Beautiful terrace lighting will instill a unique atmosphere in the back yard of your summer cottage or suburban home in the USA. The romantic vibe of an evening garden is a mosaic that consists of numerous subtleties, among which illuminations plays a leading role. The beauty of interior and exterior design elements will demonstrate new facets once you apply appropriately selected outdoor lighting ideas.
Terrace Lighting: General Hints.
- The color tone of illumination is a choice of crucial importance. If you aim to create a magically heart-warming atmosphere, you should prefer warm yellowish lighting. Even the terrace selection of lighting fixtures should lean towards the traditional style in this case. Have a closer look at hot Spanish colonial designs, lamps shaped to resemble candles or fire flames, or opt for fiery Turkish mosaic fixtures.
- Adverse weather conditions are what any outdoor area is constantly exposed to. Make sure any lighting fixtures (or other electric appliances) you employ on the terrace are fitted with appropriate weather protection. Otherwise, a pelting rain may knock them out of service.
- The safety of children and pets (if you have any) should be a focus of your lighting scheme. Electrical wires and other dangerous elements should be hidden away and irreproachable. With a view of this, US expert designers insist that predominantly LED lights should be used on a terrace, as they are not heated to dangerous temperatures when on for a long period of time.
- Movement sensors are recommended for usage withing the outdoor illumination layout. They will sense your movements and turn the lights on and off automatically. Thus, you will save a pretty penny on electricity bills. As a pleasant bonus, you will no longer need to try and gropingly find the switch when it’s dark.
- A portable LED lamp is a highly useful acquisition for owners of a terraced home. Make sure the fixture is water-resistant and features remote control.
8 Fashionable Outdoor Terrace Lighting Ideas.
- Light up the canopy. The simplest outdoor terrace lighting idea is to arrange some lamps so that the canopy over the entrance is lit up. There’s always enough place for several lighting fixtures, and laying on electricity wires should not be a difficulty. Just like any other terrace illumination idea, the canopy lighting should match the styles of both terrace interior and exterior:
- For a house that boasts a traditional appearance, wooden and wrought lamps will be perfect.
- A modern-looking home will benefit from metal and smoked glass fixtures distinguished by glossy shining.
- If the terrace is designed as an Arabian patio, employ ethnic Moroccan lamps.
- Simple spotlights or neon lights will suit chaste styles, such as Minimalism or Modern.
- Outline the terrace. Another idea is to illuminate the corners of the building with the help of large lamps (either floor-standing or wall-hanging). This solution allows you to draw clear contours of the terrace zone in an impressive fashion, while also building comfortable visual boundaries of this area.
- Illuminate the entrance. Illumination on both sides of the entrance or above it is an appealing idea of creating a stylish lighting scheme for your terrace. You can employ a pair of identical tall or low floor-standing lamps, two wall lamps, or a string of lights. The latter will cascade from the canopy in a splendid manner. Strings of lights can also be used to decorate some other terrace structures, such as the overhang or the pergola, the vertical garden or the fence. Do not underestimate the potential of this lighting source, believing it to be a decoration intended only for Christmas. Sparkling strings of lights can make every day of your life feel like a holiday!
Color choice tips: Lilac, pale pink or fuchsia lights are beneficial for terraces that feature an ultra-modern design. Shades of yellow, red or orange will suit a home that is traditional both inside and outdoors. Be very careful opting for blue or bright white strings of lights, as they are able to create an overly urban, uninviting atmosphere. - The stairs. One of the simplest yet most striking ideas is to lit up the stairs. It will result in an eye-appealing sight, especially if the stairs are located in a prominent place. The steps may lead either from the garden to the terrace, or from the terrace to the upper level that accommodates a sun-bathing area, a pool or a whirlpool tub. You can apply LED light strips to the banisters or the steps. A more classic variant is to purchase floor-standing or wall lamps. There must be several lighting sources over the stairs. Otherwise, the steps will have shadows, which will complicate perception of the dimensions of each step and may lead to injuries.
- Illumination of plants and podiums. Highlighting the vertical garden or tall plants and adding a lighting accent to the podiums represent an idea that is especially popular with USA and UK designers. The latter involves illuminating the height difference between levels of the terrace floor. Spot lights are usually utilized to implement this solution; however, depending on the overall design concept, the podiums may be lit up with the help of a LED light strips, sometimes even with a blinking effect.
- Glowing cachepots. Fashionable glowing cachepots for ornamental plants have long been delighting the eyes of visitors of designer roof restaurants across the world. Not so long ago, they’ve been introduced into the terraces of suburban cottages. The number of variations and themes is infinite: from a neon-glowing cube to romantic cachepots shaped as small houses or cute birds. Such replacement of boring ordinary flower containers will become an amazing decoration of your garden and terrace! Some of them can be powered by solar cells, while large and energy-consuming variants require electrical wire to be laid under the terrace floor.
- A real fire. Building into the terrace floor a container intended for a real open-flame bonfire is a fresh and incredibly fashionable idea in the design of private cottages. For the project to exhibit wholeness and integrity, you can decorate one of the walls with an illuminated panel that depicts flames. It may be composed of colored glass or mosaic pieces.
- Lighting fixtures built into the floor. Think about arranging groups of small spotlights that will show your guests the path to the dining area of the terrace, to the patio, or to the garden.