer. There are no rights or wrongs in aesthetic lighting design, as beauty is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. However, there are certain principles that help ensure your lighting layout produces the visual effect you want.
These include illumination quality, balance, symmetry, and perspective.
• Illumination quality can be romantic, dramatic, or subtle • Balance relates to the contrast and harmony between light and dark areas • Symmetry refers to the equivalence between both sides of a divided line • Perspective is about skillfully placing lights with the viewer’s location in mind
Combined together they achieve stunning visual displays that make your home an enchanting place.
So when considering your home’s lighting design, remember these important lighting factors, their design purpose, and guidelines to ensure you’re your property at night is safe, secure, and beautiful.
