What the word actually means
The difference between accent lighting and general lighting is intent. It is selective by definition. One feature, chosen on purpose, while everything around it stays dark. The dark part is not an oversight. It is the other half of the effect.The concept takes one sentence and a lot of discipline. Choose a small number of things and let the rest of the property stay dark. Every plan gets pressure to grow, from the homeowner and sometimes from the company selling fixtures.
What is worth accenting
Not everything looks better lit. Anything with texture picks up light and shows it off, since the shadows a texture throws are the point. Smooth surfaces reflect light without doing anything with it. Shape helps too: a strong silhouette, a distinct form.
Where accent plans fall apart
Plans go wrong by addition. The homeowner likes the first uplit tree and asks for a second, then the whole bed, then the driveway. Once everything is lit, the emphasis is gone, and the plan is just illumination. A disciplined plan leaves most of the property dark on purpose.The best accent plans tend to look almost underdone on paper and exactly right on the property at night, which is why they are hard to sell and easy to appreciate.
Where it sits among the other work
Accent lighting rarely stands alone. The other layers are path and bed lighting, security coverage, and the house itself. Accent lighting is what keeps the result from looking merely lit.
One more thing about brightness
Output is easy to get wrong upward. Your eyes adjust to darkness, so a small amount of light reads as a lot. You are creating a point of interest, not lighting a work area.
From below or down out of a tree
Accent light can come from the ground or from overhead, and the two look nothing alike. Uplighting throws shadows upward, which nothing in nature does, so it feels staged, in a good way on the right subject. Light from above feels natural, which is exactly why it works so well over seating and paths.
Plants grow. Accents need adjusting
Anything aimed at a tree or a shrub will be aimed slightly wrong eventually. Growth closes over a fixture, and mulch, mowing and weather move ground mounted units. It is not a fault, it is just how it works. Re aiming every couple of seasons keeps the plan looking the way it was designed to.Aim gets checked the same way the design was made: by walking out at night and seeing what the light is doing.
Having a plan drawn
Accent lighting comes out of walking the property and choosing. EverCrest Lighting installs accent lighting along with landscape, patio, security and permanent roofline systems for homes and businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina,
https://evercrestlighting.com/permanent-lighting/ based in Greenville. Consultations are free. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected].