A Modern Charleston Rooftop Garden Accentuated With Custom Outdoor Lighting

How Moonlighting Transformed A Charleston Rooftop Garden

During a recent lighting consultation, we found ourselves atop an amazing Charleston rooftop garden surrounded by some of the most spectacular views of the Holy City. The decking is composed of decorative ipe wooden tiles. Both sides of the garden are flanked by natural native grasses, currently in bloom. While an array of planters filled with seasonal color are spread throughout the garden. This rooftop also bodes a seating area that was in dire need of a focal point. It’s the perfect location to take in the Charleston sunset with a beverage in hand. All it needed was a touch of Moonlighting landscape lighting.

Site Photos Taken During Design Phase

Here lies the challenge. How do you tastefully introduce light into a bed full of grasses? How do you create a focal point in a seating area full of negative space? With limited space, how can we make an impact without overpowering the garden and still allow the Charleston skyline to be star of the show?

The illumination of grasses is not an easy task. We chose to introduce a small bollard, with modern flare to match the theme of the garden and desired style of the homeowners. We methodically placed them behind the taller grasses which helped create a glow and softly blanket the planting beds with a low layer of light. The placement of these bollards created natural definition of the space and a sense of depth. All the while, keeping the light levels low here still allows the eye to enjoy the unobstructed views.

Custom Illumination of Native Grasses

As for the seating area, it was quite literally a blank canvas. A blank wall served as the backdrop behind the outdoor furniture. The wall needed a focal point. We introduced a decorative screen with a custom pattern that was a perfect marriage for the space. We would essentially frame this screen and illuminate it from the inside and allow it to serve as a piece of art and a new focal point for the space for both daytime and evening enjoyment.

Fabrication and Illumination Of Custom Decorative Panel

If Moonlighting can help add a touch of creativity to your home contact our office and schedule a consultation today with our team of designers.

Moonlighting Enhances A Serene Scene With Landscape Lighting

We’re excited to share our latest featured project with you! The focus of our latest design is an elaborate three-tiered water feature nestled quietly in a Kiawah Island Zen garden.

The project began with a design consultation. We discussed the overall scope of the project and what the client was looking to achieve through the landscape lighting. Curb appeal, aesthetic enhancements of the landscape and circulation lighting along the driveway were key needs. As we continued to walk the property and make our way to the backyard, we were welcomed to the backdrop of a beautiful Kiawah Island marsh view. What we stumbled upon next was a complete surprise! Hidden away on the side of the property is a stunning zen garden anchored by an elaborate water feature unlike any we’ve seen in the Charleston area. This was a welcomed site and a design challenge that we were excited to take on. The lowcountry typically doesn’t lend itself for set-up like this. The elevation changes in the space that allowed the water feature to flow through it make it feel as if it was formed there naturally. The client expressed their desire to be able to use the space in the evening hours. We were granted total creative freedom and we couldn’t wait to get started!

After the design was in officially in place, we were ready to hit the ground running. We took careful consideration in specifying the proper fixtures and lamps to appropriately capture the overall scene.

Several fixtures were installed in and within the feature itself, while we were also able to utilize the trees within space to illuminate the feature from above. Creating a usable space that allowed the clients to safely walk through and relax in after the sun goes down was a priority that we were able to accomplish. With cooler temperatures on the horizon, there’s no better time to enjoy your outdoor living spaces! The gravel pathway was softly lit from above, creating a naturally “moonlit” effect. It was important to also to feature the landscape by highlighting some of the key palm trees, japanese maples and bamboo clusters for a successful and comprehensive lighting scheme.

Take a few moments to scroll through the photos below of the final product and let us know what you think in the comments!

Turn the volume up and enjoy!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Houzz to keep up with the daily happenings at Moonlighting.

A Modern Solution For Outdated Post Lights

Have your post lights shown signs of degradation? Is the paint flaking off and the lamps going dim? Is it leaning or wobbling? It may be time to explore some other options.

In this blog post we’ll dive into a recent project where we helped provide a solution for two outdated post lights. For this particular project we wanted  modernize the lighting while still maintaining a classic look.

Located in the historic district of Charleston, we were recently tasked with replacing two existing post lights that were inefficient on multiple levels. The ten-plus year old lights were constructed of  aluminum, highly corroded and they were 120V with incandescent bulbs.

Before

The new custom post lights that we were proposing would begin with fabrication in our shop. We chamfered the posts at the tops and the bottoms to provide a more decorative look. After they were chamfered, we painted them “Charleston Green,” a very popular color within the lowcountry and the greater Charleston area.

Fabrication

The copper fixture heads that we specified are handmade and the highest of quality that come all the way from The Copper House, located in New Hampshire. The selection of a copper fixture head ensures that these post lights are built for a long term solution and can withstand the corrosive conditions presented in Charleston. As part of a separate scope of work within this property, we brought low voltage wiring into the location of the post lights with the intent of converting them from line voltage to low voltage and LED, allowing for a more efficient and energy conserving solution.

Check out the images below of the final product and let us know what you think in the comment section.

Final Product

If you’re in need of an upgrade of your post lights, contact our office today to speak with one of our designers about how we can find a custom solution for you! Be sure to follow us on your favorite social media platforms like FacebookInstagram and Houzz for our weekly updates.

Moonlighting Featured In Landscape Architect And Specifier News

We’re excited  to share an amazing project with you that was just recently featured in the April issue of Landscape Architect and Specifier News magazine.

Completed in early 2018, the landscape lighting was designed for an incredible rooftop garden which features some of the most breathtaking views the Holy City has to offer overlooking the Charleston harbor.

To learn more about this details of this incredible project, click here for the full article and let us know what you think! Aslo, feel free to venture over to our Houzz page and see some additional photos of this project.

Charleston Rooftop LightingCharleston Rooftop Lighting 2Charleston Rooftop Lighting 3

 

 

Moonlighting Aids In New Steeples At Blessed Sacrament Church

Blessed Sacrament Church, Charleston SC
A View Of The New Steeples

What once was part of the devastation of Hurricane Hugo, now breathes new life at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Charleston, S.C. In 1989, members of the congregation watched their once proud steeples strewn across the Savannah Highway in the wake of one of the nations most dangerous hurricanes.

Blessed Sacrament Fallen Steeples

Photo Courtesy Of Blessed Sacrament: Fallen Steeples Over The Savannah Highway After Hurricane Hugo

Today, the church has been made whole again as a thirty year effort has come to fruition. After Hurricane Hugo, an anonymous donation was made to help recreate the fallen steeples. It’s taken nearly thirty years to engineer, fund and construct new steeples, now constructed of fiberglass that can better withstand any future storms.

Father Joseph Romanoski  and the Parish Building Committee were a driving force in the process of bringing the steeples home to the church along with the architecture firm, Glick-Boehm and Associates and Magee Ratcliff Construction. While Father Romanoski lead the charge, Gary Boehm, Chris Ratcliff and Ryan Magee helped facilitate the logistics of this massive and complex undertaking.

While everything was coming into place, Moonlighting President Mike Rollins joined the effort by planning the proper lighting for the new structures. A member of this parish for almost twenty years, Mike and Moonlighting have been heavily involved with the illumination of the entire Blessed Sacrament campus, both inside and out. “This parish is very near and dear to my heart. I viewed this steeple project as a culmination of all the lighting we’ve done over the years at the church and school. What better way to cap off the lighting!” Said Rollins.

Earlier this week Rollins strapped into a 50′ lift for the final night time aiming of the steeple illumination. Used for the lighting were commercial grade Vista LED fixtures. The results were exactly what Mike was going for. Check out the gallery below for photos of the process.

Revitalizing A Familiar Downtown Garden

For the second time, Moonlighting  has helped in the revitalization of a familiar downtown Charleston garden. This King Street property is one we’ve become very familiar with over the years as we were part of the design team that first overhauled this space in 2010. Almost a decade later, we were fortunate enough to team back up with Wertimer and Cline for another pass at this re-imagined garden.

Not only did we design and install this project originally, we have also maintained it on a regular basis from the day it was installed. A major benefit of regular maintenance on this project was the opportunity to repurpose many of the existing fixtures. Regular maintenance encourages a longer lifespan for the fixtures, which in-turn was a big cost saver for the client. If you feel that your landscape lighting system could benefit from a service contract and to learn more about what is involved with regular maintenance, contact our office today for a free consultation!

During this renovation, we worked closely with the talented team at Ables Landscapes, who was tasked the landscape installation and hardscape additions. The original landscape had matured quite a bit, so we responded to not only the new plant material that was introduced but also the existing plant material to ensure that the landscape in its entirety was being illuminated in the most effective ways possible.

There were several mature crape myrtles that we approached by both up lighting and down lighting, which provided for some great textures below on the lower lying fatsia. There are also four custom arbor structures on site that we added a mini LED fixture with a low level output to softly illuminate the walk through. Another feature that really became a dramatic focal point was the statue we lit inside the fountain. The statue lit nicely and the backdrop of crape myrtles and fig ivy covered walls made a for a beautiful scene, and one that can be appreciated from many angles within the garden and inside the home. 

Check out the gallery below for more photos of this project and be sure to follow us on your favorite social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Houzz for our weekly updates!

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