Lighting Tips for Outdoor Parties

Outdoor parties offer the benefit of allowing you and your guests to enjoy nice weather, warm sunlight, and fresh air. Not to mention that pleasure you feel when dinner is sizzling on the backyard grill. One dilemma that can arise, though, is how to keep the area adequately illuminated as the sun sets. This is where smart lighting tips for outdoor parties can come to your aid.

Mix Different Types of Lighting

There are three common types of lighting: ambient, task, and accent. You should try to utilize all of them in your outdoor space if possible not only for safety reasons but also to create the greatest visual impact.

Ambient light is the general light that blankets an area. You can create this using lights on the walls of your home’s exterior as well as post lights that you string up around the party. Task lighting is needed for illuminating areas where certain tasks are performed. In this scenario, you may set up smaller lights near where the cooking area. It’s also smart to put small lights along major walkways to distinguish them in the dark. Accent lighting serves to draw attention to specific sections of the area. These kinds of lights may be smaller. LED Easter lights for the upcoming holiday and spotlights that point toward an object are good examples.

Make the Lighting Understated

While you don’t want your guest sitting in complete darkness, you shouldn’t blind them with overly harsh lighting either. Lights that are too bright can become distracting or uncomfortable. Make everyone who attends feel comfortable and relaxed by softening the lights without trading the useful levels of clarity they bring. In practice, this could mean finding ambient lights that have dimming features that you can adjust to attain a suitable level of intensity. If you are using spotlights, make sure that their beams do not cross the paths of people walking by as well.

Place Lighting for Safety

It’s easy to forget about those places around your home where the party is not directly taking place. However, you should still place lighting along the entryways to the yard and the sides of your home. As people come and go or take a break from the fun to perhaps answer a phone call, they may venture to these less crowded parts of your property. Peripheral lighting enhances safety for guests and illuminates these hidden areas as well.