Let There Be Outdoor Lights
The last two summers in the UK have been miserable, to say the least and if you don’t have outdoor lighting you’ve probably hardly used your garden at all. Given the experts’ prediction of even more wet summers ahead, it makes sense to get into the outdoor lighting field now so that you can maximise your garden enjoyment in the years to come.
It’s said that an English man’s garden is his own private ‘nation,’ and the fact is you’ve probably spent oodles of time, wads of cash and barrow loads of effort in creating your tiny monarchy. Why then wouldn’t you want to shed a little light on it? It’s just good sense, isn’t it?
Your outdoor lighting project can be as simple or as grand as you like but, for it to be successful, good planning is essential. Decide what you want to achieve with your lighting before you go rushing in to buy the first sparklers that please your eye. And don’t forget that a major aspect to any outdoor lighting scheme is security.
Don’t be misled though – security lights can be defined as any outside lighting that makes your home unattractive to intruders or that illumines any gloomy corners where people might hide. So you could have wall lights, porch lights, deck lights, lamp posts – any type of light that makes your home less attractive to intruders can be classified as a security light.
Probably the best way to enter the security lighting arena is with a simple porch light, which you can upgrade with a movement sensor (known as a PIR sensor) if you wish. The sensor will switch the light on when any movement is detected in the area it covers.
If you have more lofty aims, you could consider installing a lamp post close to your front door. Not only do garden lampposts look very elegant, they are the bees’ knees when it comes to security lighting – their additional height means that they shed their light far and wide. Can you imagine an opportunist intruder choosing a home with a working lamppost by the entrance? No. Quite.
And thinking about the huge range of available lamppost styles takes us neatly to the other, more exciting, aspect of planning your outdoor lighting – the looks that can be achieved. From subtle sophistication to footballers’ wife flash, you can create your own oasis from the world outside your front door.
In these days of improving rather than moving, you can still expand by adding a few outdoor lights to reclaim your garden from the night.
Tags: garden lighting, outdoor light, outdoor lighting, Outdoor Lights
