Accent Lighting for Your Home: The Art of Lighting Less|What Is Accent Lighting?|Accent Lighting Done Right

Accent lighting is a choice about what to leave dark

The difference between accent lighting and general lighting is the question being asked. It is not coverage. Point it at one tree, one column, one entry and leave the rest alone. The dark part is not an oversight. It is doing the work.That is really the whole idea, stated as plainly as it can be. Choose two or three features and let the rest of the property stay dark. Every plan drifts toward more, from the homeowner and sometimes from the company selling fixtures.

What tends to earn it

Some things take light well and plenty do not. Texture is the best predictor: masonry, tree bark, timber, anything with relief in it. Flat painted siding mostly just gets brighter. Shape helps too: a strong silhouette, a distinct form.

Where accent plans fall apart

Plans go wrong when the list grows. The homeowner likes the first uplit tree and asks for a second, then a third, then the corners of the house, then the shrubs. At some point there is no dark left to contrast against, and the accents stop being accents. A disciplined plan leaves most of the property dark on purpose.The best accent plans tend to look almost underdone on paper and exactly right on the property at night, which is why they are hard to sell and easy to appreciate.

Accent lighting next to the other outdoor categories

Accent lighting rarely stands alone. The other layers are landscape, security and roofline work. Accent lighting is what keeps the result from looking merely lit.

Output is a design decision

Accent fixtures do not need to be bright. Your eyes adapt, so a small amount of light reads as a lot. The goal is emphasis, not visibility.

From below or down out of a tree

Accent light can come from the ground or from overhead, and the two look nothing alike. 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 comes from above, the way light normally does, so nobody notices the technique.

Plants grow. The aim drifts

Anything aimed at a tree or a shrub will be aimed slightly wrong eventually. A shrub uplit perfectly when it went in will grow past the beam. It is not a fault, it is just https://trentonbsba618.lumenforgex.com/posts/outdoor-lighting-for-businesses-what-it-buys-you-beyond-looking-nice-why-commercial-outdoor-lighting-matters-after-the-sun-goes-down-lighting-a-commercial-building how it works. Re aiming is worth doing periodically.The test is always the same: go outside at night and look at it. If a fixture has drifted off the subject, it takes a moment to correct.

Getting it designed

Accent lighting comes out of walking the property and choosing. EverCrest Lighting does accent lighting as part of a full outdoor lighting plan for homes and businesses throughout Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. Consultations are free. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or [email protected].

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