Anytime that you plan out a landscape lighting design, you need to ask yourself several questions. Questions are great way to begin because they will help you narrow down the exact focus of your design. Here are a few examples of what you should ask yourself before you begin planning. You don’t necessarily have to write down the answers, but you should have a pretty firm grasp on how you answer each.
What is the overall desired effect of your lighting plan?
This is a brilliant question to begin with because it will lead your entire process. If you don’t have an idea of why you are creating a lighting plan, then your process will probably be unorganized with a broad focus. You need to decide if the overall purpose of your lighting plan is to highlight an area such as a garden or if it is to simply illuminate an outdoor area so you and your guests can safely use an outdoor patio or deck. You might also want to answer this question by thinking about how your lighting plan will personalize an outdoor environment.
What is the theme that will guide you?
Once again, this is a question that can help guide your landscape lighting ideas. Are you going to be creating a lighting plot that will highlight certain flowers of your garden? Will your lighting make visitors feel like they are in the “rugged outdoors” or will it make them feel like they are in an oriental garden? Not every lighting design has to have a theme, but it is certainly a good thing to think about when your first beginning.
What is the purpose of each specific lighting instrument?
This is a question that you need to ask about every light that you add into your design. If you cannot clearly state the purpose of a specific light, it should probably be taken out of your design. You should think about the purpose of every light because there are so many different kinds of lighting instruments to choose from. If you understand that you need one light to cast a shadow onto the side of your home, then you know that you will need some kind of bullet light or a specialty floodlight. If you know that the purpose of a light will be to illuminate a pathway, then you will want to look at low voltage outdoor lighting instruments like a solar pathway lights.
Hopefully, you understand the importance of asking yourself all of these questions. If you don’t narrow down your focus, your design will not be cohesive throughout. An inconsistent designed is easy to spot and your guests will definitely be able to tell that you did not put as much work into your designed as you should have.