While outdoor lighting might seem like a simple matter of running electric to light fixtures around your house, Robbie Eastland, owner of NiteLites of Hilton Head Outdoor Lighting shares his best lighting techniques to benefit our island properties.
First, Mr. Eastland, who is an outdoor lighting designer in Hilton Head, explains that we need to respect the quiet look and feel of the beauty of our natural surroundings. So a subtle approach to home and commercial lighting is key to accentuating the beauty while still protecting the island delicate ambiance. Obviously, flood lights installed around your home and yard would create an abrupt and unattractive look that is sure to get your neighbor’s attention – but not in a good way.
He works in concert with the homeowner to find a unique aspect of the property. This might be a miniature tree with a distinctive shape near the home or perhaps an entryway, which needs to be highlighted in a dark heavily treed yard for safety reasons. He said it is his goal to create a beautifully sophisticated application of light that meshes well with the look and feel of the general culture and neighborhood climate.
He explains that rather than lighting up a property like a Christmas tree, he applies minimal lighting in layers. Often times he will design a property in zones to either separate or bring together its elements depending on the assets of property and the homeowner’s objectives. The places that are dark and may be hazardous for family and friends are easy to identify. Mr. Eastland says that he enjoys determining the best ways to accent and decorate a garden sculpture or water feature such as a fish pond. Sometimes it is some aspect of the architecture of the home that offers the best opportunity to create a truly awesome impact.
With his business, Mr. Eastland utilizes a wide selection of specification grade light fixtures, which come with different strength light beams and focal ranges. Where it is appropriate, he minimizes dark areas for the homeowner’s security and then may actually utilize shadows of interesting shrubbery to bring to life a mesmerizing side of a deck. When Mr. Eastland custom designs a lighting scheme, he carefully assembles a look that is both pleasing to his client’s as well as a lighting design to compliment the neighborhood and island.