Advice is appreciated! Considering uplighting at the corners of the garage, corners of the porch/portico, and corners of the protruding portion on the left. Also some uplighting for the two palms, and the large black Olive tree on the right side of the driveway. Going to redo the landscaping also.
Hey, Adam. Sounds like you have some pretty good ideas bouncing around in your head already. Rather than recommend a specific plan for you, I'll just present some different options for you to consider. First, the main facade photo I diagrammed isn't as scary and convoluted as it probably looks at first glance. I'm basically recommending that at a minimum, you uplight the palms and the wall sections and columns indicated. I don't have the perspective to see where all of the shrubs in front of your house are but you may want to consider lighting those as well. One of the coolest things about adding outdoor lighting is that it can create the illusion both from inside or outside that your house is much larger than it really is. When you're indoors and you can see illuminated trees and shrubs just outside of your windows, it can be like viewing the inside of a greenhouse at night. It can also make for really dramatic backdrops for indoor entertaining. You could, for instance, uplight or downlight the shrubbery which would create a stunning plan whether viewed from inside or outside of your home. You mentioned uplighting corners of your garage and portico. One other idea to consider? If, like some people, you aren't in love with your outdoor houselights, you could switch them out for down or up/down sconces that would illuminate the three different pillars where the existing sconces are. If you want to keep your fixtures, you could opt for puck lights just below the upper frame of the garage doors. That is a different way to define the facade of your house and it is a clever way to add just a little bit more lighting (from the light that will bounce off of the white paint on your garage doors). Btw, I really like the idea of layering lighting to give your lighting plan more depth and dimension, if possible. For instance, you could go with 3W 2700K fixtures on the house and 3000K 2W or lower fixtures on the palm trees and shrubbery. Other ideas? You've got an expansive front lawn. I would consider a boulder or group of boulders on one or both sides of your driveway entrance. You could create a small softly illuminated border garden there to guide visitors or you could add address numbers to a boulder which can help people find your house at night more easily. You could also light that group of shrubs near the front of your yard. Those are just a couple of ways you can use your lighting plan to define the footprint of your property. Similarly, on the left side of your house, you could follow my layering approach as well. Perhaps illuminate the hedge with one light color temperature and the walls behind them might be slightly higher lumens and slightly cooler (3000K). For the olive tree, you'll want to locate your fixtures under the canopy and fairly close to the drip line. Because the foliage is so dense, you might want to go with 3W or possible even 5W. My only caution is to be aware that a little lighting goes a long way and if you're strategic, you can create a stunning lighting plan with very low lumens lamps in your fixtures. HTH to get you started.
Great ideas, thank you! I too am considering up/down sconces for the garage area. The current sconces are a bit too glaring and don’t highlight the house facade at all. I’ll be adding plants to the front of the house and probably re-doing the existing island of landscaping out toward the street. Once it’s finished I’ll add some lighting there too.
