When evening falls, the garden is transformed. Shapes and volumes create emotional chiaroscuro and seem to dialogue with the sky and the background sounds: the buzz of the city or the whispers of nature that envelop the country houses.
Spotlights, lanterns, wall lamps and lanterns create light effects that compete with the starlight, offering the perfect setting for an evening spent as a couple or with friends.
How to illuminate a garden in an elegant way? We give you some advice for impactful but essential lighting.
Basic rules for garden lighting
Have you ever thought of the garden as the business card of your home? First impressions count!
Outdoor lighting is a fundamental key to creating atmosphere and welcoming guests. In addition to having an undeniable practical function, garden lighting can transform into a real furnishing philosophy .
Follow our suggestions to enjoy the outdoor space on summer evenings and to easily design all the details.
1. Report routes
When receiving guests – not to mention your own safety – it is essential to create easy paths , using the driveway lighting to guide people towards the entrance of the house and to help them move easily in the external areas and along the staircases.
The same applies to driveways and car maneuvering areas. It is the first aspect to take into consideration when designing the light.
A very useful solution, in this sense, is to delimit the paths and walkways with recessed spotlights and step lights . If you prefer something more classic, you can opt for garden lanterns to outline the driveway.
2. Direct the light
When designing garden lighting, pay attention to how to direct the light beam . The latter, in fact, can create disturbance if the light is “shot” towards the inside of the property, or straight upwards.
In the dining area, even more so, the light must be soft and discreet so as not to tire the eyes.
For this purpose, to illuminate the porch you can use outdoor spotlights with adjustable light, to be placed on the ground or in a wall-mounted version.
With the same technique you can highlight the border of your garden, camouflaging the headlights inside the hedge or flowerbeds.
3. Use different types of lights
Implement both ground spotlights and street lamps in your garden decor . Having multiple light sources will help you achieve a beautiful and comfortable effect.
Don’t forget also the lanterns and table lights , useful for illuminating a specific point in the garden, such as the dinner table or the relaxation area. These elements also become a real decoration for your garden!
4. Don’t forget the surrounding lights
In addition to expertly illuminating the most used corners, also remember the entire general setting.
Outdoor light chains are perfect for this purpose : hang garlands on the wall or between the trees, for a fairy-tale atmosphere.
How to illuminate a garden: style tips
Visual comfort is important, but so is beauty. To gratify the eye you can use some little tricks suggested by the best light designers.
Adjustable spotlights
How to illuminate a garden to transform it into a sort of theatrical “scene”? A very effective technique is to use adjustable spotlights to illuminate trees and shrubs from below.
By doing so, you will be able to highlight the silhouette of the trunk – especially if it is a tree with a sculptural and twisted shape – and the texture of the foliage.
The effect is doubly suggestive if it is a variety with small leaves that create a kind of embroidery.
This is the case of olive trees or birches if we also consider the charm of the bark. It can also be plants with large, pointed foliage – such as agaves – or seductive furnishing elements, such as seats and large designer vases .
Camouflage effect
Obviously the opposite advice also applies! Ignore anything that is not pleasing to the eye – such as poorly maintained railings or ugly buildings in the background – and give visibility only to the best “pieces” of your garden.
To highlight a flowerbed or flower border, it is better to change strategy and project the light downwards.
For this purpose you can use small ground lamps of reduced height, to camouflage among the greenery or containers.
By doing this you will be able to play with light in a discreet way, without excessively interfering with the vegetation. To maintain a natural look for garden decoration , you can opt for “camouflage” lamps that recall the colors and details of the plant world.
Minimalist light
An always valid option is to focus on minimal furnishings , such as floor lamps with a modern and linear design.
This type of furniture fits very well into rock gardens and goes perfectly with plants with dark or silvery-grey foliage.
It can enhance, for example, an ornamental flowerbed covered with decorative gravel, where you can insert a tree that projects its shadow on a background wall.
If you want, you can also opt for sphere- or dome-shaped lighting fixtures or outdoor luminous planters and vases, especially suitable for gardens with an elegant and essential style.
Romantic effect
Antique lanterns create a completely different effect and are very versatile in use: they can be placed on the ground, placed on a support surface or installed suspended.
Outdoor wall lights with large metal lampshades, in particular, are very suitable for rustic settings and country houses.
The luminous garlands are also very nice , to be fixed to the trees or to be attached to the structure of the pergola to light up the dining table.
They are great for creating a nostalgic and naïve atmosphere.
Economical ideas for lighting the garden
It is not always the budget that determines the success of a project. Sometimes excellent results can be achieved even with little, by following simple steps that everyone can do.
Play with light
Have you decided to follow the garden project yourself, foregoing professional advice?
In this case you will have to trust your personal taste and take some time to understand how to illuminate the garden in the most convincing way.
To begin, arm yourself with a torch and take an exploratory tour, trying to direct the light here and there, illuminating the trees, furnishings and other external elements.
Little by little you will be able to identify the best angle and the most intelligent position to place the light sources.
DIY installation
When choosing garden lighting, never lose sight of the practicality factor. The ease of installation is very important if you want to opt for DIY.
The light points can be positioned directly on the ground, or require fixing elements to anchor them to the ground or paved surfaces.
The simplest solution, from this point of view, is to opt for wireless battery lights .
If you are undecided, it is better to ask a professional for advice on how to make the electrical parts safe and possibly improve drainage, especially in the presence of very compact soil.
Choose durable furnishings
Low cost does not always rhyme with poor quality. To avoid replacing furnishings too often it is important to pay attention to the product invoice.
Among the elements to consider are resistance to atmospheric agents and the degree of protection against water and atmospheric agents.
Always choose waterproof and corrosion-resistant lighting fixtures: when in doubt, it is better to spend a little more.
Energy saving lights
In addition to practicality, always consider the consumption factor: light sources can be more or less expensive from this point of view and more or less environmentally friendly.
The greenest solution of all are LED lamps and headlights , designed to store sunlight during the day and to illuminate the night with zero impact.
Keep in mind that the best solar garden lights offer lots of options: including timers, motion sensors and the ability to choose between soft and bright, warm or cold light.
