When you first think of landscape lighting ideas your mind probably wanders to color-change LED strips or bright pool lighting. Instead, have you ever considered what the absence of light might do for your outdoor design?  Whether it’s a beam of sunlight piercing the louvered slats of a pergola or a spotlight lighting up an old oak tree on a warm summer’s night, shadows have the power to influence our emotions and moods.  If you’re designing (or redesigning) your yard, outdoor kitchen, or pool area at your Encinitas home, it’s as essential to start think about the dark as it is the light. Below, we give you some ideas that use lighting to emphasize shadow.    

Make Use of Patterns on Pergolas 

There are few more dramatic landscape lighting ideas than taking advantage of the geometric patterns on pergolas.  Use directed downlights positioned above the pergola roof to create bold shadows on the ground in an outdoor dining room or kitchen. If your pergola overhangs your pool or hot tub, you could even use it to create mood lighting for those night swims and soaks.  This idea works on other large structures, too. Create similar shadows by positioning lights to shine through decking walls, trellised fences, or even French doors. When creating these structures, try to think about how the light and shadow might play off their design from the beginning. 

Highlight Outdoor Art Works 

Do you have a lot of outdoor wall or garden art? Why not highlight some statement pieces using creatively placed art lighting?   This type of landscape lighting doesn’t just shine a big bright spotlight on your work. Professional lighting landscapers use high-quality, low-key fixtures and a combination of spot and directional lighting to show the dips, hollows and details in a piece of art.  That’s how playing with shadow comes into play. You can use shadow to emphasize the texture of the pieces in your collection or highlight specific parts of a wall mural.  This idea also works well on pieces that combine water and art, such as fountains and artistic downspouts. Anything you want to highlight in the yard of your Encinitas home can be enhanced playing with shadows. 

Tease Out Texture 

As we mentioned above, shadow lighting can be used to highlight artworks, but did you know you can also take advantage of cleverly positioned LED landscape lighting to highlight texture?  Perhaps you have a carefully curated rock garden full of sculptural cacti and succulents. If you want to enjoy this garden as much at night as in the day, use light and shadow to highlight the twisting forms of the plants and the unique crevices of the natural stone.  Likewise, shine light in an almost parallel manner onto a textured wall, an outdoor fireplace, or any other patterned surface in your yard. This technique, called grazing, creates a contrast between the humps and hollows in the texture. 

Cast a Shadow on Trees 

Is your Encinitas yard dotted with large or attractive trees? Perhaps you have a sizeable exotic palm or two nearby your pool. Make a feature of these beautiful gifts of nature by maximizing the intricate shadows they create using outdoor landscape lighting.  First, you need to install a bright light, like a small to medium-sized spotlight (depending on the size of your tree) or a bullet light at the base of the tree. Point it so that its beam moves along the trunk and into the branches of the tree. This will cause the shadows of leaves and branches to appear on the horizontal and vertical surfaces surrounding the tree.  The patterns will shift across the landscape, creating visual art every time it gets windy and as the sun sets. 

Tap into the Trend of Moon Lighting 

Have you already heard of moon lighting? It’s where you use landscape lighting design to create the effect that the full moon is lighting your garden, yard or pathways.  The key to creating this magical effect is using long-lasting LEDs fitted with soft white bulbs and placing them in just the right places. Since the lightning will be outside all the time, you’ll need to choose weatherproof fixtures that don’t stand out.  While your property doesn’t have to be large, moon lighting works best when you have a lot of trees and plants on your property. If you’re concerned you don’t have the suitable space for it, try moon lighting in just one area to see if you like it before investing in it for your entire yard. 

Shadow a Pattern onto a Feature Wall 

If you really want to get creative with shadowing effects, why not intentionally create some patterns on a wall, floor, or pool?  You’ll need to choose an area with a flat surface, such as one wall of your home. Hunt around online for a pattern you like. Between ocean waves, jungle plants, flamingoes and more, you can get creative with this part!  Then, you need to create a cut out of this pattern in weatherproof wood or metal to fit in front of a light. If you’re handy, you can DIY it. Otherwise, you’ll need to call in professionals in the Encinitas area.  This screen sits in front of spot or directional lighting, casting the pattern of your choice onto the surface. 

Devise a Dappled Effect 

Don’t you just love it when you’re laying out on your lawn on a beautiful summer’s day and the sunlight streaming in through the leaves of the tree above you casts dappled light on the lawn? It conjures up the picnics of Jane Austen or lazy vacation days by the lake.  You can create a similar evening effect in the trees in your yard using downlighting. Position the downlights very high above your trees, using a cooler, dimmer light to replicate moonlight or a warmer light to replicate sunlight. 

Implement Landscape Lighting Ideas in Your Encinitas Yard 

When it comes to landscape lighting ideas that emphasize shadow, you really have to think creatively. To get the effect you want you’ll often need to use lights in ways outside of their intended purpose.  Whether you’re struggling to hunt down the perfect lighting fixture for your needs in the Encinitas area, or know what style you want precisely, you’ll find the expert advice you need at Lighting Distinctions. Contact us for a complimentary consultation today.