Having the perfect outdoor lighting in your patio or alfresco area is just as important as having the correct lighting indoors. This can be the difference to making your house a home.
Positioning your lighting can bring any of your outdoor living areas to life. You can use it to highlight certain features as well as adding elements of safety for your family.
For those of you fortunate enough to have a large outdoor entertaining area, you may have this area separated into different zones. For each of these areas to stand out and make an impact, consider light layering. By doing these layers you can easily change the mood to each area by the flick of a switch.
Whatever mood you are trying to create, there are three main different types of lighting that can be used to achieve this:
Ambient
This should light up the entire space. In your insulated patio area this could be included as LED Downlights, lights incorporated into the Alfresco ceiling fan, a spot light or wall lights. If you include a dimmer switch into the hard wiring of each set of lights, it will be easier to maintain the mood. It will only utilise the areas that you want to be lit up.
Task Lighting
This kind of lighting does just as it suggests. It illuminates the area in which you are performing specific tasks. As an example, this may be a light over your BBQ area where you are cooking, downlights situated over your outdoor dining table, party lights hanging around the edges of your patio or more subtle lighting around a spa.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting provides a bit of theatrics. They can highlight features that you want to make pop or where you want to make a space warm and inviting. Accent lighting can be used to illuminate trees, pathways or stepping stones, a statue or architectural feature or even a pond that you may have in your garden. There are a number of different lighting options to choose from. Fairy lights strung around, Japanese Lanterns or decorative string lights. All of these lights come in different shapes and forms, so there will definitely be something to suit your home and style. This kind of lighting can be added to during the festive seasons and for parties etc.
All lighting options usually come in different types, Halogen, CFL or LED. Choosing which type is up to your individual needs and likes. All fixed lighting will need to be installed by a qualified electrician. Check out Suncoast’s full range of lighting & fans for patios.
If you can visualise exactly how you want your outdoor area to look, there are many lighting designers that can help you out. Ask for referrals from your friends or look online. Make sure to do some thorough research so that the look you want to create is done perfectly for you the first time.
Suncoast lighting options
When you have Suncoast Outdoor Living install an insulated patio, we can offer several different lighting options.
With our Flyover patio, we can install Polycarbonate Skylights between the roof and house gutter. This allows light to penetrate into the area and also provides a weatherproof barrier. These skylights will also provide a bug proof barrier when a Patio/Alfresco Enclosure is installed as well.
In our everyday insulated patios, we can install skylight strips which will allow the light to shine through for those darker areas.
Suncoast also install LED Downlights into the ceiling of our patios. These LED downlights can be switched between three different lighting options. Warm Light, Day Light and Cool Light. You choose depending on the ambience you are trying to create.
Suncoast will install the LED downlights and run the wires to the roof space. These will need to be connected to the hard wiring by a licenced electrician. Suncoast can organise for this to be done should you prefer.
Perfect lighting for your patio or alfresco area will make the area so much more enjoyable for your family. Contact us today to talk to our experts or request a FREE quote online.
