Front of the house currently has 6 lights (2 All-Stars with 38 degree lamps on either side of garage windows and 4 well lights with 15 degree beams on each column). This leaves the second story unlit. I'd like to add 2 gutter mounts (green circles) to address the second story above the porch and would appreciate thoughts on both the location of the gutter mounts as well as suggested beam angles. Thanks in advance.
Beautiful home. As long as there are no light trespass concerns for those windows (I’m guessing there’s a 2nd fl washer/dryer closet or nook and maybe a bathroom in the section of the house to the left of the portico and above the pair of columns on the left, for ex) in front of the proposed gutter lights, those locations should work great.
Thanks! You are spot on that those windows are for laundry room, 2 story hall, and a guest bath, so light trespass hopefully will not be an issue. Any thoughts on beam width? 38 seems too narrow for the amount of real estate i am trying to get with 2 lights. Between the 60 degree and 110 then. Again, thanks in advance.
You are welcome. We are on a similar wave regarding beam spread but ultimately your decision will depend on how much of that upper area you want to emphasize. Whatever you decide will probably involve a bit of trial and error. I suspect the portico eaves are being at least partially illuminated by the well lights you have aimed at the columns. I like the idea of highlighting just the two gabled sections so that all three of those triangles are illuminated. If you go that route, I'd probably go with a 38° spread for the smaller gabled section with the single window and a 60° for the large section with three windows. Lighting all three areas could look great as well. In that case, I might instead go with a 110° spotlight on the left. Hope this helps!
A straight-on shot of the front door/patio would certainly help to see if those 2 gutter mounted lights should be more centralized on the front gutters with medium beam spreads (38-60) or where they are currently at with wider beam spreads (110). Beautiful home! Excellent recommendations from @Mesodude2 as well!
I'm "somewhat" OCD about symmetry myself to be honest but, centering the lights may produce some glare off those windows. Maybe consider something like this: *This design would be balanced, symmetrical, help to minimize glare and ambient light would likely accent the portions marked in red.
I can appreciate a little OCD....I like the positioning and the balanced approach. Thinking 60 degree might work best?
Personally, if my house was the same, I'd probably want to keep the light on my second story "tight" (38-degree) and aim the lights at either side of the window (~2ft). But, if you think the beam spreads you are using on the garage may be too narrow, I think 60-degrees would also look great. Essentially I'd just say stay away from anything narrower or wider than those 2 thresholds. If you haven't already bought a fixture for up there, I'd also recommend considering a compact MR11 fixture like the All-Star Mini Spotlight. Because I usually prefer subtle output, I'd personally use the 2W bulb option (~150 lumens).
