I have recently been trying to find “the life changing magic of tidying up” by following Marie Kondo’s method of decluttering and organizing. Unfortunately, I have only made it as far as my sock and underwear drawers! But reading her book got me thinking about landscape lighting.
Marie Kondo suggests purging your closets of things that don’t spark joy. That should be true of landscape lighting also—it should spark joy. This can be done using the two main tools in a lighting designers’ arsenal:
1. What to light and
2. How to light it.
Landscape lighting designers can use differing levels of light and lighting techniques to direct attention to those elements of the landscape that spark joy. The advantage a landscape lighting designer has over landscape designer is the ability to hide unattractive elements of the landscape. They can purge those elements that don’t spark joy from the night scene by simply leaving them dark.
On the practical side, lighting allows you see where you are going. But lighting is really about emotion. You want to feel safe. You want to feel secure. You want to feel pride. You want to feel joy!
If you are embarking on a landscape lighting project at your home, think about the elements of your landscape that are special to you and think about the elements you wish you could purge. Discuss these with your landscape lighting designer and they can make sure your lighting plan sparks joy within you. Marie Kondo would be proud!