The 13 Garden Lighting Ideas Designers Use to Bring Outdoor Spaces to Life After Dark — Their Top Tip? "You Don't Need to Illuminate Everything"
The best lighting ideas add depth and interest, truly breathing life into your garden design when night falls
It might sound screamingly obvious, but without the right lighting, life would appear a little flat, particularly after dark. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of garden lighting, where the right design scheme can mean the difference between a space that feels just as welcoming and considered as the inside of your home, and one that is nothing more than a bland patch of outdoors.
According to Mike Kazer, founder and design director at London Lightworks, the key to getting your outdoor lighting ideas spot on is to step into the project with a crystal-clear idea of what you want and how you plan on using the space. "Do you enjoy modern garden ideas with lots of light and bold, dramatic features, or are you looking for something much more delicate and minimal, with subtle pockets of light that create atmosphere without overpowering the landscape?"
Once you have a concept of how you want the end result to feel, you can begin to develop a lighting scheme that really delivers. Let this selection of inspiration be your starting point.
Mike Kazer is Design Director and founder of London Lightworks, an independent lighting design consultancy specialising in high-end residential and commercial projects. Having worked in the lighting industry throughout his professional career, Mike has experience across both interior and exterior lighting, with a particular interest in how carefully considered landscape lighting can extend the architecture and character of a home beyond its walls.
1. Don't Overlook the View From the Inside
Spend some time inside your home looking out — ask yourself which features you want to light up for the best views.
Before ever setting foot outside, your garden lighting begins to have an effect — particularly in heavily glazed spaces, where creating the right view is everything. Come nightfall, simply staring out into a black abyss is hardly appealing.
When developing a garden lighting design scheme, Luke Thomas, group design director at John Cullen Lighting, makes the outlook from inside a priority. "A garden is often viewed from inside the house for more months of the year than it is experienced outside, so always stand inside and look through each important window when positioning fittings. Avoid glare or visible light sources and make sure fittings aren't directed back toward glazing, pathways or seating areas."
"One of my favorite techniques is to position discreet miniature spotlights or floodlights in pots and borders just beyond windows and glazed doors," continues Luke. "By illuminating planting immediately outside, you draw the eye beyond the glass at night, making the interior feel larger and creating a much stronger connection between the house and garden."
Fran Deanes, senior lighting designer at Brilliant Lighting, agrees that the right outdoor lighting scheme can transform your indoor spaces. "Exterior lighting isn't only for when you're outside. A beautifully illuminated tree or garden wall can effectively become artwork viewed through the windows at night."
Luke has been in the lighting industry since 2008 and heads up the UK design team at John Cullen Lighting. Working collaboratively with top designers, architects, contractors and clients, Luke has been involved in a wide range of projects offering design-led solutions which improve our experience of spaces. He has been involved in a wide range of schemes from new build Wentworth mansions to hotel renovations through to Scottish Castles.
Senior Lighting Designer Fran has been working as a lighting designer for seven years, after completing her degree in interior design.
2. Use Mirrors to Enhance Your Lighting Scheme
Strategically-placed mirrors help to bounce light around — and can help visually expand a small space.
The lighting ideas you choose for a small garden should have the power to add richness and depth to the scheme, drawing the eye to individual and carefully curated planted spots and features rather than toward its limitations.
Mirrors and reflective surfaces — even water garden ideas such as small pools or channels — work so well in more compact spaces, allowing light to bounce around freely at the same time as creating some beautiful shadow effects.
Within this scheme, a stairway has been surrounded by architectural plants and lit by a combination of downward-facing stake lights and hidden uplighters — a mirror adds sparkle and an enhanced sense of space.
3. Celebrate Darkness as Well as Light
Avoid the temptation to over-light the garden — you need areas of darkness too.
It is important not to get so carried away with your exterior lighting design that you end up with a space that feels more like a floodlit football pitch than a garden in which to linger — and this is where leaving a few areas in darkness comes in.
"Resist the temptation to illuminate the entire garden," picks up Luke Thomas. "Darkness is just as important as light in creating a successful scheme. Instead, choose a few beautiful features to light, perhaps a sculptural tree, an architectural shrub, a piece of sculpture or textured stone wall, and selectively light these."
This scheme uses lighting to ensure the waterfall steps remain just as much of a feature after dark as they do in the day, while hidden light sources highlight the quirky sculpture and a select handful of trees — these features are made all the more striking thanks to the areas of darkness that intersperse them.
4. Uplighters Aren't the Only Way to Give Trees a Glow
Suspending lights within tree canopies adds a magical effect over seating areas.
Adding in tree lights is a quick way to create focal points within gardens of all sizes — even more petit species can be transformed into works of art when illuminated.
That said, while uplighters are undoubtedly a fantastic way of doing this, it is important not to feel restricted to these light sources — mixing things up a bit avoids the whole thing looking too paint-by-numbers.
David Haslehurst, founder of Moonlight Design, reveals the technique he favors. "We sometimes put hanging lights into trees, such as these Starry lights, which are copper tubes with holes in. They tend to work best if a few are installed into a canopy of leaves — you get a glittery light filtering through the foliage."
David has over 30 years’ experience as a horticulturist and lighting designer, combining his skills to create exciting yet practical lighting schemes for private and corporate clients, garden designers, and landscape architects. He began his career as an apprentice for the Royal Parks, working at Buckingham Palace, Kensington Gardens, and Hyde Park and even grew the indoor plants for 10 Downing Street, as well as creating planting designs for films such as Saving Private Ryan and corporate events, including HRH Prince Charles’ 50th birthday party.
David set up Moonlight Design in 2003 and it now specializes in high-end, bespoke interior and exterior lighting projects.
5. Strategically Place Floor Lanterns to Soften Paving
Floor lanterns can send a wash over light over expanses of paving for a warmer finish.
While spacious patio ideas on which to sit and host your outdoor parties might be top of your wish-list, large areas of paving can end up looking characterless and overly formal. This is where the right lighting comes in — in particular low level floor-washers and exterior lamps.
"The use of floor lamps is something we regularly like to use in the garden," says David Haslehurst. "The low-level lanterns offer a layer of lighting to a terrace or path and are also a good way to define an area. We hardwire these, so they are not portable, but permanent features."
The entire finish of the above hard landscaping scheme is lent a beautiful, diffused glow thanks to the combined use of floor lanterns and hidden light sources to draw attention to the surrounding greenery.
6. Light the Architecture, Not Just the Ground
Don't forget the transformative effect lighting can have on your house itself.
Don't overlook your front garden when thinking about exterior lighting — they arguably more important than those tucked away at the rear of your house, and certainly have more of a role to play when it comes to setting the right tone and adding curb appeal.
While practical lighting needs to stay at the forefront of your mind in terms of ensuring safe passage from your vehicle to your front door after dark, Fran Deanes, is keen to highlight the importance of enhancing the design of your home with your garden lighting too. "Use discreet uplights to graze brick, stone, columns or textured walls. This creates depth and makes a property feel much more considered after dark."
Wall washer lights work really well here too, giving a spread of light that can often be adjusted to suit your particular property.
Brushed brass comes together with twin glass diffusers in the design of this sculptural wall light, which manages to look just as stylish in daylight as it does when night falls.
7. Anything Can Become a Feature When Well Lit
Look at what you already have in your outdoor space — with the right lighting it could become an eye-catching feature.
While lighting up your favorite tree, piece of garden artwork or a water feature is the perfect way to ensure all eyes are directed where you want them, don't feel you must rush out and hunt down something new to illuminate — in many cases, the right lighting can transform what you already have into something that looks spectacular once the sun has set.
Travis Hogue, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, explains that he begins the process of designing an outdoor lighting scheme by assessing what's already there to work with. "I always start by walking with the homeowner outside so we can identify the focal points and sightlines that matter most."
Look around your garden and note down any trees, shrubbery, walling and so on that could become a stand-out feature. In the case of patio lighting ideas, even the paving materials or any changes in levels can become features when properly illuminated.
Travis Hogue is the owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives locations serving Greater Orlando, Daytona, Melbourne and West Palm Beach, where he specializes in designing and implementing customized outdoor lighting solutions for residential and commercial properties.
8. Explore Floor Lighting Options Thoroughly
Floor lighting comes in many guises, including tiny floodlights like these.
Garden lighting needs to be multidimensional if you really want to make the most of whatever space you have available. What that means is looking at each and every element that goes into making up the space and assessing its lighting potential.
The 'floor' of the garden — be that a grassy lawn or a paved pathway — is an area that often gets overlooked, yet it can underpin the rest of the entire scheme.
That said, Luke Thomas suggests exploring all the options to ensure you are getting the right effect. "Rather than always using a narrow spotlight, consider a miniature floodlight to softly wash light across a wider area of planting or paving. The effect can feel wonderfully natural and understated."
9. Build Up Layers of Lighting for a Multi-Dimensional Finish
A layered lighting scheme is essential for a space that feels considered.
A layered lighting scheme is always the way to go if you want a space that can be used for all kinds of activities, as well somewhere that enjoys visual depth.
"Layering is key to creating a successful lighting scheme, both indoors and out. In exterior lighting, we use the different heights, depths and distances within the landscape to build a sense of depth and atmosphere," says Mike Kazer who goes on to explains how he approaches the process of building this kind of scheme. "We might start with low-level lighting within planting beds, particularly those close to the house or outdoor seating areas. From there, we look at interesting mid-level planting and trees.
"Finally, we look further into the landscape and use taller, more distant trees to create a sense of perimeter and enclosure," continues Mike. "This helps to extend the perceived boundaries of the garden and creates depth beyond the immediate seating or entertaining areas."
10. Draw the Eye Upward as Well as Out
Ensure you light the upper sections of a garden as well as those at floor level.
When layering lighting outdoors you need to take into account the height of your garden too, and the levels within it, be that a fence, hedging or trees. This can work particularly well in making a small garden feel bigger, distracting the eye from the boundaries and drawing it upward instead.
Fran Deanes explains how its done. "Combine low-level path or step lighting with mid-level wall lights and higher-level illumination through trees or façades. This prevents the garden from looking flat."
String lights running overhead are a great way to finish things off with a sparkling flourish.
Perfect for draping from trees, fences and pergolas, the simple design of these festoon lights will work in all kinds of garden schemes.
11. Create a Moonlit Effect With Cool Light Temperatures
Moonlighting involves using cooler light temperatures in specific areas.
Just as when designing a lighting scheme indoors, you need to pay attention to the color temperature of your light sources if you want to ensure they are delivering want you want.
"Moonlighting is a good example," picks up Garrett Cunnington, founder of Loudoun Lighting. "If I am installing fixtures high in mature trees to create the effect of moonlight filtering through the canopy, I may use 4000K or potentially a cooler source.
"Most of our garden lighting is warm – typically around 2700K to 3000K – but a 4000K, or even somewhat cooler source, high in a tree can help suggest the cooler, slightly blue appearance we associate with natural moonlight."
Garrett Cunnington founded Loudoun Lighting with a simple philosophy: great outdoor lighting should be beautiful, functional, and thoughtfully designed for the property.
12. Subtlety Is Key to a Cozy Dining Experience
For an outdoor dining area to feel intimate, take a less is more approach to lighting.
There is a real skill to lighting outdoor dining areas in a way that allows them to feel warm, welcoming and inviting at the same time as being bright enough to be fit for purpose as the light fades.
Mike Kazer highlights the importance of glare control in this kind of space. "It's fundamental. Good glare control comes partly from the fitting itself, but mostly from how it is positioned and angled within the surrounding planting. We want you to see the effect of the light, rather than the light source itself here."
Along with lighting that is wired in to your overall scheme, a few strategically positioned portable lamps will really help create the right ambience for al fresco dining, shedding cozy little pools of light wherever you want them.
The simple design of these mini rechargeable lamps will slide in with all kinds of garden designs — they can also be used as pathfinders thanks to the ground spikes included.
Perfect for adding a soft, subtle glow rather than anything too demanding on the eye, the push-up design of this lamp that means you can close it up when not in use — ideal for minimalists.
This smart little touch-control lamp is fully waterproof and comes with the added benefit of being dimmable too. If green isn't your thing, it also comes in another four shades.
13. Be Selective With the Features You Highlight
Choosing just a few features to illuminate is far more effective than lighting up too much.
Too many focal points quickly equals no focal points — just overwhelm. In terms of garden lighting, this means being a little picky with the features you choose to highlight rather than just aiming a beam of light at each and every tree or structure within the space you have available.
"Pick a beautiful tree, sculpture, planting bed or architectural feature and make that the hero," advises Fran Deanes. "You don't need to illuminate everything."
In fact, a less is more approach was something all the design experts encouraged, including when it comes to pathway lighting. "Avoid creating an airport runway effect by using evenly spaced lights on both sides. Staggered fittings or lighting nearby planting usually looks much more natural," says Fran.
One of the biggest outdoor lighting mistakes is to overlook the beauty of natural light from features such as outdoor fireplaces or firepits — they are the perfect way to add both visual and physical warmth.
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