Lighting solutions for small gardens

If you want to enjoy your garden after dark, lighting is the obvious answer! However it can be difficult to get the balance of light and shade right, especially in a smaller outdoor space. Here are some of our top tips for lighting a smaller garden...

Shatter Resistant 10w LED Compact Miniature Floodlight

LED lights are long-lasting and cost effective to run. They work really well as recessed lights in paving and decking, highlighting steps and changes in level on or around the house and terrace.

Used in moderation, they work well to highlight pots and planters. The probably won’t provide enough light to dine out or entertain by, but used in combination with other lights in the garden they can work really well.

LED Garden Spotlights

Plants tend to soak up light in a small garden, and it’s surprising how much it takes to highlight a plant or tree effectively! It’s important to highlight plants properly. Uplights, like these Garden Spotlights, are the best for highlighting plants. These are perfect suitable for the illumination flower beds, shrubs and plants effectively in a smaller garden.

Extendable Rubber Festoon Harness

String lights are perfect for mapping out an area or for decorating in a small garden, and can be used to great effect. The smaller your garden is the less bright, harsh lighting you will need. The effect you should try to achieve when lighting your small garden is not one of a harsh glare of light over the entire scheme, but one where points of interest are highlighted.

From pretty hanging lights to coloured LED lighting, we have it all at The Garden Lighting Shop and we are proud of our selection. We know how to make your small garden glow like it deserves to! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us for some advice.

Our Top 10 Best Christmas Light Displays

As the Chriistmas season is upon us we thought it would be nice to share with you our favourite Christmas light displays in 2014 that we have enjoyed to watch.

It is amazing the effort that people go to spread happiness to there village and towns.

If you still need lights to decorate your house then have a look at our website today.

Hope you enjoy and let us know via our Twitter and Facebook pages which was your enjoy

Festive festoons

Although many of us have plenty of experience when it comes to creating festive cheer with Christmas decorations, each year always seems to bring about something new in the way of wreaths, tree hangings and ornaments.

Every Christmas tree has its fair share of lights, having become an integral part of modern day Christmas experiences ever since their first invention in 1882, when Thomas Edison decided Christmas needed that extra sparkle when he decided to hang his innovative light bulbs outside his home. But what about going that extra mile this festive year and making your home stand out by unleashing your Christmas spirit, marking the path for Santa or illuminating a particular display?

Whether at home or in your workplace, our range of lighting solutions offer cost-effective, weather-proof, energy-saving solutions which are brighter, more varied and even customisable to your needs.

Choose between festoon lights or party lights for that extra sparkle whether hanging, shaping or displaying objects, ornaments or decorations.

A clever marketing tactic, festoon and party lights can even be used to attract buyers during their Christmas shop or create a festive ambience during Christmas parties.

From beautiful symbolic shapes right through to festoon and LED drapes, you can create a Christmas display for your home or business that will be bigger and better than last year with our range of lights.

Whether you want temporary fittings or more permanent fixtures we can advise on the right fittings for you without pulling on the purse strings.

Contact us today.

All Hallows Eve lighting

You may be forgiven for thinking that Halloween is a staunchly horrific American tradition, the crazy costumes, pranks, menace and decorations surrounding the occasion may all sound like child’s play but the concept of Halloween is becoming very firmly established this side of the Atlantic.

Gone are the days of considering the commonly regarded Pagan holiday as an excuse to prey on the gullible and here are the days where All Hallows Eve is one of the most highly anticipated holidays of the year!

With this in mind, the arrival of October can only mean one thing: getting your costume, ghoulish masks, make-up and pumpkins at the ready, with the next step deciding what you will be doing to celebrate.

If you’re past the age of 12, it is likely trick or treating is off the cards, which can only mean one thing – party!

Autumnal evenings provide the perfect backdrop to create your own scarefest, still dark nights, and rustling leaves, but are they enough to create the right setting? Whether you opt to host your party, indoors, outdoors or both, having the right lighting to set the perfect mood, tone and atmosphere will be vital to ensuring your Halloween party is enough to keep your guests talking until next Halloween – if they get to see the night through...

At The Garden Lighting Shop, we understand that Halloween is mostly about the sensory experience, the sights, the smells and the sounds.

All of our festoon, party and LED rope lights provide perfect opportunities to enhance one of these senses and can be used both in and outdoors, easily fixed and removed, making them re-usable all year round.

Here we bring you our guide to the three types and how they can be used to set the eerie stage for your themed party:

Festoon lights
With a variety of colours and brightness of LED lamps to choose from, our 240v mains operated festoon lights are robust and can be applied in either domestic or commercial fittings indoors or outdoors to illuminate marquees, gazebos, or a festive Halloween display if you wish to draw particular attention to something spooky.

The added bonus of the lights from our ranges is that you can fully customise the length and harness materials to be shaped around your requirements, so that if you want to make them a more permanent fixture to withstand all weather conditions, you can.

LED Rope lights

Seamless to hang and with enhanced flexibility for simple shaping and moulding our ranges of LED rope lights offer excellent versatility. In a great choice of colours, you can also decide just how bright or dim you want the festivities at your Halloween gathering to be. Do you want to recreate the ambience of candlelight or illuminate some of your garden fittings such as ornaments or statues to create lurking shadows that offer elements of mysteriousness?

Party Lights

Low voltage and long lasting for energy efficiency and practicality, our party lights are made from LED shatterproof lamps which are available in a variety of styles from coloured lanterns through to replica oil lamps and warm coloured bulbs making them ideal for displays and generic decoration for application throughout a series of festive events throughout the year in or out doors.

If you want to achieve atmosphere at your party as a temporary fixture then these lights offer perfect malleability to be shaped or hung elegantly or eerily.

With a range of lighting solutions to choose from at The Garden Lighting Shop we’re leaving it up to you whether you want to give your  friends and family a trick or treat this Halloween. Contact us today to discuss your lighting needs, we’re always happy to help.

Illuminate your business with festoon lighting

The ambience and mood may not be the first thing that you consider when planning out the design of your business, however as one of the methods of enhancing the overall experience of your customers whether shopping, dining or negotiating, careful attention should be paid to these aspects.

By doing so you can ensure that any extensive planning that has gone into the rest of your design, layout or business is showcased and nurtured in the right way while guaranteeing maximum comfort for those spending time in your working areas.

Lighting is the perfect method of improving the atmosphere of your establishment. Paired with the right wall colours and in keeping with your designs, lighting can showcase your products and make customers want to spend more time in the comfort of your company’s building.

Restaurant lighting

A restaurant is the perfect example of how lighting can encourage relaxation and mood, setting the tone for how your customers should feel. While it should hold a practical solution for customers to be able to read menus and see what they are eating, the lighting’s design and implementation can make room for some wonderful opportunities for experimentation.

Careful attention should be made to placement and brightness and particular consideration should be given to the heights of your ceilings, colours of walls, flooring and upholstery as well as your furniture arrangement.

DON’T- Picking permanent lighting fixtures for your restaurant that highlights your table arrangement, when you plan to rearrange furniture in the future will not be beneficial or cost effective for your business.

Bright lighting is a practical solution if you have a darker decor or wish to highlight aspects of your room, however dimmer lighting is often favoured for its cosier and more intimate feel – whichever you opt for make sure that it is evenly distributed so that it will not highlight one customer over another or make them feel uncomfortable.

DO - Consider incorporating various types of lighting to highlight one area over another. If you have a bar, it is likely you will want this to be brighter than the table lighting so that your patrons can see what they are drinking and your staff can see the drinks that they are making.

Some restaurants are open throughout the day, and if yours is one of them, designing your room layout and decor is likely to be impacted by this. The sun is likely to be one of the biggest factors to consider when choosing lighting during the day so contemplate varied lighting solutions or lighting that has adjustments for dimness and brightness.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner all provoke different requirements for lighting intensities. While breakfast should be bright, lunch should be moderate, they say to boost fast turnover rates and dinner lighting should be dim with an intimate and leisurely feel. 

Think of the sun as your base light level and work up from that, combining a mixture or accent and feature lighting can provide visual interest as well enhance the decor of your room. Why not considered coloured bulbs, for extra interest?

DON’T – Overpowering a room with too many types of lighting can be overwhelming and off putting, your customers don’t want to go home with a headache so be experimental and stylish but reserved.

The use of LED lighting solutions is growing in popularity among restaurants, bars and shopping businesses, not only for their cost efficiency, using up to 90% less energy than normal bulbs but they are also available in various colours and can be used to create a variety of moods, adding luxury without the price tag. – Take a look at our range of LED lamps and light bulbs.

Festoon fun

Festoon harness lighting and rope lights come in a variety of styles, colours and lengths which boast versatility, practically and fun in a diverse range of applications. While decorative and malleable into any shape or design that is required, they also provide the perfect balance of ambience and mood which can particularly efficient in a restaurant or dining setting.

Although completely at home in the outdoors, our festoon lighting are becoming increasingly more popular in internal display and functional applications due to the encompassing affect that they have in the situations that they are used.

One of our more recent projects saw our 2330 series festoon harness lights (pictured above) installed in the Bar BBQ on Ice pop up restaurant offering a comprehensive lighting solution that was completely bespoke and tailored entirely to Alexander Waterworth Interior’s, who designed the layout, requirements. 

You can see from their application that these lights were both functional in the day and at night, without being too overbearing or dim and boasted the second purpose of decoration for added ambience. As the restaurant was a pop up shop, their temporary fixture allows them to be used again when the bar decides to relocate to a second location.

Now shortlisted for a major prize at the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards which are set to take place later this month, we think the bar and designer Alexander Waterworth have show just how applicable an  d attractive festoon lighting can be in a business environment –

We wish them luck!

The 2330 range

We think the attraction to the 2330 range possibly came from the tailor-made aspect which allows you to cater your festoon lighting to your individual requirements with a bespoke harness solution which is manufactured in the UK.

Made from a tough black PVC and a varied selection of lamp holders, a designer or business owner can choose the entire design to fit their specifications from deciding what distance from the power supply the lamps need to be right through to the individual spacing measurements between the lamps.

Choose between various lamp designs including the shatter-proof golf ball lamps, or Retro 40w lamps.

Indoor or outdoor?

Our NEW extended range of mains powered and low voltage festoon lighting solutions are perfect for outdoor functions or more permanent indoor fixtures wherever functional or decorative lighting is required.

If you are a domestic, commercial or public customer, and have a project that you think that our festoon lighting could be a part of then please get in contact with us today.

From Outdoor Security Lights to Wheelie Bins: How to Safeguard your Home While You’re on Holiday

For many of us summer is the most exciting time of the year. We swap our work suits for swimsuits and the office for the poolside to enjoy a week or two of luxury. However, before we leave it is important to ensure that our home is not going to attract unwanted attention.

Something that plays on our minds when we are on holiday is the idea that nobody is at home, leaving it susceptible to burglars. The last thing anybody wants is to return to an empty house that has been violated by an opportunist burglar.

So what can you do to protect your home while you are away?

The Basics

• It might sound obvious but a lot of people leave their windows unlocked when they leave the house, particularly the upstairs ones. All windows and doors should be locked until you return from your trip.
• Even windows that are higher up should be locked. A lot of people don’t realise how easy it is for their home to be scaled by an intruder so make sure that any possible entrance is secured.
• It is common for burglars to enter the garage before they break into the house. This is to obtain tools which will assist the burglary of the house. It is therefore paramount that the garden and shed are also secure.
• Activate the burglar alarm. Worryingly, many reformed burglars have reported that most of their burglaries took place on homes where alarms were left inactivated or ignored. Activate the alarm even if you are only away for the weekend because there is no set time for when burglars will approach. 

Hide Your Belongings

• Hopefully nobody will break into your home but in case they do you should hide your valuables in the most obscure place. Invest in a solid safe so that if somebody does find it they will have difficulty getting into it.
• Burglars usually stay in your house for 10 minutes or less. This means that they are very limited in where they can look. Try not to hide things in plant pots, drawers, wardrobes, behind the toilet, or in the underwear drawer as these are obvious places for burglars to look.
• A children’s toy box or beneath a cot is a good idea as most burglars will not think to look here, another alternative might be in a hollowed-out book.
• They do not want to hang around so once a burglar has found what they consider the “best stuff” they will leave. Photocopy old, useless documents and leave some cash near it. The intruder will assume that they have found everything useful and leave while your real documents and valuables will remain safe.

Ask a Friend

• Ask a neighbour or friend to check on your house every day so that if anything untoward did take place the police can be informed immediately.
• It was once commonly believed that one should always leave the curtains closed when they went away. However, having the curtains closed all day and night can actually function as a very noticeable signal to burglars that nobody is currently staying in the house.
• Instead ask a neighbour to simply open the curtains in the morning and close them in the evening.
• If you usually have quite a neat front garden then ask your neighbour / friend to give it a quick mow once a week. An unkempt lawn can also signal that nobody has been at home for a while.
• Another tip is to ask your friend to continue putting rubbish out. Even if there is no rubbish put the wheelie bin out so that it appears as if somebody has been in during the week. Similarly, a dog is thought to put intruders off so a warning sign or simply leaving a doggy toy on the lawn is worthwhile.

Be Private

• You might be excited at the prospect of going away but don’t be tempted to tell everybody you know.
• Social media can compromise your privacy and ultimately your safety if you’re not careful.
• Danniella Westbrook recently complained that she was broken into twice in a short period of time. Interestingly during one of these occasions she allegedly tweeted that she was stuck in traffic on the motorway. This might have been purely coincidental but possibly the intruders followed her on Twitter, recognised that she was away from home, and identified an opportunity.
• If you are going away on holiday try not to constantly post about it. Wait until you have returned home and then post all the pictures and statuses that you want.
• All it takes is for you to be friends with one burglar unknowingly, or for a criminal to know somebody whom you are friends with and they can see all of your information.

Outdoor Security Lights

• One of the most effective ways to deter burglars is through outdoor security lights.
• P-lux lights are built with tri-sensor technology which enables them to sense light, temperature, and movement. This means that if any burglar creeps past them during the night they are instantly drenched in light.
• Putting lights on the floor can help you in the evening to see where you are going. However some people worry that this also guides a potential intruder directly to the front door. Situate some lights higher up, attached to the house itself, so that the intruder is made visible if they go near the door.
• Make sure you have lights near the back door, the patio doors, and any other potential entrance ways so that burglars are made visible from whatever direction they approach your home.
• As well as adding lights, make sure that you trim back bushes before you leave home. An overgrown bushy area is a great hiding place for intruders so be sure to make your garden as neat as possible before you leave.

If you would like to find more information about how you can add outdoor security lights to help protect your garden then please explore our website or call us on 01773 541 003.

Light up your summer garden with festoon lights

All thoughts turn to the outdoors at this time of year, as the weather improves and we can begin to daydream of sitting outside smelling the remnants of that delicious summer barbecue, with a glass of wine or bottle of beer in hand. But as the long and mild evenings draw closer, how do you plan to add that extra sparkle to those summer nights of respite?

Living and dining al fresco is one of the more pleasurable benefits of the summer, but what if you didn’t have to enjoy such magical moments during just one season of the year? Nothing signals summer evenings outdoors like ambient lighting while entertaining friends or family at those garden gatherings. Dim lights create a romantic, warm feel without attracting hundreds of flies!

With our unpredictable British weather it does prove difficult to find a functional and portable solution for such occasions. Although, why just opt for lighting in the summer months, and not all year round - something to make your garden glisten all year long.

Creating your own seasonal space doesn’t have to involve costly renovations or the re-thinking of your entire living environment, by purchasing the right outdoor lighting you can create the perfect ambience and settings with just a small investment.

Wedding and event planners have used outdoor festoon lighting so beautifully for years and now thanks to more affordable options provided by the Garden Lighting Shop you too can recreate that gorgeous elegance in your very own back garden.

As a quick and effective solution to your entertainment lighting, festoon lighting also has many diverse and varied applications offering the perfect solution when creating atmosphere at summer parties, weddings, garden displays or even just lighting up walkways and dining areas.

Why not cordon off a small corner of your garden to create a new and exciting environment to find respite and put your feet up or even spice up the space rerated by your decking?

With the addition of the right festoon lights you can turn an area of your garden into a brand new venue for relaxation and entertainment, after all , why have a garden if you can’t enjoy it during the day or at night?

The Benefits of Garden Lighting

There are many different reasons for people choosing to get garden lighting installed, which is probably why there is such a huge range of garden lights available nowadays. From flood lights and wall lights to colourful lights and step lights, whatever you need outdoor lighting for there is sure to be something perfectly suited to the job.

Garden lights don’t just look good, they can be beneficial in many ways, and here are a few of those benefits:

• By adding lighting to outdoor areas such as patios and terraces you are creating more living space for your home; if your patio is unlit then you are unlikely to want to spend evenings sat out there. Just imagine the warm summer evenings and nights sat outside enjoying the atmospheric lighting!

• Driveways, pathways and entrances can be difficult to navigate in the dark, by installing lighting along these access areas it increases safety because it makes it easy to see where everything is and where you are going; it also improves the appearance of these areas.

• Security is a big thing for all homeowners, there is a wide variety of outdoor security lighting available which will act as a deterrent to burglars. An example of popular security lights is motion detection, which you will no doubt have seen all over the place.

• One huge benefit of garden lighting is simply the way that it makes your garden and other outdoor areas look. Whether you want to highlight certain architectural features of your house, accent certain areas of the garden that are particularly appealing or just add ambiance to the look of your garden, the perfect lighting is out there for you.

Even if you haven’t thought about installing outdoor lights before, no doubt you are thinking about it now, so if you would like to know more about what is available to you and what would suit your needs best then just get in touch with The Garden Lighting Shop who will be happy to help you find the perfect lighting for your garden!

The Garden Lighting Shop

Here at The Garden Lighting Shop we specialise in...you guessed it, garden lighting! Our extensive range of lighting includes a wide variety of exterior lighting that is suitable for gardens, patios and landscaping projects.

Whether you want lighting for decorative or security purposes we have something for everyone and for every need.

With many years experience in the lighting industry we are a company that you can trust to supply you with the very garden lights around!

You may be thinking there aren’t that many types of garden lights out there, but you would be wrong! As you will see from looking at our website there are many, here are a few of them:

Low voltage lights are a more affordable type of outdoor lighting, whether this is a path or a patio area, this safe lighting is a great way of adding light to an outside area.

Flood lighting is a very popular type of outdoor lighting as it is often used for security purposes; this type of lighting is available in a range of styles and prices in order to suit all needs and budgets.

Festoon and Party lights are very popular outdoor lights; after all it is pretty much impossible to hold an outdoor party with no lighting! They come in different colours and styles so no matter what atmosphere you want to create at your party there is sure to be a light for you. There is also a variety of rope lights and curtain lights which are a great outdoor addition if you want to create a nice ambiance for a special occasion.

If you want some outdoor lighting but fancy something a little extra special then our range of decorative lighting will provide exactly that! We have a range of lamp posts and other styles that will look lovely on your path or in your garden.

For those of you who want some garden lighting but don’t fancy anything permanent then portable floor and table lamps are available, these look lovely dotted around the garden area.

All in all there is a garden light for every need and occasion, so if you want to add a little something extra to your outdoor area then this could be the perfect idea! Alternatively if security is something you are concerned about then this could be a great solution.

Browse our website and see exactly what we have to offer, don’t forget to check our clearance section to see if you can pick up a bargain!