Mood-Lighting for Your Backyard

Since Canadian winters seem to last forever and ever, it’s important to make the most of the nice weather. Many homeowners do this by extending living space to the outdoors. This will go beyond the typical patio set with umbrella where you eat after you’ve barbequed, but instead involves living rooms complete with a fireplace, full dining rooms and even kitchens. There are only so many hours of light, however, between the time you get home from work and bed time, so what do you do? Create mood-lighting for your back yard!

Creating the Mood
Gone are the days of ugly, glaringly bright, bug-drawing porch lights. Landscape lighting involves creativity and art and is more about featuring key elements of your home and yard and setting a mood, rather than being able to see at night just like the sun is shining. Indirect lighting can be plenty at night if you’re just looking to enjoy a few drinks with friends. If you’re worried about drawing bugs, LED lights produce less UV, which the insects are drawn to, than traditional high-voltage bulbs.

Uplighting
Do you have some interesting plants or trees surrounding your property? Consider uplighting. A small light placed at the base, shining upwards will highlight your special foliage. Uplighting can also create a softer ambiance if wishing to showcase an architectural feature of your house, rather than spotlighting.

String Lights
String lights are no longer just for Christmas time. You can wrap them around larger tree trunks and lower branches for a unique look or zig-zag retro-looking globe (also called bistro) string lights across above your deck, creating a ceiling of soft, romantic light.  String lights are perfect for giving light to any outdoor living space.

Chandeliers and Lanterns
Finding a gorgeous chandelier can be the perfect addition to an outdoor dining space, especially if you have a covered porch or patio. It can be traditional or retro, farm-house or fancy, depending on the mood you’re wishing to set.  

Lanterns of various shapes and sizes can also create a beautiful effect. They can easily be transported around your yard if the party moves from pool-side to gazebo, but can also be hung on the walls of your home or on your fence for added light.

Moonlighting
If you really want to create a magical, romantic mood, moonlighting is the perfect way to do this. By putting a small light high in the branches of a tree and facing it downwards, the diffusion of the light through the leaves simulates moonlight, perfect for a garden path.

Whichever type of mood you wish to create for your backyard – romantic, mystical, dreamy or the dance party of the year, outdoor landscape lighting will do the trick. It will help you to make the most of your outdoor space, drawing you out on warm summer nights, whether it’s dinner with family, drinks with friends, or simply unwinding with a glass of wine after a long day.