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Landscaping Calgary

Enjoying Nightlife in Your Calgary Backyard – Fire Pits and Landscape Lighting

Calgary just like any other part of the world, experiences weather surges different times of the year. Talk about the beautiful summer season where someone can enjoy their outdoor activities in the backyard at night without any need for a Fireplace. Calgary also experiences winters with snow covering most pathways, gardens, bushes and shrubs and the chilling cold nights, making it difficult to enjoy yourself on the backyard.

Although the winters in Calgary can be frigid, that is not a good enough reason to dis your fun life and make it hard for you to enjoy your night time in the backyard. You can still keep warm and keep your yard, landscape, pathways and driveways well lit.

firepit calgary
Circular fire pit at dusk on a flagstone patio

Why should you have an outdoor fire pit?

One of the best ways of increasing the livability of your backyard and your outdoor space on those cold Calgary nights is to set an outdoor fire pit. Outdoor fire pits also add to the beauty of your Calgary landscape giving you a beautiful, charming and warm space for outdoor dinners.  Socializing around an outdoor fireplace creates gorgeous and memorable moments too.

Even on summer nights and other seasons of the year when the outdoor fire pit is not in place, it serves as a gorgeous addition to the landscape. This can actually set a vivid difference between a home and a comfortable winter vacation.

For people that want to sell their houses, an outdoor fire pit is an addition to the already beautiful landscape. It can actually set your price higher than the normal asking price.

The arrival of winter also doesn’t mean you should stop having friends and throwing those birthday parties or house parties. It also doesn’t mean you should lock yourself in the living room with friends to keep warm as you enjoy your drinks and dinner. Outdoor fire pits give you people a chance to host parties even in the backyard during the chilling nights of winter.

Why is landscape lighting important in Calgary?

Were you looking for ways to transform your front and backyards? Maybe because you want to make your home more livable or you just want to add an extra feature on the house before selling? If yes, then there’s no better way that outshines landscape lighting.

Landscape lighting transforms your home and makes it a beautiful and a livable place at night and most importantly makes your home safer to walk during the night. With that said, in the Calgary landscape, it’s easy to notice that landscape lighting is one of the most overlooked aspects even by modern homeowners.

One major drawback is that landscape lighting is costly to set up and maintain. Though, with a reliable Calgary landscape lighting company, this whole investment can be affordable. In fact, most people neglect landscape lighting because of the money invested, time invested, and the work needed to make it a reality. Choosing landscape lighting is one way of adding bills to your already high electricity bill. Though, there are some options that make this whole idea reasonable.

Low voltage landscape lighting

Although people choose solar lighting, low voltage lighting in your landscape is a good option for many reasons. The first reason being low voltage lights is brighter than solar lights. Solar lights are also not reliable, especially during the foggy and winter seasons.

It’s evident that when navigating those dark driveways, gardening areas and pathways at night, you need reliable and bright light sources. In Calgary, Solar lights can easily be stolen especially if the home area is not well fenced.

It goes without saying that low voltage landscape lighting is better than solar lighting, although the costs of installing and maintaining are relatively higher. It’s also hard to wire solar panels on your patio and stonework as it is with low voltage landscape lighting.

The costs of landscape lighting are surprisingly low in Calgary.

The word low voltage in this category means that the costs of paying for the electricity bills are astonishingly low. It also means that with a reliable Calgary landscape lighting company, it’s a worthy investment.

Which is best-Outdoor Fireplace or Firepit?

I haven’t realized any drawback that separates the two methods of setting a warming area in your backyard. The two options offer a reliable fire source during the winter. They actually work almost the same to spray your landscape with lighting and warmth.

If the two are implemented the right way, they are likely to help you enjoy the comfort of your landscape throughout the year. It’s also an excellent idea to use fire pit or Fireplace to anchor at the centre of your outdoor dining or outdoor living area.

One major drawback with Fireplace is that it is always limited when it comes to seating space. If you are planning of hosting an outdoor party, it’s better to go for an outdoor fire pit. Homeowners with small backyard spaces, it becomes a good idea to choose a fireplace where they can enjoy exclusive and bosom gatherings at night.

It’s also important to note that a Fireplace made of bricks and stones can be costly. This is because you will have to opt for a landscape supplies contractor and pay for masonry services. In Calgary, it’s also important to get authorization from a local construction authority.

It doesn’t matter whether you choose an outdoor fire pit or an outdoor fireplace; you can use them for grilling too. Some people would also want to try cooking on an outdoor fireplace or fire pit. This comes with many benefits, first of all, thinking about the aroma and the incomparable flavour spreading through the air creating remarkable memories.

Fire Pit safety

Sometimes it’s vital to think about your safety and the safety of other people when you are using an outdoor fire pit.  If you considered putting up an outdoor fire pit during the winter, understand that water, snow and ice make the walkways and paths slippery. In case you want to host an outdoor party during these times, it’s essential to use landscape lighting in the yard. This is to keep everyone safe while they are getting around the yard and the garden.

I usually recommend adding lights across the hardscapes such as the driveways, paths and walkways. The reason is to make your landscape more inviting and at the same time, create that extraordinary vibe. The sides of the fire pit should also be lit properly.

In this situation, make sure you partner with a reliable Calgary landscaping company that will install your lighting in a fashionable manner. Additionally, this is important for information and advice regarding your outdoor lighting options.

Fire pits and landscape lighting ideas

To inform your decisions in this regard, I have listed some remarkable landscape lighting ideas that you can try now. These ideas are not easy to implement on your own, so it means you should seek expert option for Calgary fire pits and lighting.

Uplighting

This is one excellent idea for homeowners looking for unique ways of lighting their backyard and walkways. The lights are placed at the base of nearby trees. It’s an idea that creates ambient light to create some drama, increase visual effects and help with visibility. For some homeowners, this idea would create a nice backdrop when someone is watching from a deck or patio.

Downlighting

Another cracked but remarkable idea for modern homeowners that creates soft light to your outdoor fire pit is here. This is one of the best landscaping lighting ideas that you can implement around your fire pit. It creates a nice ambient of relaxation on those chilling and cool winter night.

To implement this idea, the homeowner should install fixtures in nearby trees. They can also be attached to the home and any other structure around the fire pit.

Path Lighting

Your backyard probably has several walkways and paths which can be risky during the winter season. The winters are characterized by darkness, snow, water and ice, which make the pathway slippery. To increase the safety and make the paths seem beautifully planned, you should consider path lighting. It’s a modern and a popular way of setting the mood for your outdoor parties and at the same time improving safety around the garden and the fire pit.

String lights

I would also imagine how beautiful it would be if you choose to hang a string of lights around the fire pit. This is a great way to make sure the entire place is being lit, and the light is evenly distributed. It’s a nice idea to hang these string lights in a pattern for additional feel or organization. Though, aligning them in a simple and orderly manner is also not a bad idea.

Landscape Rope Lighting

This is the last creative landscape lighting Idea I am going to share today. It’s a nice way of showing your creativity and a good way to make you have unending fun in your backyard. The kids and family members would be eagerly waiting for the sun to go down and experience this endless fun on their home. Furthermore, this style of rope lighting can be made to perfectly fit your landscape and light both the paths and the garden.