GARDEN ROOM LIGHTING | Top tips from ITGR and LSP

Into The Garden Room are experts in designing and creating bespoke and contemporary garden rooms. They're on a mission to reimagine the way you live by taking indoor living outdoors. Having worked together previously, and also collaborating at the stunning Glasshouse Collective, we wanted to bring our expertise together and share some top garden room ideas when looking at illuminating your garden room. Keep reading to get some top tips to help you when installing lighting into your garden.

Creating the perfect garden space is about much more than just the structure itself, it's about creating an inviting atmosphere that seamlessly blends indoor comfort with the beauty of your garden. One of the key elements that will help to achieve this is finding the perfect balance of lighting. At Into The Garden Room, we've partnered up with outdoor lighting experts Landscapeplus, to bring you professional insights on how to perfectly illuminate your garden room for both functionality and aesthetic. 

Why Lighting Matters In Your Garden Room! 

Lighting plays a multifaceted role in enhancing your garden room experience. Here are some important garden room ideas for using lighting effectively:

1. Functionality: Making sure you have effective lighting can make all the difference to your garden room. Whether you're using your contemporary garden room as an office, a gym or even if you're entertaining your friends, you want to ensure you have functional lighting for a variety of activities. 
2. Ambiance: The right light can really help set the mood for different occasions. For example, it can create a relaxing atmosphere for meditation or an energising environment for exercise. In order to suit a variety of needs, it's essential to choose the right light fittings! 
3. Safety: It's always important to consider safety, and how people will navigate to and from the garden room, especially at night when the visibility is poor. Consider lighting fixtures such as marker lights or path lights to help with navigation along pathways or up steps that are leading to your dedicated space. It's also worth thinking about highlighting hard to navigate areas within your garden too! 
4. Aesthetic: Strategic lighting can help highlight specific features within your garden, helping to add depth and create stunning visuals. It can draw attention to beautiful plants, water features or artwork, enhancing the overall design. This is your perfect opportunity to really show off some features within your garden, such as water features, or a beautiful feature tree you have in the garden! It's your chance to get really playful and creative with your light fittings and the effects they create. 

Expert Lighting Tips For Your Garden Room

The collaboration between Into The Garden Room and Landscapeplus brings together unparalleled expertise in garden room construction and outdoor lighting. Here are some top garden room design ideas for you to consider when creating your lighting scheme. 

1. Layer Your Lighting 

Paul at Landscapeplus talks about the F.A.F Principle that the team at LSP use when working on lighting plans with their customers. 

The F.A.F Principle brings in 3 different layers of lighting that you can include into your garden. Function, Aesthetic and Feature. All are important and help create a great ambiance in your garden in different ways. Used separately, these principles can enhance an outdoor living experience but when you combine all three harmoniously, you'll see how the perfect lighting scheme can elevate an already beautiful space to the next level. 

• Functional Lighting: Arguably the most important part of lighting a garden, this is your safety element. If you're working to a stricter budget with your client, this is often where we would advise to start. Looking at the areas of a garden that need lighting; driveways, pathways and steps, working as marker lights to create safe walkways through the space. 
• Aesthetic: The next layer is where you can start to get really creative with your light fittings. Aesthetic lighting will help to create ambiance and atmosphere in your garden. For example, this can be lighting planting within beds, or illuminating small to medium sized trees or shrubs. 
• Feature: Feature lighting is the final layer to the F.A.F principle and is where you can really show off something special in the garden. If your garden has a sculpture or feature tree, this is your perfect opportunity to show them off with a stunning lighting display. 

While on the topic of lights and layering your garden, it's important to mention about choosing the right colour temperature. 

“Colour temperature can dramatically affect the feel of your space” notes our lighting design team. Here’s a guide to choosing the right colour temperature for your garden and your functional space.

• Daylight (5000K  - 6500K) - Mimics natural sunlight, making it great for activities that require a high level of visibility or for combating seasonal affective disorder. 
• Cool White (3500K-4000K)- Provides a crisp, energizing light perfect for work or study areas.
• Warm White (2700K - 3000K) - Creates a cosy, intimate ambiance ideal for relaxation areas or evening use. At Landscapeplus is ideal for any outdoor lighting fixture. At this point, it's also important to be considerate of Dark Skies, which is becoming increasingly more popular when looking at outdoor lighting. If you want to learn more about how to effectively light your garden and be Dark Skies compliant, check out our blog here>>

2. Extend Your Living Space Outdoors 

At Into The Garden Room, we believe in blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces. Optimising the use of lighting to extend your garden room’s ambiance into the surrounding landscape is a great way to start. 

• Install pathway lights leading to your garden room for safe navigation and a welcoming atmospheric approach. 
• Use uplights to illuminate trees or garden features, creating a stunning backdrop visible from the inside of your garden room. 
• Incorporate string lights or lanterns for a magical, whimsical touch to outdoor seating areas. For example the Ortus Charm light offers a unique lighting effect to help bring your garden to life (pic below)
• Consider installing a lighting control system to manage both interior and exterior lights seamlessly
  • It's worth mentioning motion sensors at this point. They are a great solution for providing light only when it's needed, for example highlighting the pathways when navigating around the garden. When not in use, the lights will simply turn off. Motion sensors are also a positive when it comes to being Dark-Skies friendly. 

3. Incorporate Smart Lighting Solutions 

Landscapeplus recommends integrating smart lighting solutions for ultimate control and convenience in your garden. 

• Install dimmable LED bulbs for adjustable brightness.
• Use motion sensors for energy-efficient outdoor garden lighting. 
• Implement smart home systems to control your lights remotely or set automated schedules.
• Consider colour-changing LED systems for ultimate flexibility in setting the mood.

Landscapeplus’ lighting range now features the in-lite system, which we have seen in-situ first hand at The Glasshouse Collective. They have a variety of fittings beautifully positioned around the space creating a stunning display, especially as the sun starts to set! Just check out the picture below and you’ll know what we mean! 

The in-lite system is arguably the simplest lighting system for your garden. Featuring the EASY-LOCK and push fit connections, you can install all of your light fittings without the need for an electrician! All you need is an outdoor socket. 

Another great thing to know about the in-lite system is you can connect motion sensors, adjustable dimmers and set automated schedules, all from their designated app! Plus, their app features a variety of scenes to help set the mood if you are hosting some friends! 

4. Maximise Natural Light 

While artificial lighting is crucial, make the most of natural light in your garden room design:

• Position your garden room to capture optimal sunlight throughout the day.
• Install large windows or sliding glass doors to bring the outdoors IN.   
• Consider adding skylights or sun tubes for additional natural illuminations. 
• Use light, reflective colours on walls and ceilings to bounce natural light around the room.
• Control natural light with sheer curtains or window films to soften sunlight and reduce glare.

5. Create a Magical Ambiance 

• Spike Light: Can go straight into the ground, and it’s a great option if you want to light up some shrubbery or a tree, leading to your garden room. 
• Path Light: Why not illuminate your path from your house to your garden room. Even just a few pathlights will help to create a bit of ambiance in your garden, and also add that level of safety for people navigating the space in the dark.    
• Recessed lights: Perfect if you have steps leading from your house to your garden room. Adding a few recessed lights can help create a stunning transition from home to garden; as well as taking into consideration the trip hazards of steps!   
• Wall lights: Why not add a bit of ambiance and aesthetic to the outside of your garden room with a couple of wall lights. You can get a variety of fittings, offering lighting effects in a variety of different directions.  
• Decorative lights: Really bring your garden room and surrounding garden to life: 
  • Lanterns: Use decorative lanterns with candles or LED bulbs to add an elegant touch to your garden room. 
  • Pendant lights: Try unique pendant lights for an eye-catching focal point and customised lighting design. 
  • Some of our go-to decorative fittings at Landscapeplus are the SWAY TABLE and the VOQUE from IN-LITE. They are perfect if you are wanting to add a little bit of flair into your garden and really make a statement! 

6. Bringing It All Together

From the initial planning stages, both Into The Garden Room and Landscapeplus teams work together to ensure that the garden room and its surrounding landscapes are conceived as a unified whole. Consider the following garden room ideas: 

• How natural light will interact with the garden room throughout the day. 
• Where artificial lighting will be most effective for night-time use.
• How to create seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Ways to use lighting to highlight key features of both the garden room and the surrounding landscape. 

The result is more than just a well-lit garden room. It's an immersive experience that changes with the time of day and the seasons, allowing you to enjoy your outdoor space 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

Conclusion

Remember, great lighting design is about creating layers of light that can be adjusted to suit different moods and activities. Whether you're looking to create a cosy reading nook, a productive home office, an invigorating yoga studio, or an elegant entertainment space, the right lighting can make all the difference. 

By combining Into The Garden Room's expertise in creating stunning, versatile structures with Landscapeplus' mastery of lighting design, you can create a garden room that's not just a physical extension of your home, but a true oasis that's beautiful and functional day and night.