Live Like a Floridian: How to Light Up Your New Backyard Oasis
Building a new custom Florida home? We at ICI Homes hope you’ll include outdoor living space so you can enjoy the Sunshine State’s great weather year-round.
Outdoor spaces are natural playgrounds, whether it’s a cookout or impromptu social gathering, and there are few nicer ways to observe a sunset than kicking back on your lanai or back porch to view it.
Go whole hog with a summer kitchen and a pool. Or, tend vegetable gardens and flower pots. But, regardless how you use your outdoor space, think carefully how you’ll light it. There’s no need to flee indoors when the sun goes down, especially when the weather’s nice!
Here’s how to light up your new backyard oasis.
The obvious stuff
The cliche is the globe light fixture at the back door, but trust us, there are better solutions.
Once you know how you’ll use your backyard oasis, think about where you’ll need lights. Both a lone gas grill or a full summer kitchen need good task lighting from overhead. You don’t want to slice grilled food while someone aims a flashlight at the cutting board. Nor do you want to truck that chore inside. The point of having a summer kitchen is to avoid messing up the one indoors!
Outdoor eating and seating areas are other places that require good lighting. Lounging in a back-porch rocker to finish a book is a great way to end the day, with crickets and cicadas chirping in the distance. But you’ll need lighting to read, whether it’s a paperback or an electronic device.
Hanging fixtures, built-in fixtures such as wall sconces and weather-hardy floor lamps all are good places to start for outdoor lighting needs. And don’t forget to light pathways, pools and pool decks, and all entrances to the house.
The fun stuff
You know you need good overhead, task and safety lighting for your backyard oasis.
Check.
Now let’s have some fun.
Electricity isn’t your only option. Although if you don’t want to pack away strands of indoor holiday lights, string them around covered windows and potted ficus plants. They’ll contribute cheer for the other 11 months of the year.
Solar lights, especially those that illuminate walkways, capture Florida sunshine by day and glow safely all night.
And never underestimate the power and beauty of candles. Twinkling en mass, they’re timeless ambient lighting. Be sure to place something sturdy and nonflammable under them, or tuck them into lanterns. Framing pillar candles with glass hurricane shades is pure Florida style.
Make it ‘smart’
Use technology with your electric lighting.
If you build with us at Mosaic, one of our newest communities in Daytona Beach, you’ll have a smart home. Each Mosaic home is a smart home (the entire community is WiFi-equipped), which means you can control your indoor and outdoor lighting with smart light bulbs and downloadable apps, or voice-activated assistants such as Google Home and Amazon Echo.
Turn lights on, off or dim your entire backyard oasis with a swipe of a control pad or a voice command. This means mood lighting for date nights. Stadium lighting for pool parties. Or, activating specific floodlights to ensure it’s only a varmint rattling trash cans.
view it.
