Just 30 minutes from the Adelaide CBD lies the historic and picturesque German township of Hahndorf. A popular tourism destination and home to some of South Australia's best loved wineries, Hahndorf expresses a rich history of quality and craftsmanship. The new Sidewood Estate cellar door and restaurant is no exception to this, as it has built up a remarkable reputation through its premium cider and wine ranges. 

Contrast of light and dark plays a big part in stimulating our senses, and by combining a variety of our steps lights, garden spike lights, strip lighting,  festoon lighting and bollard lighting we were able to produce a cohesive design that connected the surrounding landscaped gardens to the main building. The feature gum in the decked outdoor balcony has been wrapped in our commercial grade fairy light system called Twinkly. It can be controlled via a free app through any smart phone device to not only change colour, but custom design any pattern they wish. The black step lights mounted to each pole under the railing (picture below) are our own Saffire step lights.  Simple and discreet they create quite an impact for only 1W. The stairs are illuminated by washing light out over the step, not up into your eyes. The Keo Horizon step lights do a great job of this, and are impact resistant meaning they could even be driven over! Our little Quartz hardscape lights show the way down the lush green croquet lawns, and our IP68 weatherproof Halo Strip Lighting is under mounted into the handrails at the entry to lead and welcome you to the estate. For a more romantic and fun vibe our own Florence Festoon lights can be seen draped across the back verandah, adding warmth and visual interest.

Warm white lighting is a key element in softening a space to induce relaxation and comfort. Venues like cellar doors, wineries, restaurants, wedding venues and the likes are there to invite you in and encourage you to experience what they have to offer. Downlights are generally the go-to for many people, but as you can see from the photo's we've taken here at Sidewood, wall lights, pendant lights, recessed step lights and strip lighting all offer interest and ambience whilst also adding a sense of character and purpose. Utilising reflected lighting and fittings with lateral spread ensures balance and ambience.  

When working with exposed rafters or beams, track lighting offers a practical solution, especially for hospitality venues. The flexibility of being able to  move fixtures, add on more lights and manipulate the angles of the lights really allows the space to adapt for various uses and functions.

Let us know what your working on.
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​Remember lighting really is worth taking the time to discuss with your architect or builder as it can change the whole feel to your new build. At LED Outdoor + Architectural we are here to help. From fixture selections to full lighting plan designs, our friendly and professional team are keen to make your space look the best it can.

Andrea Merchant  

Summer is a busy time of the year when there is an abundant number of great looking homes on the market. For those properties looking for top dollar it's not unusual for a stylist to come through and stage the home, but have you considered how much of an impact garden lighting can make to a place?

​We live in the Adelaide Hills and we love looking at properties. Online the images are what capture you first and you can really sell yourself on a property through those photos before you even enter the front door. Many real estate agents aren't just selling you "a house" they are selling you a lifestyle. Creating a welcoming home that feels safe through the use of well positioned lights offers a sense of relaxation and allows the surrounding landscape to be taken in with the home. Lighting up features alongs the edges of the boundary will help open up a space, and low level lighting washing over or along the ground will create balance to the eye and assist with a feeling of security.

As with all property investing it's about getting the right balance between adding value to your home whilst not over capitalising. If you're feeling handy it is possible to save some money through the installation process by doing it yourself. If choosing this option we do suggest you be considerate to the next homeowner and detail where cabling is running and where they can find the driver. If getting in a trades person maybe leave the next owners the details of who has installed the lights as if something does go wrong or more needs to be added, it can be done with least amount of hassle.

The important thing is that if you don't have any lighting currently in your garden you don't need to go over board. All homes will already have their front door lit so it's just a matter of focusing on a few key points as mentioned above that will create the most impact. If you find yourself stumped of where to start please get in contact with us to guide you through the process.

When it comes to lighting your garden you really don't want to see the light if you can help it. But when you do see it, you want it to compliment the style of your surroundings, offer a good amount of light and not cause any glare that creates discomfort. Upon listening to our clients we are super excited to announce our newest range of garden lighting that really focuses on these key elements.
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Driven by our ambition for something extraordinary, we designed the Banksey with versatility in mind. This unique slimline spike spotlight can be directed laterally to provide a beautiful wide wash over low plantings or pathways. Alternatively tilt the hood up to illuminate walls or hedging with the upmost grace.   
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The discreet nature and earthy bronze finish has made it a new favourite amongst landscapers and designers alike. Made from brass, this fitting will age elegantly over time providing excellent light control and ensuring  a beautiful ambience without the glare.
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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 :-)