There’s more to outdoor lighting than just a few walkway lights spread out throughout a landscape. Good outdoor lighting takes into account layering, texture, and the highlighting of key features of a landscape design. With the beautiful finishes, rich textures and interesting lines offered by these wall units, your outdoor lighting can become so much more:
Rivercrest Wall
Rivercrest Wall from Unilock is cast from hundreds of pieces of natural flagstone to create a completely authentic stacked flagstone appearance. The deep and dramatic texture of this wall unit is ideal for creating stunning outdoor lighting effects. With a lighting technique known as grazing, the natural detail of Rivercrest Wall can be dramatically highlighted and the vertical elements of your landscape can take center stage after dark.
Grazing entails washing a wall in light by placing the light parallel to the wall’s surface. With a Rivercrest Wall feature, this can be done by mounting the lighting beneath the coping. The natural texture of Rivercrest Wall pairs excellently with the authentic detail of Ledgestone coping from Unilock. This coping will provide the perfect ledge under which discreet outdoor lighting can be installed.
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Lineo Dimensional Stone
Similarly, the fine, smooth surface of Lineo Dimensional Stone from Unilock can be pleasantly washed in light using this technique. Rather than creating drama with deep shadows and rugged textures, the smooth, modern appearance of Lineo Dimensional Stone creates a gentle aesthetic in combination with the grazing technique. Because Lineo Dimensional Stone is so subtle in its surface texture, it can be complemented and contrasted with Limestone Natural Edge Coping to give it a rugged touch.
To continue the linear, plank-like aesthetic of Lineo Dimensional Stone, pair it with Artline pavers from Unilock and add contrast with Series accents from Unilock. Lighting can be installed either beneath the Limestone coping or mounted directly onto the wall itself. The overall effect of this combination is modern with a pleasing, gentle ambience.
Brussels Dimensional System
The Brussels Dimensional System from Unilock is a versatile material with the appearance of tumbled stone block. The range offers warm and natural colors that you’ll want to showcase, day and night. Because this wall unit can be used for so many different features, such as fire pits, fireplaces, seating walls, water features, outdoor kitchens and more, it’s ideal for the construction of attractive focal points. These focal features should be done justice with the help of uplighting after dark. This technique for highlighting certain features at night involves the installation of small spotlights to shine up and bathe the wall in light. Water features and raised plant beds are particularly stunning and perfect candidates for highlighting using this technique.
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Estate Wall
Estate Wall from Unilock offers the characterful appearance of timeworn ledge rock. This wall unit is regal with a rich, rustic flavor, creating a relaxed historical ambience. Add to this atmosphere with soft ambient lighting for your patio. Ambient lighting can take many forms, from standalone lamps and lanterns to wall mounted lighting features in line with the style of your hardscape. You can further tie the vertical features of your landscape and your outdoor lighting system by using Estate Wall to construct attractive pillars on which to mount classic lantern-style light fittings. This kind of lighting fixture is perfectly in line with the historic style of this exceptional wall unit.
U-Cara Multi-Face
U-Cara Multi-Face from Unilock is an award-winning wall system with a unique two-piece design. Sure Track backing blocks ensure structural accuracy while the U-Cara fascia panels provide an attractive face. These fascia panels are available in a number of finishes, including the Umbriano Finish, Series Finish, Smooth Face and Pitched Face, as well as a range of attractive color options. Because of this, the U-Cara Multi-Face Wall System can be highlighted with direct lighting, without losing any of its appeal. To add interest to this method of lighting, a technique known as shadowing can be employed. Shadowing involves shining a light directly onto a plant or sculpture to produce an interesting shadow on the wall behind it. U-Cara is the ideal canvas for the projection of such shadow effects and will complement this effect with the subtle color options in which it is available.
Concord Wall
Cross lighting involves lighting up a focal feature, such as a tree, water feature or sculpture, from two different angles. This produces a brighter effect than simple uplighting and, if not done with care, can result in a flatter appearance of the feature in question. To help counter this issue, a textured and attractive backdrop to the feature is needed. Because cross lighting usually involves uplighting placed only a few feet away from the object in question, the backdrop will also have to be substantial in size. Concord Wall from Unilock provides the perfect solution, offering a vibrantly textured split rock aesthetic and the structural capacity for large and impressive structures, such as heavy load-bearing retaining walls. A tree in front of a Concord Wall retaining wall, for example, can be cross-lit to create a stunning outdoor lighting effect that will add sophisticated visual appeal to your landscape design.
The title image features an Artline patio with Lineo Dimensional Stone verticals, Limestone Natural Edge Coping and Series accents.
