The romance of the evening garden ... It consists, like a mosaic, of many nuances, among which light plays a leading role. Unfortunately, the illumination of a summer cottage is sometimes given an undeservedly secondary place, although a “ray of light in the dark kingdom” is elementary in order to freely move around your possessions in the evening. Not to mention the fact that the beauty of plants, hidden in the dark, can illuminate with new colors and acquire unexpected fantastic forms. It’s enough just to skillfully “play” with the light by applying some interesting ideas for lighting and decorating garden lamps.
What is the secret to creating the right lighting?
Truly, garden lighting is akin to art - it can create unprecedented effects that are born from the union of plants and decorative lighting. You only need to realize some “enlightening” ideas for giving - with your own hands you can transform your garden so much that from an inconspicuous, no different from many others, it will turn into a fairy-tale corner that can touch you at any time of the day.
Evening illumination of the cottage will not only give the garden a certain mystery, but also allow you to safely move around the site
Your garden house and country landscape will look natural during the day and mysteriously in the evening, if you successfully combine the functionality of lighting with its decorativeness. What tasks are assigned to lighting a garden plot? Depending on the function and area of outdoor lighting, you can distinguish the following types of lighting cottages:
- home lighting;
- track highlighting;
- stair lights;
- accent lighting;
- patio lighting;
- holiday lighting;
- security lighting.
An important condition for the proper organization of the lighting system of the summer cottage is to preserve the aesthetics of the garden in the daytime, that is, lamps for night illumination should not violate the harmony of the country landscape. To fulfill this condition, it is enough to choose lighting fixtures of a natural form and / or made of natural materials. A widespread technique for decorative illumination of the garden is luminous stones, which absorb solar energy throughout the day and give it away at night in the form of a mysterious glow that flows gently, as if from inside the rock.
The original lighting, located in dense vegetation, will create a cozy atmosphere in a secluded relaxation area
Airy butterflies and dragonflies, glowing in the dark, naturally and unobtrusively coexist with garden plants
Or maybe you prefer a group of bright butterflies on long twigs stuck in the ground that will revitalize the lawn during the day and glow at night? And how do you like a gnome unexpectedly peeking from behind a bush with a lamp or a luminous frog perched under a large leaf? Such original decisions will give your country house individuality and originality, to the delight of you and to the good envy of your neighbors.
In addition to the artistic impression, it is necessary to think over the technical side of lighting the cottage. The use of alternative light sources based on solar energy is the most economical option for illuminating the garden. In addition, this type of lighting will not spoil the appearance of the site with long electric cords extending along the flower beds and paths, as it consists of an autonomous battery pack and a group of lamps connected to it.
The unusual illumination of trees in the form of glowing wells is so mysterious that inexorably want to look into this depth
Artificial flowers in the form of solar-powered lamps harmoniously fit into the landscaping of the garden
It’s more logical to place the lights connected to the mains closer to the house - to illuminate the facade, entrance group, terrace, as these zones require more active light, and laying a short-length wiring will not require significant labor costs and financial investments.
Types of lighting for the garden
Decorative focused lighting is the most expressive lighting created by an accent ray of light and aimed at the original landscape composition - a flower bed, a pond, a tree or simply a beautiful flower in shape. With such directional lighting, it is important to balance the intensity, color spectrum, pattern of the light spot and the location of the light source. Groups of lighting fixtures located under trees with an unusual crown can be an interesting idea for lighting the garden - in the evening, directional light will draw a tree silhouette and create a fancy shadow pattern on the ground.
The evening illumination of the garden draws the outline of plants so subtly that they sometimes take on a fantastic, unreal look
Lighting garden paths does not imply an abundance of powerful fixtures - these can be small spots or built-in light sources that give only a hint of lighting on both sides of the summer cottage and indicate the direction of movement. A more thorough “navigation” requires stairs, which can be illuminated by lights mounted in steps or in the staircase railing. The main idea that can be applied is the illumination of the stairs with a large number of lamps in the form of improvised candlesticks made of glass jars or tins, grouped along the edges of the steps. Such a move would best give the garden a romantic setting, and making such miniature light sources with your own hands will not be difficult.
You can learn more about how to organize the backlighting of tracks in the country from the material: //diz-cafe.com/dekor/podsvetka-dorozhek-na-dache.html
Illumination of the gazebo in the garden and the path leading to it will be the key to a pleasant evening hanging out with your family in the open air
Lighting a patio, terrace or gazebo is the way to preserve the availability of recreation at your cottage in the evening, on rainy or cloudy days. Since lighting based on accumulated solar heat is not too bright, it is better to use electric light sources to illuminate common areas. It can be floor and table, built-in and spotlights or whole “garlands” of lamps suspended from the ceiling. Beautiful multi-colored bottles, sophisticated lampshades made of plastic or wood, bright bead balls or an extravagant design made of shiny metal - the choice of the central lighting design in the recreation area depends on you. Depending on what atmosphere you want to give the venue of the “public meeting”, the lighting can be chamber and cozy, or more festive and bright.
An unusual and a little fantastic effect can be achieved by placing a lot of lamp-balls on long rods along the track
The main requirement for security lighting is its intensity and location in fundamentally important places to control the security of the site - near the gate, at the entrance to the house, around the garage, around the perimeter of your property or in other places where valuable equipment or summer cottage equipment is located. As a rule, lighting security systems are formed using powerful LED lamps and are subject to certain rules - both in terms of placement and in terms of design, so in this case it is better to choose industrial options for light sources.
A comparative review of garden lights is also useful: //diz-cafe.com/dekor/obzor-svetilnikov-dlya-sada.html
A great solution for lighting a summer cottage - pots for plants that accumulate light during the day and emit it at night
Examples of hand-made fixtures
A floor lamp that has fallen into disrepair, retired kitchen utensils, old plastic utensils, and other seemingly unnecessary things are now useful to you for the “production" of cottage lamps. Everything will be used - from glass containers to grandmother's services - a little imagination, a little patience and all the rarities that stand on the dump with one foot will turn into lighting devices that bring you light and joy.
In order to make a cottage lamp, you do not need to spend a lot of money - look in your grandmother's chest and you will find there everything you need for creativity
Option # 1 - from glass bottles
Fantasy fixtures from unnecessary glass containers can transform your garden, and will not cost a single penny. An ordinary glass container can be turned into an amazing lamp without any effort. Take a bottle of an original shape or unusual color, pour on the bottom multi-colored small beads, polished glass, transparent balls that will reflect light. Wind a multi-colored wire on a finger so that spirals turn out and place them in a vessel. Fix a small flashlight with silicone in the neck of the bottle - this will be a source of light, which is convenient to turn on and off as needed.
Buying alcohol - look at the shape and color of glass bottles - because now they will come in handy for creating home-made lamps
Interesting plafonds for a pendant chandelier can come from glass containers of various shapes and sizes. But how to cut the bottom of the bottle? Yes easily! Tie the bottle with a thin rope dipped in kerosene or gasoline at the level of the desired cut, and pour cold water inside the bottle clearly to the line indicated by the rope. When you set the rope on fire, the bottle will burst and an even cut will form, which you will only have to grind a little so as not to cut yourself. Now you can plug in the electric cord into the lampshade and connect the bulb holder.
By cutting the bottom of the glass bottle and fixing the metal plate on the pin, you will get a convenient candlestick for lighting the garden
A more powerful light source is obtained if you tie several colored bottles with wire and hang them on the ceiling of a gazebo, patio or summer house. In the event that bottle colors seem a little gloomy to you, take stained glass paints and color the glass, showing imagination and your innate sense of harmony. And do not be afraid to give yourself free rein - you can always remove with a solvent a not entirely successful fragment of stained glass painting and renew it. Even better, if you entrust the mission of painting bottles to children or grandchildren, you will have a memory and joy for the children.
A bit of creativity - and from the glass bottle you get an expressive wall lamp in the form of a stylized torch. To do this, a hole is drilled in the rigidly twisted bottle cap, through which kerosene is poured in and the wick made of natural rope or a stainless steel tube pre-soaked with the same combustible mixture is filled.
Pouring the fuel mixture into the bottle and tucking the wick inside, you will create a lamp in the form of an impromptu torch
The alternation of bottle lamps with candles and flowers gives the homemade chandelier on a metal frame an unusually natural look
Why should the New Year garland gather dust in anticipation of the next New Year? Put it in a bottle of champagne - and you get an expressive lamp for the cottage. Laziness is something to tinker for a long time, but it hurts to hunt for originality? Wrap a string or rope absolutely randomly on the bottle, but so that there are gaps, and apply paint of your favorite color from the spray can to this peculiar cocoon. When your “painting” dries out a bit - unwind the bottle. Unusual? Move on.
The candlestick bottle is original due to the idea of a candle holder in the form of a spiral, fixed in the neck with a ring
Option # 2 - from glass jars
The main problem of a glass container as a base for a home-made lamp is an absolutely transparent surface that does not scatter light. The task facing you in the process of making a glass lamp with your own hands is to fragmently decorate a transparent vessel so that it nevertheless works in places in the light - scatter and smooth out the light from a candle or bulb placed inside.
In order to make it convenient to remove molten wax from the bottom of the candlestick can, pour some sand or pebbles into it
What can be done with a prosaic, but beautiful in shape jar, remaining, like a memory from once eaten exotic pickles? It all depends on the style in which the new lamp was conceived. If you want a country style, wrap the jar with a jute rope, fixing it on the glass with silicone glue. Would you like in vintage style? Cut narrow long strips of colorful cotton, cotton lace or guipure and “dress” your jar in great-grandmother's outfit. Do you like techno style? Remove the voltage coils and diode lamps from the old TV or tape recorder - wind the copper wire onto the can. Stick the cylindrical bulb of the LEDs as a decor - they will refract and modify the light stream even more, and the lamp will turn into a certain object of alien origin.
Unlike bottles, glass jars are rarely colorful - paint them with bright stained glass paints
The original idea of designing a lamp for a cottage in the style of pop art is to paint cans with multicolor luminescent paints applied to the inner surface of a glass jar in the form of irregularly shaped spots. Accumulating sunlight during the day, at night the banks will emit a soft, unobtrusive glow, sparkling with juicy shades of neon blue, pink or lemon. By arranging glass containers of different heights and diameters, painted with phosphors matching the color scheme, you can create a bright compositional group in your garden by lighting the path to the house, an alpine hill or a flower bed.
A jar covered with a myriad of small dots coated with a phosphor emits soft, elegant light
Option # 3 - from cans
After drinking beer and eating sprats in tomato sauce, do not rush to send tins to the trash - everything will come in handy in the summer cottage. For example, to implement extraordinary ideas in creating country lamps, capable of giving your garden an unforgettable look.
What is needed for this? Hammer, nails of different diameters and a piece of wood of cylindrical shape. Sketch the motif of the drawing on paper - it is desirable that this is not a very complicated locking ornament. Now attach your sketch to the can, and put a piece of wood inside it - it will save the tin from deformation. Punching holes with nails at an equal distance, transfer the picture to the jar - you will get holes through which delicate light will leak out.
An ordinary beer can can turn into an exotic lamp due to the pattern formed by small holes
Who would have thought that from the union of cans from canned goods and wooden clothespins, such an unusual lamp could turn out
Option # 4 - from building materials
After the construction of the cottage, various building materials often remain - cement, plaster mixes, liquid nails, etc. Such mixtures cannot be stored for a long time - they quickly absorb moisture and are taken in lumps, but the hand does not rise to throw it away. Do not despair, here are a couple of fresh ideas on how you can build building good with the benefit for the cause, namely, to create country lamps.
Using unnecessary remains of cement and plaster mixtures, you can make a rather original lamp
Take large and small plastic bottles, cut the bottom and put one into the other, securing them with a threaded pin. Turn the resulting structure upside down and install it, say, on a tin can of suitable diameter. Knead the cement mixture and fill the space between the two bottles, periodically shaking the mold to fill it evenly. After the solution has solidified, cut the bottles and empty the cover.
Forming individual fragments from the cement mortar, combine them together - you will get an unprecedentedly beautiful patterned egg lamp
Option # 5 - from wood and rope
After picking up small, but expressive dry twigs, glue them in a chaotic order on a children's balloon. When the glue has set, carefully detach your structure from the ball and blow it off. The eco-friendly lampshade is ready, you just need to fill the light bulb and connect the lamp to the network.
Unnecessary branches from cut trees will be an excellent material for creating a country lamp in the form of a ball
Using the same principle, using inflatable balloons, make a lampshade in the form of a hemisphere from a jute rope. To do this, draw a border on the ball and, gradually glueing the intersection, wrap it with a rope. After the glue dries, gently blow off the ball and disconnect the rope cover from it.
Snow-white rope openwork lamps will create a festive atmosphere on your terrace or in the patio area
In order to make a lamp from wood, it is not necessary to be able to plan or saw - there are many ready-made wooden semi-finished products that you just need to skillfully apply.
If you twist the birch bark into a cone shape, you will get a very delicate and elegant lampshade to the lamp
Do not rush to get rid of stumps - from them you can make not only a stool, but also an extravagant country lamp
Option # 6 - made of plastic
Plastic bottles have long been exploited both in the tail and in the mane for a variety of country crafts. What our inventive people did not invent, conjuring “very skillful” pens over plastic bottles. Not wanting to lag behind the mass trend, we hasten to offer our option of "recycling" a plastic bottle by creating an extraordinary lamp.
Here is an unusual lamp - whether a hedgehog, or an insect, can be obtained from an ordinary plastic bottle
Lamp-ball made of plastic. 1. Cut the bottom 2. Glue 3. Bend along the radius 4. Form a ball 5. Install on the base 6. Connect to the network
Lampshade for the lamp made of plastic leaves. 1. Cut the rectangles 2. Cut the leaves 3. We melt the edges with a soldering iron 4. Connect the leaves with wire
So, we cut the bottle into rectangles, from which we cut out the leaves. The edges of the sheet are melted with a soldering iron, giving it a more natural outline. With a red-hot needle, we burn 2 holes and we pass through them a copper wire without insulation. From individual leaves we collect branches and form a spherical ceiling from them.
From plastic bottles you can make decorations and unusual crafts for your garden, read about it: //diz-cafe.com/dekor/iz-plastikovyx-butylok-dlya-sada.html
Do not rush to throw away disposable cups after the reception of guests - it is better to glue from them a nice multi-colored lamp
Buy ping-pong balls, glue a few circles out of them, and then connect them vertically - the futuristic chandelier is ready
The original chandelier can be obtained from other plastic products - disposable tableware, plastic cups and ping-pong balls. Due to the initially laid conical and spherical shape of this product, their gluing will steadily lead you to create a spherical or cylindrical lamp.
The creation of a fun and relaxed atmosphere at your cottage will be promoted by the bright lamps of multi-colored beads
Stringing large plastic beads on a wire, twist it with a spiral and form a spherical shade of small diameter. You can get a rather original chandelier for giving if you compose balls of beads of different colors and diameters by attaching them on long suspensions to the frame.
Old disks and records cluttering up your closet are very welcome now - they will make amazing lamps for giving
Here is a unique idea of a lamp for music lovers - those who have a house littered with old-fashioned music drives - discs and records. Surprisingly, old CDs can make a wonderful lamp. It is enough to drill, after marking with a marker, 5 holes at an equal distance from each other around the circumference of the disk, not too close to the edge, and then fasten the disks with a wire to each other. Such a multifaceted structure can have any diameter, depending on the intended size or your patience. If it is assumed that the lamp will be floor or table, then glue 3-4 erasers to one of the disks, which plays the role of a base. By hanging several disc balls on a metal plate, you get an original futuristic chandelier to illuminate a terrace or patio area.
Corrugated plastic pipe perfectly transforms into a shell lamp - you just have to fill the light cord into the pipe
Option # 7 - from old household utensils
The most convenient thing in metal household utensils is an existing perforation that can create light spots of unusual beauty. A prosaic grater, colander or strainer are ready-made lampshades for your home-made lamps. Having disconnected the handles from the two sieves, tie them with wire - you will get a ceiling in the form of a ball. Mask rust stains or peeling enamel, covering your creation with bronze or silver paint from a spray can - a retro-style lamp with a technogenic aftertaste is ready.
Drill holes in an old saucepan with a drill or fill a light bulb in an ordinary grater - you will create indescribable lighting effects
Do not rush to throw grandmother's services in creepy roses with a thin cobweb of small cracks - glue the saucer to the cup with super-glue, drill a hole for the electric wire - and the vintage lamp will become a true decoration of a nostalgic summer house or gazebo. Even an old tureen can be a great lampshade for a country kitchen - carefully make a hole in its bottom, pass the electric cord and fasten the cartridge.
The old faience set, inherited from your grandmother, is perfectly modified into a retro lamp
Hope interesting ideas, those proposed by us will help some Plyushkin find a worthy justification for their craving for accumulating unnecessary things. Now they have the opportunity to breathe new life into old things - creating unusual lamps for their favorite garden.
