How To Pick Outdoor Patio Lights

I fell in love with the effects of outdoor lighting at a wonderfully romantic restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. As I recall, the restaurant was called Cafe Des Artistes. We sat in the garden amongst whimsical art sculptures while carefully placed outdoor patio lights snaked up and down the trees. It was likely the first time I had seen rope lights before. I was enchanted. Since that night I have eaten in many other romantic restaurants and have admired the outdoor lighting but nothing compares with my first experience.

At my own house, I have tried to replicate the feel of bringing the indoors out which is what properly placed outdoor patio lights should do. I have met with moderate success and I love to experiment. In choosing your outdoor lights there are a number of things you should always consider. I have tried to list the 4 most important considerations below.

1. Determine the purpose of your outdoor lighting. Is the lighting going to be primarily functional and safety oriented or will it be more atmospheric? Some amount of outdoor lighting is needed for general safety. These bright outdoor patio lights should be placed at every door including your garage door. Other types of lighting can be simply for atmospheric effect. Lighting for effect can be dimly illuminated. Mood lighting should be changed about for greater dramatic effect.

2. Where to place your outdoor lights. Lights for atmosphere can be placed in trees shining down or at the base of trees shining up. You can high light any outdoor art you may have or a swimming pool. You can use rope lights to highlight trees or a fence in the distance or often lovely and simple white Christmas lights make a nice year-round romantic setting. As mentioned above, the lights for safety need to be by each door of your house at a minimum and it must be relatively easy to change the bulbs. If the light requires a 20 foot ladder to change, you might go months with a burnt out bulb and that is not at all safe.

3. Determine the type of light you want. These days cost and energy efficiency are important considerations in choosing a type of outdoor patio lights for your home. You could choose solar lights. Solar lighting is very popular and has been recently hyped. Solar lights require careful and cannot be counted on in cloudy or rainy areas. The most energy efficient and thus environmentally conscious is LED lights. These lights can be used as both safety lights and background effect lighting. The price of LED lighting is reasonable and these lights are often chosen.

Check out more articles on patio outdoor lighting, at patio lights ideas.

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December 12 2009 | Home Improvement | No Comments »

Ways To Make Your Patio Look Better

This summer, many patio owners will be looking for ways to make their patios shine. What you might find is that any patio design that brings in the garden around it will do the best job of highlighting the patio itself. You might have a very nice patio but if the garden around it looks awful then the patio will not stand out like it should.

Similarly, if your patio is very plain looking but the surrounding garden area looks spectacular, your patio will look better than it should. If you make sure your backyard looks its best and blends in with the patio, that is the best way to show off your patio. You don't have to spend a lot of money fixing your patio if you spend the time on the garden around it.

This coming summer, you will be glad if you take the time right now to think of all the ways you can make your patio more pleasing to the eye. This doesn't mean that you have to spend a lot of money redoing and remodeling your whole patio. If you take the time to plan your garden you can make your whole patio environment much more enticing. By carefully blending your patio and the garden around it you can make it look like they are meant to fit together.

A lot of home now come with patios that are nothing more than an ugly slab of concrete. While this is enough for most people, those that have a big yard might want a little something more. If you are going to use your patio for entertaining, you will probably be interested in trying to find some ways to upgrade that patio. Anyone can have that slab of concrete at the back of their house but if you have a carefully thought out garden and patio, it will enhance your whole house and even raise it's value.

People who get a lot of use out of their patio want to make it as accommodating as possible and a fun place to hang out. This means you need to use your imagination and pick aout the best kinds of furniture that will be comfortable but will go with the style of the patio as well. The more work you do around the patio with plants and trees as well as the furniture you use will ultimately enhance the look and feel of the patio. You can look in garden and home improvement magazines for all sorts of ideas for your patio remodel.

I have many more ideas such as stone patio ideas on my website. Please visit me at Patio Ideas for more great patio information.

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September 10 2009 | Home Improvement | No Comments »