Illuminating a Family Farm in Hertfordshire - Creating a Welcoming Nocturnal Landscape

Project type: Exterior Residential Lighting

Location: Hertfordshire

Size: Large

Date: 2021 - 2025

This project involved designing a lighting scheme for a family farm, with a focus on creating a warm, inviting atmosphere that highlighted the newly implemented landscape design by Jeremy Allen. The lighting needed to be subtle and seamlessly integrated with the rural landscape, enhancing the natural beauty of the property.

Design Goals:

• Enhance the Landscape Design and House facade: The lighting needed to enhance the key landscape features like mature trees, planting beds, water features and paths and the architectural elements, such as the pergola, terraces and house façade.
• Create a Welcoming Ambiance: The illumination should evoke a sense of warmth and hospitality, providing a welcoming atmosphere for residents and guests, particularly in the outdoor seating areas.
• Subtle and Integrated Lighting: The fixtures and their placement should be discreet, minimising visual intrusion while maximising the impact of the lighting effects.
• Safety and Security: While prioritising aesthetics, the lighting design should also address practical needs, ensuring safe passage throughout the property at night, especially along pathways and around water features, but also function as a deterrent for anyone who would try to trespass in the property.

Design Strategy:

• Layered Illumination: We employed a layered lighting approach, combining uplighting, downlighting, and path lighting to create depth and dimension. This technique highlighted the textures and forms of the landscape while providing functional illumination.
• Colour Temperature: To enhance the welcoming ambience, we opted for luminaires with a warm colour temperature of 2700K. This created a cosy and inviting atmosphere, especially in the outdoor seating areas. For water features, we use a cooler white to make the water look crystal clear, which also helps make it stand out from the rest of the surroundings.
• Concealed Fixtures: We concealed light fixtures within the landscape, using recessed ground lights and hidden uplights and path lights wherever possible. This minimised visual clutter and emphasised the illuminated features.
• Strategic Placement: Each luminaire was placed carefully. By illuminating sculptures and other interesting elements, we created focal points and guided movement across the property.
• Energy Efficiency: We selected energy-efficient LED fixtures to minimise the environmental impact and reduce long-term energy costs.
• Material Selection: We selected high-quality luminaires constructed from durable materials like brass and copper. These materials not only complement the natural surroundings but also ensure longevity and minimal maintenance.

Results:

The resulting lighting design successfully achieved the project goals. The landscape is beautifully illuminated at night, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. The subtle lighting scheme enhances the natural beauty of the property without overpowering it, and the strategic placement of fixtures ensures both safety and visual interest. The warm, inviting ambience created by the lighting design has transformed the outdoor spaces into a popular gathering place for the family and their guests.

Conclusion:

This project demonstrates how a well-designed lighting scheme can transform a landscape at night. By carefully considering the client's goals and the unique characteristics of the property, we were able to create a lighting solution that is both beautiful and functional. The result is a welcoming and inviting nocturnal environment that enhances the natural beauty of this family farm.