Create the Ultimate Outdoor Sanctuary with Patio String Lights

Patio string lights make a fantastic addition to your outdoor space and can create the ultimate sanctuary for you to spend a relaxing warm summer evening in. Getting your outdoor lighting design right is critical for creating the right ambience and some people think that it is a difficult thing to achieve – but creating a lighting scheme doesn’t have to be difficult at all. The rules of lighting are really quite simple and you can apply the same rules to outdoor lighting just as you can indoor lighting.

The number one rule in any lighting scheme is to always have more than one light source. That means that if you are inside, you should never just have a light bulb hanging from the ceiling in the centre of your room. If you take this idea outdoors it means don’t just have a spot light fixed to the wall of your home aiming towards your ‘relaxing’ area. The fact is, that it won’t feel very relaxing, you will in fact feel as though you are trying to escape from a high security prison.

So, when designing your outdoor lighting scheme you need to think about different light sources and the effect that they have on your garden when the sun sets. You need some functional light – so that you can see what you are doing but you also need to add some decorative lights such as patio string lights – so that you can create an enchanting outdoor area. So let’s take a look at designing your outdoor lighting scheme and how by adding some outdoor patio string lights you really can create a garden that you neighbors and guest will be envious of.

Let’s start by taking a look at what points an outdoor lighting scheme should take in to account:

1. You don’t want so much light that is frightens wildlife and contributes to light pollution.
2. You want to highlight hazards
3. You will want to see your guest
4. You may want to read outdoors
5. You want to create a relaxing and peaceful outdoor space

At LiveIn|LiveOut we love solar powered garden lights – they are practical, environmentally friendly, and cost nothing to run. So we exclusively use solar lighting in our very own gardens and we think that you should to. We know that you can achieve the above criteria by just using regular solar garden lamps and they also do not produce enough light to deter wildlife and contribute to light pollution.

By highlighting trip hazards, such as steps and path edges by using lights that are set in the ground and shorter post lights you should also create enough light for you to be able to know who you are talking to in the garden. So that’s the second two of the five points satisfied.

If you want to be able to read outdoors you may have to look at a more expensive solar spot light solution. Failing that, if the cost puts you off, you could always get multiple solar lights and hang them from the porch, pergola or tree that you like to read under.

The fifth and final criteria if your lighting scheme is to create the relaxing and peaceful outdoor space and this is where the patio string lighting comes in to it’s own. Patio light strings come in various lengths and styles, but to be quite honest our favorite are just the plain LED warm white bulb type. The second favorite string light design of ours are patio umbrella lights.these also create a very nice ambience. Patio string lights are a very flexible type of light that add the much needed ‘decorative’ aspect to any lighting theme. Here are some ideas of how you could use them create that ‘sanctuary’ feeling you could:

• Weaving some string lights through the smaller shrubs on your patio creates a stunning visual effect. The shadows that are created, and the green hue given to the light as it bounces of the leaves of your shrubs makes for a very relaxing environment.
• If you have a pergola over your decking you could easily weave you patio string lights through the decking. Having some lights above your head when the sky is dark makes your outdoor spaces seem very cozy and create a real visual treat.
• If you have any trees in your garden the final way that you can use some patio string lights is to weave them through the branches of any trees. If you have a longer garden and you have trees down the far end of it then illuminating these trees with fine string lights adds a real wow factor to your garden and creates a very enchanting setting with depth.

Without the decorative aspect of patio string lights any outdoor lighting scheme would seem very boring and not very inspiring. By using suitable string lights however, you can add depth and excitement to your garden which you can enjoy long after the sun has set.