LiveIn|LiveOut

If you are like us at LiveIn|LiveOut, you will no doubt appreciate the finer things in life. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to spend the earth on finishing details but it really just does come down to having the right ‘eye’ for things and shopping correctly. Lighting clearly ‘makes’ a place special, inviting and calming. We want you to relax in your space when you finish a long week at work whether it is during the summer months or in the cosy winter ones.

Your house is your home – meaning that you need to be able to relax there, and by choosing the correct lighting you will be able to achieve this with no problems and at very little cost. Outside lighting is just as important as getting your inside lighting right, especially if you like to spend as much of your time as you can outside, gardening or simply just relaxing on your hammock with a beer. Creating the correct ambiance with lighting is simple, and depending on your taste I hope that we have come up with some solutions for you below.

Think about the space you have outside and what may lend itself to being decorated with some sort of lighting feature. Do you have a tree that could act as the focus of your outside space or alternatively, do you have a patio decked with a set of tables and chairs? Patio umbrella lights are ideal to keep the warm, cosy feeling of the hot sun going through into the evening.

If we focus on the patio umbrella as an option for you, we’ll take you through a few options you may like to try.

Your Options for a Lighted Patio Umbrella

Before you start deciding on what style or type of patio umbrella lighting you require, you will need to measure your space in order to get the correct size of umbrella. This may sound obvious, but if you need the umbrella to go up underneath some sort of awning or pagoda, then you will need to know the height you will require as well as the circumference. Lighted patio umbrellas can come as a set – Built in lighting into the actual umbrella unit will help to take away any of the unnecessary faffing with wiring etc. A patio umbrella with lights can come in many forms.

• A patio umbrella light is an umbrella with a single built in light situated on top of the ‘spokes’ of the erected umbrella. These lights can be solar powered, which is really useful in terms of fixing and ascertaining where the wire or plug will have to go, not to mention the hazards of trailing wires. Thegreenhead.com have on sale a solar powered example like this. It works by recharging the tiny LED light from drawing power in from the solar panels that are positioned on the top of the weather proof upper side of the umbrella.
• An umbrella with heater units fixed to the underside of the umbrella. This again is solving more than one problem. The heated units are perfect for keeping off the chill when you have more breezy evenings. This type of unit will work as a umbrella to shade during the day and keep you warm at night, together with decorating your space with attractive lighting. Try researching into this type of umbrella with a built in patio heater. 
• An umbrella with a line of small battery operated lights which are positioned on all of the underside spokes.  This is a really nice option, because of the rechargeable factor.
• An alternative is to decorate your already existing patio umbrella with a set of lights. You can now buy battery operated string lights which you can twist and place where you like. These can be suitable for outdoor use, but be sure to check this before you buy. If you are able to safely store a wire (perhaps under your patio itself) then you may want to bear in mind more permanent options – The only thing I would say about this, is that if the wire needs replacing for example, it may be a bit of a headache to fix problems.
• Think about different colours to change the mood of your surroundings. There are so many different options for you to experiment with, just be careful to give all of things a thought so that you choose the right set for you and your family.

We hope this has been helpful to you, and has given you some extra ideas as to what to do in your outside space. We believe it is all about the lighting so even during the winter we make sure the garden has some sort of accent lighting to brighten it up and make it look more inviting and inspiring!