From an aesthetic point of view, Nightscaping® may be said to take up where landscaping leaves off, its purpose being to create through means of lights and shadows - after dark - as charming a picture of grounds and gardens as landscaping creates in form and color during daytime hours. The aims of both are the same - aesthetic as well as functional. 

Landscaping is the arrangement of lawns, flowers, shrubs, bushes and trees, together with non-growing articles of beauty, for the purpose of creating during daytime hours the most pleasing and charming setting for the structures on the property. Nightscaping®, on the other hand, is the selection, placement and arrangement of those light sources which illuminate all or a portion of the landscaping to effect, at night, a dramatic and pleasing setting for the same structures on the property. Nightscaping®, however, is not all aesthetic. A portion is purely utilitarian being that lighting employed solely for safety, enjoyment and social purposes. 

The one marked difference between landscaping and Nightscaping® on the contrary is just coming into its own, and only because the type and range of fixtures necessary to create the dramatic and pleasing lighting effects sought after are now available. 

But first let us talk briefly about the development of interior lighting. We are all fairly well familiar with the fact that following the gaslight era, the first development in the use of electricity within the home for lighting purposes was the drop-cord with a single lamp bulb of some 25 watts. This type of light was suspended from the ceiling, not from a fixture, because there were no fixtures in those days, but directly by a single twisted pair lamp cord. That was many years ago. Electrical fixtures as we know them today were yet to be designed. Gradually, however, fixtures for interior lighting came into their own until today we have completely lighted ceilings and walls, with controlled intensities in both white and color. 

We know that interior lighting through the counsel of architects, interior decorators, and lighting experts is designed not only for utilitarian purposes but also to create moods and atmospheres of gaity, solemnity, restfulness, activity, warmth, and coolness. Such results do not come about automatically. It takes much planning, much thought, much effort and much research and training to obtain the interesting interior effects desired. So much for interior lighting. 

When it comes to exterior lighting, the areas to be lighted generally encompass the gardens, lawns, shrubs, foliage, trees, patios, walks, paths, swimming pools, and other play areas. The development of exterior lighting has been relatively slow. The transition from the "light-in-the-window" to the single porch light, to the unsatisfactory post light, to the all-too-glaring spot lights, to the present-day subtle, safe, controlled lighting made possible by the full range of modern exterior lighting fixtures, has been a long one. In fact, it has been all too long in the making. 

Whether it be during the daytime hours, or after dark, certainly our homes - and that means all structures and what is outside the structures - should be made so pleasing to the eye that a warm, friendly, inviting atmosphere is immediately created. To generate such pleasant and interesting visual amenities in the evening requires both a careful selection and placement of the various light sources to be used. Lighting gardens and foliage, for example, is to achieve aesthetic effects; lighting walks, paths, driveways, ramps, and steps is lighting for safety; lighting play areas, such as badminton, tennis courts, and the swimming pool is lighting for fun; and the patio for pleasant evenings of dining and card playing is lighting for social purposes. And all combined is Nightscaping®. 

Aside from the utilitarian factor of safety for seeing tasks as well as safety from the dangers of electrical shock, and the sheer joy of possessing beautifully illuminated gardens and grounds, together with dramatic lighting moods and effects, proper exterior lighting offers the principal benefit of the feeling and appearance of increased spaciousness by seeming to merge the outside of the house with the inside. Nightscaping® is not reserved for the semi-tropical parts of our country. What more beautiful scene is there than you and your guests sitting inside by the warm and cozy fireplace looking out at a snow covered scene? Skeleton trees, fences all lighted as by a full moon at the flip of your switch. 

Additional well planned exterior lighting benefits:

• It assures one of more safety in the darker areas of the property

• It illuminates the beauty of gardens and grounds

• It creates dramatic and interesting silhouettes, shadows, and highlights

• It influences the moods of owner and guests

• It makes evenings outdoors more pleasant and livable

• It discourages uninvited visitors and prowlers

• It gives the illusion of greater depth and width to the property

• It makes for a warmer and brighter welcome for guests

• It adds to both the aesthetic and investment value of the property

• In summary, it makes for a more pleasant way of living

Sales Tips

• If you are looking for an extra bright backlighting fixture with a warm incandescent light, you can order the Softliter with 2 lamps (-LA2).
  

• When ordering the Tuliter, you can have the body of the fixture perforated so that it will twinkle like our Starliters and Sparklers (-PERF).