The definition nobody gives you
The difference between accent lighting and general lighting is the question being asked. It is not coverage. Point it at a specimen tree, a stone column, a water feature, a front door and stop. The dark part is not
https://pastelink.net/2h6ffp6v a gap in the plan. It is the other half of the effect.The concept is simple to say and hard to hold to. Pick the handful worth seeing and resist adding to it. The pull is always to light one more thing, and holding it is the entire skill.
What tends to earn it
Not everything looks better lit. Anything with surface relief picks up light and shows it off, since the shadows a texture throws are the point. Flat painted siding gives you almost nothing back. Shape helps too: a strong silhouette, a distinct form.
The most common mistake
The failure mode is always the same: too many accents. The homeowner sees one lit feature and wants more, then the whole bed, then the driveway. At some point the property is evenly lit, and the accents stop being accents. A disciplined plan leaves most of the property dark on purpose.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.
How it fits with the rest
On most properties it is part of a larger plan. Landscape lighting covers the beds, paths and trees more broadly. Security lighting covers approaches and dark corners. Roofline work covers the building. It is what makes a plan look considered.
One more thing about brightness
Accent fixtures do not need to be bright. Your eyes adapt, so a small amount of light reads as a lot. You are creating a point of interest, not trying to read a book by it.
From below or from above
Direction changes the whole character. Light from below is not how daylight works, which is why it suits a column, a trunk or a stone face and flatters very little else. Downlighting from up in a tree or under a soffit imitates moonlight, so nobody notices the technique.
Accent lighting is not set and forget
Anything aimed at a tree or a shrub drifts out of alignment over the years. A shrub uplit perfectly when it went in will grow past the beam. Nothing is broken. It simply needs adjusting. Re aiming is worth doing periodically.Aim gets checked the way everything else here is judged: by walking out at night and seeing what the light is doing.
Having a plan drawn
Accent lighting is decided at the property, after dark, by somebody looking at it. EverCrest Lighting does accent lighting as part of a full outdoor lighting plan for homes and businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. The consultation is free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].