Outdoor lighting

Lighting is the least expensive thing we do and often the one people notice most. A property that disappears at five in the afternoon suddenly has a front elevation, depth in the trees and a path you can walk without watching your feet.

We plan it in layers rather than fixture by fixture: low light along steps, paths and drives for safety, uplighting into specimen trees and stonework to give the yard some depth after dark, and a warm wash across the front of the house so it reads properly from the road. Fixtures are set where they light something rather than where they are easy to reach, and the transformer is sized so you can add to the run later.

From November we also hang Christmas lighting on rooflines, trees and entrances, and take it down and store it again in January.