​Wanting to spruce up your garden but have no idea where to start? Many hours can be spent scanning through Houzz, Instagram and Pinterest only to get more confused about what style will actually work at your place. There's nothing better than getting a professional in to help. Their experience can prevent costly mistakes that you may have not previously thought about. If you are looking for someone that can assist you a good place to start is your state's landscaping association. These members have all their insurances and go through an evaluation process  to ensure that they are reputable businesses. For a quick link to each state see below.

Master Landscapers of SA:                           https://landscapesa.com.au
Master Landscapers of VIC:                          www.landscapingvictoria.com.au
LNA Master Landscapers NSW& ACT:       www.landscapenswact.com.au
Landscape Queensland Assoc.:                 www.landscapequeensland.com.au
Landscape Industries Assoc. WA:              http://landscaping.net.au
LIAT Landscape Industries Assoc. TAS:   http://www.landscapetas.net

Our Castell 24V bollards have been on the scene for a while now and have proven popular in some of our beautiful wineries and caravan parks as well as homes around Adelaide. At 900mm in height their larger appearance makes them ideal for bordering carpark areas or long driveways. A recent job that we were proud to be part of was supplying these lights into the gorgeous Ukaria in Mt Barker.

​For a more subtle effect or front yards where a lower bollard height may be more effective our Hunza 300mm bollard light is a keen player. We find that these little guys are good for smaller courtyards and front yards where lower plantings and pathways need illumination. Hunza have a long standing reputation in the industry as a supplier of high quality fittings, and their range gives us some wonderful choices in low voltage path lights in various finishes.

​All three styles are available in both the 600mm and 900mm heights in our 240V range. As mentioned above, the Evio and the Castell bollards also come in low voltage but in one size only.

Helpful tips when researching LED bollard lights:

​1) Trying to provide practical lighting that doesn't create glare is big on our hit list. Look for bollards in which you're not staring at the light source. In our 3 main designs the LED chips are never seen, rather they use reflected textured surfaces or are positioned where the eye can not see them. 

2) Stainless Steel and LED's are not the best of friends. To create longevity for LED globes or dedicated fittings the best materials that allow the chips to release their heat is Brass, Copper or Aluminium. Stainless Steel holds heat in and is generally only found used effectively for pond lights or on the face of inground lights.

3) Consider the colour of the light. 4000K is a cool white light and is practical around hospitals and industrial areas. 3000K is what we classify as warm white light although its not as golden as what an old incandescent globe used to be. Warm white light is a lot more gentler on the eye creating comfort at night and its what we supply throughout our work whether it be a residential home, winery or carpark. 

To conclude, don't be afraid to consider adding in some bollard lighting into your next design. Think about how much light you are trying to achieve, where the spread of light is going (so we don't create light pollution) and don't choose a fitting that will produce glare into people's eyes. 

If you ned to talk over your ideas we are here to help. Send through photo's and give us a call and we'll gladly steer you in the right direction.

​Until next time, keep enjoying the outdoors!

Have you ever been momentarily blinded by lighting as you've been walking along a pathway maybe around a pool or decking or possibly in a garden? It doesn't make the space very comfortable, so today I just wanted to go through the different options that we can offer to help create a more relaxing environment for all.

​Uplighting with inground lights is obviously one of the hardest areas to prevent glare from lighting. It's particularly important to reduce glare in areas where the lights are in direct pathways. On a daily basis we are helping our clients choose lights that create distinctive lighting effects with either our honeycomb lenses or low washing lights  that  look sophisticated and clean. The honeycomb lens sits under the glass and creates a shield from the light source right until the moment you step on top of it. It does reduce the amount of light coming out of the fitting but we do have a range of fittings in various sizes and wattages to cover a number of applications.

   Honeycomb lens                   Uplighting along walk ways        Low washing lights

​Our low washing in ground LED lights like our Keo Horizons and Radius lights are particularly popular for stair treads, stepped pavers and even around pools to wash light across a pathway without any light shining up into your eyes. For driveways they are also really practical as unlike the more traditional uplights that just create a spot on the ground like a runway they wash outwards.

We love our little Amos in ground lights. The LED chip is set down a little in the fitting and has an adjustable tilt of 15degrees which both help with reduced glare. These fittings are great to highlight retaining walls, brick columns or timber/steel posts.

For the more classic deck lighting that uses inground lights to indicate the edge or border of an entertaining area, our Keo 2W LED light with deep frosted lens is the guy you want. It is dull enough to be pleasant on the eye when walking directly over or near it, plus its solid construction is suitable for seaside residences or urban oasis's.

We have a good selection of inground lights that are suitable for not only residential but commercial applications as well. Asymmetrical inground lights or our adjustable lens options are really useful for uplighting flag poles and large walls to create impact and attention.

Garden lighting is all about ambience so its crucial to ensure that there is no glare created from lights particularly fittings that are close to the house or in areas where you will be walking past on a regular basis. Positioning the lights correctly is part of the process but sometime lights can be viewed from various angles so its not always as straight forward as that. With our Lotus spike lights and our Willow spike lights we give clients the option of a glare guard which provides a shield around the light. The best thing is that they are made from our durable machined aluminium and treated the same as our lights which are anodised and then twice powdercoated. We don't do things by halves, we like to do it properly the first time. See the image below of a close up on our Lotus light with and without the glare guard.

As a final note, lighting should create a feeling of comfort. It really can transform your indoors or outdoors space with the correct type of lighting. Talk to us about how you want to use your space and we'll go through the considerations that will help you decide on what and how to use your lighting to get the right effect. Love your life! Andrea :-)

When designing a space with light you can't go past adding in wall lights to add atmosphere and interest. The importance of washing light on to walls rather than straight down onto the floor is what we try to encourage in a lot of our designs. Reflected or indirect light is all about the comfort we can achieve when we don't fill the entire area with light, just where we need it. LED downlights still play a large role in our lighting designs, but we get more creative where we can illuminating surfaces with wall lights as well as surface mounted LED downlights, recessed step lights and LED strip lighting. We also love floor lamps and table lamps to again add that mood and illuminance into a space. 

1. The Vespa Wall Light is the perfect uplighter to highlight walls and ceilings creating  a wide even wash to reflect light into an area. Popular in architectural homes because of its minimalist styling, the warm white LED provides a feeling of comfort and ambience into bedrooms and living rooms.

2. The Kintetic Surface Mounted Downlight is one of our favourite versatile lights as it can utilised as an architectural LED downlight or a wall light. The lower portion angles out to 90 degrees and then for even more flexibility it can rotate 350 degrees, which is superb on angled ceilings.

3. The Axis Surface Mounted Downlight is IP65 rated which makes it fit into almost any situation, inside or out. The 26W version of this light is a little bulky but with a wide beam angle can reach some pretty high pitched ceilings. Our 15W Axis light is probably the best seller as it packs a great light output in a sleek designed body.

It's wonderful to hear peoples reactions when they step into our showroom and get excited about lighting. Simplicity is the key and our range of LED wall lights are suitable for both indoor and outdoor making these super versatile (even for beach front applications!). This is a   selection of our wall lights from UNIOS who create beautiful light fittings that don't only look good but are solid in construction and functionality.

If you're in the process of building or renovating please check out our great showroom (and great coffee :-) when in Adelaide. If you are interstate we are still more than happy to assist with lighting plans and layouts for a small consultation fee. 

Well done, you've made the effort to learn how to install your garden lights properly. It's not rocket science but it will take a bit of patience especially if you haven't done much soldering before. If you are unsure try and get someone who is confident to either show you or help you out.  A good landscaper or qualified electrician may seem costly in the scheme of things at the beginning, but the pain it can cause you in the long run if water seeps in to your wiring will hurt your pocket more.
​

Surface mounted, this compact and slimline wall light really creates an impact. The 24V connection allows easy cable installation into garden beds for retaining walls like shown above. Also perfect for the side walls of stairs, on pillars, above entry intercoms and low walls.

These photos just capture perfectly how effective the Sophia path light is. Easily hidden amongst plants, especially hedging, so that all you really see is the effect of the light. One 24V DC driver can run a multitude of lights, so where practical it's nice to create repetition with lighting to emphasise length.

Clean, minimalistic and versatile is how we best describe the Zeron Mini's. We get these fittings made in 24V and 240V so they can suit a range of applications. Think garage and exterior wall lights, post or pillar lights, alfresco rooms or contemporary open framed structures made from timber or steel. 
​

Looking for a clean and modern spot light that can really light the way? These Axis lights have an incredible output that will have you incorporating them into every design. The smooth rotation point allows this to be wall or ceiling mounted, and the 3 various wattages give you the flexibility to bring them internally as well as externally. This is a fitting that needs to be touched and played with to appreciate how good they really are so please come in and see us at our Kent Town Showroom sometime soon!
​

Looking for a point of difference to highlight a deck or path? The Keo Horizon's create little to no glare and add interest to areas where standard in-ground lights would have previously been used. Really effective in paved stepping stones, along driveways, stair treads, decking and path ways. Available in one direction or two directions as shown in picture.

Have you got your "TO DO LIST" in full swing? Then it's time to look outside to see what can be done to help get the most enjoyment out of your garden when entertaining this year with friends and family. 

See our helpful tips below on

• Repositioning your lights
• Cleaning up your fittings
• Lights not working?
• Adding in some extra light

​

Uplighting feature trees and plants throughout the garden looks nothing short of spectacular. Sometimes though when lighting is first put into a garden the plants can be young and on the smaller side. As our garden matures branches on under plantings can take over and lights can be lost so it's really important to have a good look and see if the lights can be repositioned to recreate the magic that was originally intended. The low voltage garden spike lights are designed with a spike and Allen key brackets which allows for adjusting. If you need an extension rod to raise the fitting up above lower plantings like hedges or agapanthus we also have these available and can be done without any rewiring.

​Don't be afraid to play around with them!​
​

Along with getting out the blower and doing a bit of trimming, give your outdoor lighting a bit of a clean up by washing the lenses with a bit of warm water and a soft scourer if they are as bad as the picture here. It's a quick job but this will really enhance the impact of your garden lighting as many people forget about their lights and then wonder why they're not doing what they COULD be doing.
​

From time to time the odd light fails which is sometimes due to poor installation, globes coming out of the lamp holder or sometimes water has seeped in. This is the time when small repairs can be squeezed in to revitalise the garden and tick another thing off the list! If you have a fitting with a globe, check that it hasn't come loose as this can often be the case for these types of fittings. If its a dedicated LED fitting then more than likely water has somehow seeped into the fitting so this may be a good time to come in and see what we can offer.
​

As our gardens develop sometimes the need for extra lighting may become apparent. Maybe you've added some extra plants or a sculpture, you've noticed an area that seems a bit dim, or maybe a tree has grown quite large and may need some extra lighting to create more of an effect. We would love to assist you in providing those finishing touches to your garden, check out our gallery and products pages for inspiration.

Don't forget we also do internal lighting now with a great range of architectural wall lights and downlights along with modern spot lights all suitable for seaside and urban applications, inside and out!

Recessed downlights are commonly used on gyprock ceilings to keep the consistency with the interior of the home. Clean and practical, choose fittings  like our Apex or Titanium downlights that can be dimmed to create a lovely ambience which is really important in these more relaxing areas of your home. 

Surface mounted downlights are great for alfresco areas, BBQ areas and pergolas where lighting can not be recessed like on beams or facias. Fittings like our new 7W Onyx (pictured below) allow the body of the fitting to be angled and provide better light into areas with raked ceilings or on the sides of beams. Downlights with a fixed canister (pictured on the left) are handy for lighting where ceiling are solid timber on concrete - areas where cabling has been wired for but the light cannot actually be recessed in to. These are a popular choice to due to the improved energy efficiency as you don't need to disturb the insulation in the roof. 

LED flood lights all look pretty much the same, but the difference comes into play through the quality of the LED chip used, the quality of the driver inside the fitting, and the overall quality of the materials used to manufacture the light. Depending on the area trying to be lit, flood lights are better off kept out of alfresco areas unless the space is very high or it is being used as reflected light. By this we mean aiming the fitting upwards and washing the light up onto the ceiling so that the light is “reflected” off the surface to give a general wash of light without any glare.
For homes looking to create reflected light in an entertaining area with a colourbond or by-rock ceiling try our Vespa LED wall light.

Wall lights are a great addition into alfresco areas as they provide indirect lighting that adds ambiance into a space. Most people are aware of the typical cylindrical  "up/down" wall lights but there are some other great alternatives that we offer that compliment a range of both new and classic exteriors. The best way to use wall lights is to have them as a secondary light source in your alfresco area. We always try to design rooms with some direct overhead lighting that can be turned on/off separately to the wall lights and garden lights. This flexibility can be easily created with the use of remote controls or if using an electrician switched back into the home.

Hopefully that gives you a bit of an insight as to the types of lights out there. For further assistance don't hesitate to contact us to get personalised help from Troy or myself.

Love your outdoors!
​Andrea Merchant

So you've realised how amazing your garden will look with outdoor lighting but confused on which products to use to get the best look? Well hopefully we can shed some light with this easy to use guide which covers a range of plants that we commonly light with our high quality fittings. If there is something you think we should add to this list please let us know!

PATH LIGHTS - SOPHIA I  BILBY I HUNZA BORDER LITE  
​These 3 LED path lights provide a lovely downward wash of light into a garden. Although they are most commonly used along pathways, the foliage that they highlight along the path will soften the mood and add plenty of interest.  Click on the links above to see more detail or give us a call.

• Groundcovers
• Succulents
• Box hedges
• Grasses

TREES & PLANTS up to 2.7mtrs - FIREFLY 3Watt UPLIGHT
The Firefly garden uplights are by far our most popular fitting due to their versatility and compact modern design. Highlight anything from water features, low plants or trees, laser cut screens or sculptures. Some trees or features benefit from using a couple of these uplights positioned either side to capture more  of the canopy or create depth without over lighting.

• Bamboo
• Ginko tree
• Japanese Maple - smaller varieties
• Yuccas
• Crepe Myrtle - small
• Prunus tree - small
• Ornamental Pear trees
• Magnolias
• Cycads
• Bird of Paradise / Stalitzia
• Tree ferns
• Ferns
• Espaliers e.g. Jasmine
• Hedging plants (soft highlighting) e.g. Viburnum Tinus, Lilly Pilly, Pittosporums

TREES up to 5mtrs - LOTUS 5W Uplight 
The Lotus garden uplight is a great step up for a bit more impact or where you require a bit more spread of light to a canopy. The short body is very discreet in the garden, and like our Firefly and Willow spike lights you also have the option of adding in an extension pole of 300mm or 600mm to raise above any underplanting. 

• Forest Pansy
• Palm trees
• Pencil Pines
• Crepe Myrtles 
• Hedging plants
• Wattles - smaller varieties
• Bamboo - taller varieties
• Birch trees
• Magnolias - larger trees

​Needing some new lighting ideas? Check out our ​brand new showroom @ 43 Rundle Street, Kent Town ADELAIDE. We've created a vibrant and sophisticated space to discover modern Architectural and Landscape Lighting that will compliment both new and old homes with minimalist styling.

​Our display is now fully equipped to showcase the most up to date lighting trends both for residential and commercial clients including a range of LED dusk downlights, semi-recessed and surface mounted downlights, creative wall lights and more. This extensive range is thanks to our partnership with another outstanding Australian company, UNIOS who are leading the industry in quality, well priced reliable fittings. 
​

​In addition to the architectural range of indoor and outdoor lighting, we are still carrying on with our great range of LED inground lights, LED garden spike lights, LED path lights, LED bollards,  LED flood lights and of course LED strip and neon flex. All these products can be shipped Australia wide at no cost to you, and are backed with great customer service from our happy team.

If you are looking for us to work with your builder, architect, electrician, landscaper or landscape architect, we are more than happy to make a time to give you that one on one service that will leave you feeling confident and excited about the project ahead. Get in touch today!