Summertime invites us outdoors, to spend more time in the natural spaces that God made us for. We were not created to dwell indoors, and, in the Northeast, where we experience four distinct seasons, summertime is the best time to maximize our outdoor time. Outdoor lighting, well planned and well placed, creates ambiance that allows us to enjoy our outdoor spaces and extend party festivities or times of quiet reflection well past sundown. Being outside at night is magical, and it’s easy to create a night-time retreat that invites family and friends to linger.
Brilliance of Outdoor Lighting
With the moon and stars as our backdrop, firelight, candlelight, and torchlight all create a warm, welcoming glow that also serve to keep mosquitos away. Fire pits and chimeneas invite guests to gather and linger, and maybe even roast some marshmallows. Seating near the fire can be as simple as patio chairs and picnic benches, or can be custom, built-in benches around more elaborate, permanent gas fireplaces.
Tiki torches bordering decks or patios create a barrier against mosquitos, a visual boundary of outdoor gathering spaces, and provide lighting for evening parties. If you have multiple outdoor spaces, placing tiki torches along a path from one space to another will invite guests to explore your yard at night. Candles placed on serving tables or dinner tables give ambient warmth. Chunky votives, skinny tapers, and short tea lights grouped together add visual interest. Citronella varieties also serve as bug repellent. While battery-operated LED candles do not provide bug repellent, they do create appealing displays without the safety concerns that may accompany open flames.
Outdoor Lighting Ideas
Vintage glassware has become an anchor of casual decorating and can be used indoors or out in a myriad of applications. Outdoors, LED tealights can be dropped into mason jars and grouped together on tabletops, along stone walls, or hung with thin wire from cross frames or pergolas. Glass candleholders can also be used to light paths that guide guests to your front door or through your outdoor spaces. Christmas lights wrapped inside glass jars make another charming décor option. While mason jars are the decorating staple, different styles of colored glassware provide a unique, varied glow.
Strings of Christmas lights, white or colored, can be wrapped around railings, draped from umbrellas and canopies, and hung along structural framing. In the summertime, stringed lights make even the most basic outdoor spaces glow. In addition to traditional Christmas lights, there are a myriad of themed light-strings appropriate for any party theme or summer style. The possibilities are endless.
Warm Appeal of Outdoor Lighting
While casual, flexible lighting options are an essential part of our laid-back summer sensibilities, permanent outdoor lighting plays an important role in creating the ideal outdoor space. When guests approach your home at night, up lighting gives an inviting first impression. Solar lights illuminate garden borders and paths. The added brightness of motion lights increases your guests’ comfort as they move around your outdoor spaces.
The warm appeal of outdoor lighting in our gathering spaces speaks deep into our souls. We were created for light, we need light, and thus we seek light. Ultimately, the light our souls long for is the true light of God that illuminates our deepest darkness.
An outstanding value Horizon Landscape offers is a complimentary demo of a lighting system to evaluate the look and feel for yourself. We want you to be 100% satisfied with the results before you commit. Just another reason we are the perfect choice for your outdoor lighting installation projects.
Contact US today to experience a live, no obligation display at your home!
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5