Oh I have dreamt of uplighting our home for so long! I've heard great things about Volt, and doing all of my homework now on 2w vs 3w vs 5w vs Top Dog vs G2 vs beam spread vs colors. I'm not opposed to different wattages/beams/etc if the different uplights at different locations call for it. I'm stuck on how many uplights and how many path lights I should install. We're going for a warm, beautiful elegant look (I guess, who isn't? ). We're trying to avoid underlighting, and trying to avoid really bright stark cold brightness overlighting. We're installing landscaping in a month, and will have our landscaper install the Volt lighting. Please see attached for a pic of our home and landscaping plan. Thank you!
Fantastic house, Ken. Please see my diagram of your photo for one approach. Even though we only use our porch lights occasionally, I've toned down the light levels so they are no brighter than my landscape lights.The sconces also have a heavily frosted glass canopy to further soften the lighting. Unless you're absolutely positively in love with your porch fixtures, I'd recommend you switch to either a double sconce (up/down) light or down light that would softly illuminate the areas of your house flanking the front door (in much the same way as the rest of the spotlights on your house will. If that idea is out of the question, I think spillover and reflected light from path lights (indicated by the yellow ovals) should do a serviceable job of filling illuminating that section of the house (so it's not markedly darker than the rest of the house). Hope this helps.
Wow! Thank you so much I LOVE love love the idea of the up/down cylindrical sconces, and would have never thought of that. I was struggling pointing lights directly at our front door, the scone idea solves that beautifully! Thank you!! With the different heights, widths, and angles of the lines you drew, is that different watt bulbs, beam spreads, fixtures, etc.?
You’re welcome and thanks for not blocking me. I’m aware some of us are sensitive when it comes to our homes and I don’t like to step on anyone’s toes. Because all homes and yards have unique design possibilities and challenges, I try to encourage people to think creatively and flexibly when planning their projects. If you choose a cylinder (which, again, I think is a great idea), choose something you love, choose the best quality in you budget, and don’t be afraid to go with something big (a quarter of the height of your front door). Unlike landscape lighting fixtures, your doorway and garage light fixtures are meant to be seen. Because you’ll want to position your landscape fixtures about a foot back from your foundation, try to find a sconce that extends out at least a few inches from the wall. The point is to mimic the beam spread of your landscape lighting as closely as possible. Also try to find a fixture that allows you to choose whatever light color temp you’ll be using on the rest of the house as well. There are even fixtures with built in dimming available now. And finally, it’s also worth considering choosing a similar fixture for your garage door, if you have the same type of lights as those flanking your front door. For the four fixtures on the left, I recommend 38 degree beam spreads. For the bay window, I’d recommend 15 degrees. You could use the same spotlight fixture for all sections or you could go for mini spots on the bay window, IMO. Brightness and color temp are a personal preference. Because I suspect you don’t have a lot of ambient light and your lights only have to reach two levels, I would go no higher than 3W for those fixtures. Honestly, I think 2W would be great but that’s my just one opinion. Bear in mind that whatever you choose, that tan brick will reflect more light than the brown. Light color temp is also something you’ll have to decide for yourself. Some people think 3000K can make certain house colors look cool and sterile while 2700K may look drab on certain houses. I chose 2700K for my red brick colonial and I really love it. What’s important is that you love the effect on your house. One other thing, be sure to remind your landscaper to leave a bit of room for you to site your fixtures away from the wall by about a foot, if possible. And good luck. I think you’ll love the impact lighting has on your house and yard.
Followed the plan We love it! How's it look? Any tweaks? Wattages, moving lights, adding lights, etc.?? We are no experts in uplighting! Something about the upper right of the house being all dark.
Beautiful! Excellent work. My only recommendation to consider would be exactly what you mentioned - the upper area above the window bay. You could consider a smaller compact light such as an MR8 or MR11 for a low-profile surface or gutter mounted spotlight. The smaller bulb sizes would also be ideal for a subtle accent light to avoid any extreme light intrusion into that upper window.
