Hello - I am starting to look into the lighting for the landscape and home. I am pretty sure i know what to use/do on the landscaping/trees but I am getting mixed results on what type and where to position the lights on the home. I have attached some pictures of the home if anyone is able to help me and provide me some advice what type of lighting to use (spot, flood, wash...) and where to best position them, this would be greatly appreciated. I have been researching on my own quiet a bit and have hit a road block. I am planning to purchase my lights from volt lighting so if you have ideas what type/style to use of the lighting that would be great. Thank you again for taking time and looking at this question and providing some help.
Hey there Nick, Nice house! I'd be happy to make some recommendations. To illuminate your home, I would recommend up-lighting with spotlights or in-ground lights. Being recessed, the in-ground lights would take a bit more effort to install but, the results are also beautiful and low-profile. Spotlights would just be mounted using simple ground stakes. I took the liberty of attaching a photo to illustrate the spots where you could install the lights. Stone walls usually look beautiful at night when illuminated, I also recommended some spots where you could consider placing area lights to gently illuminate the path. When placing any uplights on your home, be sure to apply the different beam spreads if needed. Essentially, narrow corners, areas between windows, or columns should be lit by lights using narrow beam spreads, the opposite goes for wider areas of open wall or wide tree canopies. Let me know if you have any questions about my recommendations or any further questions!
Hey Evan -- Thank you so much for taking time and providing me recommendations. One thing you did mention was was the widths of the beam. Do you have suggestions based on the picture? Initially, I was thinking of highlighting the entire stone wall (by the Terence) and the entire wall by the garage but was not sure if that is how you "do things" ? That said, I was looking into the VOLT Top Dog Cast Brass Spotlight and the was looking at the 38 degrees flood don't know if that is to much or to little, any ideas? As for the path lights I choose the Max Spread Brass Path & Area light, good choice?
Always a pleasure, Nick! The 38-degree angle would be a good choice for the corners and the stone wall. IF you were going to illuminate any of those columns (or if any of the trees you previously mentioned are extremely narrow), I would recommend 15-degree beam spreads. Excellent choice on both of the fixtures; they are two of our most popular fixtures!
Awesome, thanks again. Another one came to mind, the brightness, do you have recommendations to brighten up the stone area, should i use 5w or 7w LED bulbs? Also, will the 38-degrees angle light up the entire stone area or will it just have that "spot" feel? Do people normally light up that entire area or is that to much?
Floodlights (or just spots with wider beam angles) do look beautiful on stone walls because they bring out the depth in the texture. So, to answer your question, yes people do indeed look to 'blanket' their decorative stone walls. Of course, it can be a bit tricky with windows nearby. You could more than likely use 60-degrees on the wall but, judging solely from the picture, it is impossible for me to say for certain whether or not it would cast unwanted glare inside the window. Wattage is largely preferential based upon what kind of intensity of light you were looking for. Personally, I would say that 7W bulbs would be a bit overkill (I prefer subtle illumination, especially when it's directly on the home). So, I would go with the 5W LED MR16.
Hey Evan - what is the main difference between Fat Boy and Top Dog spotlights? I own Top Dog but my dad wants his house spot lit as well and i was just looking to understand the differences between the two?
Hi, Nick. Evan will correct me if I'm wrong (or add to my comments) but the main differences are that the Top Dog offers only a 4 ft lead wire option, offers better glare protection, and has a convex lens, which helps prevent water from pooling on the lens surface. You might choose the Top Dog over the Fat Boy for situations requiring you to aim your spotlights more vertically. If that isn't an issue for you, then you should find the Fat Boy fixture perfectly suitable for your needs. Hope this helps.
