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.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

December 12 2009 | Home Improvement | No Comments »

Basement Remodeling Basics For DIY Homeowners

Anyone looking for ways to get some added space in their home should not overlook the basement. Some houses have unfinished basements that are unused and can be remodeled to become any type of room that is needed. Most local contractors can remodel your basement to make it a fully functioning room in your house that the whole family will enjoy using.

Basements can be used for many different purposes including being made into an office, game room, movie room, or an additional guest room. If you decide to use the basement for one of these ideas, it can often free up a room upstairs and give you the extra space you were looking for. Additionally, a nice finished basement will always add value to your home and make it easier to sell when the time comes.

If you decide to finish your basement, one of the important decisions you will make is to pick the right colors. As most basements dont get a lot of natural lighting and some get none at all, the color of the walls becomes very important. A basement can become dark and dreary if the correct colors are not chosen.

When you choose colors for your basement, you might stay away from the greens, blacks, and blues as they can sometimes create a darker room that is what you are trying to avoid. Better colors to experiment with are yellows, reds, and oranges that will help add an upbeat feel to any room. Another thing you should pay careful attention to is the lighting as that can help greatly with adding energy to the basement and making it an exciting room.

Anyone contemplating what to do with their basement should know that they can be very creative with it because it is a room that is removed from the rest of the house. This means it can be used for things that might disrupt the house if it were on one of the main floors. If you like to play music or do woodworking, those are two things that might disrupt things if you did them upstairs but in a basement they would be just fine. You should take the opportunity to transform your basement into a room that you can use and enjoy for many years to come.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

September 27 2009 | Home Improvement | No Comments »