California Landscape Design

Lighting Small Spaces

Landscape lighting is a skill that can be applied to sites of various shapes and sizes. Whether you space is large or small, the end goal of enhancing the landscape features during the dark hours remains constant. Strangely enough, it is more difficult to light smaller spaces than large ones.  The biggest concern is usually the amount of light that will fall into the space. A common mistake is having too much light and thus causing a hotspot on a feature or element. In my opinion, no more than 10 to 20 watts of light is needed unless it is a commercial space. Additionally, the size and placement of fixtures in the landscape becomes paramount. Often times, large fixtures are seen dominating landscape area thus not allowing plant material or features to work as designed.  The placement of the fixture in such a confined space can also be difficult, causing a hotspot or not lighting the whole space. 

When approaching these smaller spaces, there are a few tricks that I use and rules that I follow.  The first trick I use is fixture dimmability. Technology has come along way and we now have the ability to dim individual fixtures or groups of fixtures thus allowing you to balance the scene and create the desired look. Additionally, the use of risers to move the fixture up in the space allows the fixture to avoid beam spread conflict of adjacent foliage. Another rule of lighting is to see the desired effect and not the source of the light. During the day, you should see beautiful plant material and landscape features and have the lights disappear into the scene if possible. My approach is to use fixtures with muted colors as they tend to disappear in the space that I intend lighting. Often times the novice installer will immediately go to the up light, and never think about using different methods to light the space. A couple other tricks I use are lighting from above to mimic moonlight and silhouette lighting. When lighting from above I look to foundational elements like trees or landscape structures to mount fixtures to or you can even use the architecture. When silhouette lighting, make sure that you have a canvas to serve as a backdrop for the desired silhouette. This effect is achieved by placing the fixture behind the plant material thus creating a dark silhouette of the object while lighting wall or architecture. Remember, that both moonlighting and silhouette lighting appear in nature.  

Each of these trick and rules are to serve as guides for design. Ultimately, you may need more than one fixture or use wide-angle fixtures to light the entire area rather than just the center.  I recommend trying different methods each time that you install a new project and make sure to visit the site after dark to evaluate the result of your design and installation.  Going back in the evening allows for fine tune adjustments of fixtures to get the optimal effect. You may need to lightly prune the foliage if it is blocking the light from reaching the entire scene but with a little practice, you can get picture-perfect results that you are proud to call your own. 

Remember the most important things to look for are the light intensity, the shadows that you are using to light the area around the space, and how it works with the other areas that you have lit. Please feel free to send me a picture of the completed space during the day and at night and I can offer an opinion or any assistance you might need. david.oborn@hunterindustries.com