Outdoor Lighting Possibilities

If you are ready to do landscaping and outdoor decorating on your new home then one of the things you will need to think about is outdoor lighting. There are many different kinds of outdoor lighting to choose from and the lights you decide to install will depend on how large your yard is, how much landscaping or gardening you have, whether or not you have a sidewalk, your proximity to street lighting, whether or not you have an outdoor patio or deck, and whether or not you have stairs or a porch. There is not right amount of outdoor lighting. You just have to weigh the costs of lighting the outdoors with your aesthetic desires.
If you have a green thumb and your yard is perfectly landscaped, then you might consider outdoor garden lighting. This type of outdoor lighting is meant to accent the beauty of your garden or certain areas of landscaping at night. The lights will generally be soft and pointed up at the bushes, flowers, or trees – not down. Most of the time, the garden lights will be disguised as something else so that they are not noticed during the day. A rock or small statue could be ornamental during the day and your light fixture at night. Other outdoor accent lights are recessed into the ground so that they are not visible at all except for the light that they shed.
 
Another variety of outdoor lighting is security lighting. Especially if your home is far away from a street and cannot take advantage of street lighting, you need to have some kind of flood lighting for security purposes. Most homeowners choose security lighting that is motion sensitive so that it turns on when someone approaches your home. That way, there is not harsh light shining all the time, but you have enough light to scare off a possible intruder when you need it. In addition, the security lighting will provide you with the security of light when traveling to and from your car after dark.
 

Still another important form of outdoor lighting is outdoor patio lighting. If you are lucky enough to have an area outside for social gatherings like a patio or deck, then you want to be able to utilize it at night. Therefore you need to light that area as if it were a room inside your house. Of course, the lighting can be much softer than indoor lighting, but you still want to be able to read so that you could entertain on the patio.
All of this outdoor lighting could begin to get expensive if you were running it every night. It seems like a waste to be using electricity and tying up part of the grid for lighting an area where there are no people doing any kind of activity. A good solution for this problem is solar lighting. Outdoor solar lighting converts sunlight to energy which is stored in a battery which in turn powers an LED. LED lighting is softer than normal light bulbs and is perfect for most outdoor applications.

Recessed Lighting in the Garden and drive

Recessed Lighting in the Garden

Low voltage recessed lighting in garden decking or installed into steps provide additional safety when trying to navigate your garden in the dark and extra security for your property. It is also an attractive addition to a garden and can be used in many imaginative situations to great effect.

Recessed Lighting in the Drive

A further attractive security measure is having recessed lighting brighten your drive. A more convenient way of lightening up the path to your property, recessed lighting in the drive can be integrated with a gate or garage opening mechanism to come on and go off just when you need it.

Recessed Lighting in the Bathroom and Bedroom

Recessed Lighting in the Bathroom

Recessed lighting in the bathroom adds a touch of class to your ablutions. As with the kitchen, you will need Building Control permission before changing an electric circuit in the bathroom, and you will have to use special sealed units to guard against condensation.

Recessed Lighting in the Bedroom

Recessed lighting in the bedroom can create an awesome effect – especially when integrated with existing lighting applications or uplighted coving. Combining recessed lighting with any existing lighting effects is okay provided that you do not exceed the recommend load on the electrical circuit.

Recessed Lighting in the Dining Room and Living room

What better way to create an ambient or romantic mood for dinner than with spot lit recessed lighting. With the application of a dimmer switch on your dining room lighting circuit, you are able to create any mood you wish. Recessed lighting will surely create a talking point over dinner!

Lighting not only illuminates your living room but enhances the beauty of your interior also. When you are going to perform lighting arrangement in your living room, first imagine the spaces which you want to highlight. A tricky arrangement of ambience, task and accent lighting looks best in living room. Try different effects of lighting in living room to make it gorgeous.

(Living Room Lighting - A Center Light Bulb)

(This picture is contributed by "Tanya Batra".)

(Living Room Track Lighting)

(This picture is contributed by "Isha".)

Living Room Floor Lamps and Table Lamps

Floor lamps and table lamps are suitable for bright lighting in living room. These lamps give you the option to move them freely where you want to take them. Table lamps can be used on shelves and tables as they give out lighting inwards. They are commonly used for reading purpose.  The placement of lamp should be accurate so that it wouldn’t produce glare.

(Living Room Table Lamp)

(This picture is contributed by "Isha".)

Living Room TV Lighting

If you watch television in your living room, always use right intensity of light.  Too much or too less amount of light can result in eyestrain and headache. Place a light behind or beside television to produce low level ambient light. Check the position of light properly to avoid reflection while watching television.

(Living Room TV Lighting)

(This picture is contributed by "Anju".)

Living Room Bar Lighting

A series of hanging pendants over the bar looks charming and highlights bar area.Use low voltage fixtures with tungsten halogen bulbs in bar area of your living room. The tungsten halogen bulbs will sparkle glassware placed in the bar area. They also provide extra lighting for serving drinks.

(Living Room Bar Lighting)

Living Room Fireplace Lighting

If you have brick or stone fireplace in your living room, use recessed down lighting in the ceiling. To highlight this area, you can use wall sconces.

(Living Room Fireplace Lighting)

(This picture is contributed by "Isha".)

Living Room Dimmers Lighting

For a dramatic effect in your living room, you can try dimmers. You can change the effect of dimmers according to your mood and activity. Dimmers are practical and flexible and control the amount of light for different occasions.

(Living Room Dimmers Lighting)

(This picture is contributed by "Isha".)

Lighting for Small Living room

Make your small living room appearance large by lighting an entire wall. You can use ceiling mounted recessed lights. For better results, lights should be installed at equal distance from the wall.

Special Effects of Light in Living Room

For creating different effects, you can change placement of lights. To highlight specific areas, you can use spotlights. For maintaining a false impression of ceiling, you can hide light source and can show only its effect.

(Special Effects of Light in Living Room)

(This picture is contributed by "Isha".)

Lighting Tips for Living Room

• Show your interesting paintings by using low voltage halogen lights.
• Use combination of lights like general lights with halogen lights for uniform distribution of light.
• Utilize controlled lighting system to specify separate areas in your living room.   
• Try layered lighting in your living room for different look.
• Make use of low voltage fixtures in china cabinets to highlight things that you want to accent in living room. 
•  Illuminate photos or other decorative plants displayed on your living room wall with wall sconces, recessed lighting or track lighting.  

Recessed Lighting in the Kitchen

 Recessed Lighting in the Kitchen

The kitchen offers a very versatile location for the introduction of recessed lighting. Not just for the ceiling, recessed lighting can be installed under existing cupboards to shine down on working surfaces where you may be studying a cookery book or combining ingredients for a sumptuous meal.

Recessed Lighting in the Lounge

Recessed Lighting in the Lounge

Lounges are a great place to install recessed lighting. The lights can be used with a variety of effects – directional spotlights, floodlights, coloured or discrete lighting can all be used to create the ideal room in which to work, rest and play whilst at the same time highlighting any attractive features of the room.

Recessed Lighting in the Hallway

Recessed lighting is an inexpensive and contemporary way to improve the value and appearance of your home. Any room in the house can benefit from recessed lighting, with the removal of existing bulky light fittings and wires creating a cleaner, more spacious appearance. Whether you are redecorating an entire area of your house or simply require an additional light source in one specific location, consider recessed lighting as a more attractive and modern alternative.

Recessed Lighting in the Hallway

Most new homes now include some recessed lighting in hallways, entrance areas, or porches. Units are installed into the ceiling with only a ring and bulb visible to the eye. It’s a simple, uncluttered look that can be used in nearly any room of a new home, as well as in some areas of an older home.