Creating a Romantic Backyard Retreat with Outdoor Lighting

Most of what makes a backyard feel romantic at night comes down to the light. One bright porch light can make a patio feel like a parking lot, and with no light at all, everyone heads indoors once the sun is down. Soft, warm light in the right places lets you stay out longer, whether that’s a glass of wine after dinner or an anniversary meal on the deck.

If your yard looks out over the water toward Discovery Passage or into a stand of tall evergreens, you also want light that keeps you comfortable without washing out the view. LK Installations installs Gemstone Lights® systems for homeowners around Campbell River, and the ideas in this post all use those products.

Start with warm white and a low setting

Warm white is the easiest place to begin. It’s the soft, slightly yellow white that most of us find relaxing in the evening, and it’s kind to faces and food.

Gemstone puts a separate warm white diode in each of its lights, next to the colour diodes. For its roofline lights, Gemstone lists that warm white at 2800K to 3000K. Its patio and deck lights also have a dedicated warm white.

Brightness matters just as much as colour. Gemstone lights dim anywhere from 0 to 100% in the app. For a quiet evening, try a setting well under half and see how it feels. You can turn it up again when it’s time to clear the table or when friends drop by.

Cool, bluish white and strong, saturated colours have their place at a party or on game night. For a calm evening for two, they tend to feel harsh, so save them for later.

Light the spot where you sit

Start with the place you’ll actually spend the evening, which for most people is a patio, a covered deck or a pergola.

Gemstone’s new patio string lights are made for exactly those spaces. Gemstone points out that regular string lights come in fixed-length strands you hang yourself. Its patio lights are planned around your layout and professionally installed, with no cutting or splicing, and each bulb is controlled on its own. Gemstone says each bulb is built to handle freezing temperatures, high UV exposure and strong winds.

Run along pergola beams or the edge of a covered deck, they put a soft glow overhead, right where you eat and talk. A low warm white is a nice place to start.

If you have a fire table or fire pit, keep the string lights fairly low so the flame stays the brightest thing in the seating area. Gemstone covers its patio lights with a 5-year warranty on the lights and 10 years on the other components.

Steps, paths and the hot tub

A romantic evening goes sideways quickly if someone misses a step carrying two glasses in the dark. Lighting the steps and edges of a deck keeps people safe without needing a bright porch light.

Gemstone’s deck lights are small recessed lights set into deck boards, stair treads and risers, posts and walkways. They sit flush with the surface, and the wiring is tucked underneath. You choose clear or frosted caps. According to Gemstone, clear caps give the most brightness and a crisp point of light, while frosted caps spread the light into a softer, more even glow. For a relaxed setting, frosted caps on the stairs are worth considering.

If you have a hot tub or a small water feature, a few lights along the steps or path leading to it let you find your way after dark while keeping the area dim. Gemstone gives its deck lights a lifetime warranty on the lights, 5 years on the deck light rings, and 10 years on the other parts.

Trees, gardens and the house

When the patio is the only lit spot, it can feel like sitting in a bright bubble with darkness all around. Lighting a tree or two at the back of the yard gives the space some depth and something nice to look at.

Gemstone’s landscape and flood lights are made for this kind of uplighting. Each light is aimed during installation, pegged into the ground, and wired with the cables hidden. A tall cedar or fir lit from below in warm white looks lovely on a still evening. Point the lights up into the branches and away from where you sit, and keep them out of your line of sight if you have a water view. Gemstone covers its landscape lights with a 5-year warranty on the lights and 10 years on the other parts. If you’re planning new landscaping, Gemstone suggests getting a quote before that work begins.

The house itself can help, too. Permanent roofline lights set to warm white give the back of the house a soft outline, and they tie the patio to the rest of the yard. Gemstone says the track is hardly visible during the day when the lights are off.

Setting the mood from your phone

All Gemstone products run from the same Gemstone Lights™ app, so you can control the patio, deck, trees and roofline separately or all together. Gemstone says there are no monthly fees for the app.

Timers save you from opening the app every night. You can set the lights to come on at sunset, with an adjustable offset. If you like to watch the sun go down, set the timer for a little after sunset so the lights come up as the sky fades.

For colour, the app has more than 14,000 premade patterns, and a pattern builder lets you make your own. Soft pink and warm white suit Valentine’s Day, which Gemstone lists among its uses. For an anniversary, you could build a pattern from your wedding colours and save it for next year. Gemstone also has Autopilot, a set of free seasonal and holiday calendars you can subscribe to so the lights change on their own.

If you want a bit of movement, Gemstone’s animations include Sway, IsoFade, Starry, Glitter and Gradient. You can slow the animation speed right down from the app’s Now Playing tab. At a slow speed and low brightness, a little movement can add interest without being busy.

Music sync is there as well. Set your phone near the speaker and the lights follow the rhythm. The system works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, and with cloud connectivity you can turn the lights on from anywhere, which is handy if you want the patio glowing before your partner gets home.

Starting small and adding later

You don’t have to do the whole yard at once. Gemstone says you can install different parts of your home at different times, and its patio and deck lights can be added to any existing Gemstone system. You might start with string lights over the seating area, then add deck lights on the stairs or a couple of uplit trees the next year. Everything ends up in the same app.

Gemstone doesn’t publish prices. Cost depends on the size of your space, the number of lights and the layout, so the easiest way to find out is to ask for a quote.

If you’d like a cozier backyard for evenings together, Kent can talk through what you have in mind and plan lighting to suit your space. Call LK Installations at (250) 203-3266, or request a free quote and we’ll be in touch.