Improve Your Patio Design With These 9 Outdoor Lighting Concepts in Yorktown, NY Areas

As you improve your patio and surrounding landscape, be sure to put emphasis on the styles of lighting you want because this will determine how much you can (and want to) use your outdoor living spaces after dark. An optimally lit patio will give you the best outdoor living experience.

Get the direction you need to improve your patio design with these nine outdoor lighting concepts in Yorktown, NY, and enjoy a safe and pleasant space.

Most modern landscape lighting is LED (light-emitting diodes). LEDs use far less energy than traditional incandescent or halogen light bulbs and even drastically reduce the amount of physical waste that bulbs create because they last for many, many years. LEDs are small, so they can fit in hard-to-reach places, making them ideal for special lighting effects. Some LEDs can be programmed to change colors and brightness, so you always have just the right ambiance.

Festive Lights

String lights are a simple addition to any patio that can ramp up the fun and make things feel more lively. Have your landscape contractor install them from high places surrounding the patio, to define the space and give it a festive feel.

Feature Spotlighting

Any remarkable landscape feature has the opportunity to become a focal point after dark; as beautiful as it is during the day, the right lighting will bathe it in glory at night. Spotlighting features such as statues, mosaics, gorgeous rocks, and stunning plants will have a dramatic effect on your patio that can add drama and interest.

Spotlighting uses a single bright light source that’s pointed directly at the feature from an angle so it can achieve full visibility. The result also creates a back-splashing effect that allows light to bounce off the feature, increasing the dramatic ambiance.

The Element of Fire

Fire can make stunning additions to any patio and really turn an experience into something special. Mimic the look of lighted torches with sconces that can be placed in many different locations around your patio such as retaining walls, the columns of a pergola, or even the home.

Moonlighting

Add a romantic touch to your patio with a technique called moonlighting. A light is placed high in a tree canopy to mimic the look of moonlight filtering through the branches to cast soft shadows on the ground below.

Subtle Lighting Incorporated Into Masonry

Any vertical masonry feature is an opportunity to add subtle lighting to illuminate a walkway or a lounge area, to define spaces, and to create ambiance without lighting up the whole backyard like a sports stadium.

Lighting Zones

One of the best approaches to landscape lighting is to create lighting zones that correspond to activity zones. Put the most lighting where the action is, and reduce lighting in low-activity areas such as around a fire pit or a lounge area meant for quiet conversation.

Aquatic Lighting

Any water feature can become a nighttime dazzler with the addition of underwater lights which will provide a blue glow that washes over your patio, with every ripple creating a dancing shadow to add drama as well as ambient light.

Walkway Lighting

Walkways and outdoor living areas can be illuminated in the most wonderful way by using low-lying light fixtures placed either along the walkway at knee height or below and focused downward; or, by fixtures situated among the greenery in your landscaping.