How should I light these columns? I have some existing Top Dog fixtures with 3w / 20w 2700k 38 degree bulbs that I brought from my other house. I didn’t want so many lights ( one on each) but not sure if the RS7 wide wash light would be able to take care of several columns or if I should continue with what I have. Or if there is another idea. The beds are only 5’ out from the porch at most. I’m hoping to use the wide wash on the upper level mounted in gutters. Thx for the advice. Added a night pic with the existing fixtures on a few columns so you guys can get an idea of how it may look with all columns illuminated.
Stunning home, Ragle840. Please check out my diagram of your photo for one approach I think could work well. Basically, I’d light the middle four sets of columns as if they were each one two-story high column. That might mean stepping up a lumens level for those columns and it might mean those columns are a hair brighter than the other columns. But there are ways to tweak that if you find the difference to be more pronounced than you want. Where closely set pairs of columns (yellow arrows) are involved, I think the 38 degree beam spread spots would probably work fine. For the single columns, I might go a bit narrower.
Thank you very much. I will tweak my bulb set up on my order. I’m wondering if the gutter between the double columns will interfere with the brighter bulbs or will the added lumens help that?
You’re welcome. FYI, I’m a lighting enthusiast like yourself. I’m one opinion. You might want to also ask a customer service rep for input as well when you’re about to make your purchase.
I appreciate the help. I will try and see if they can look at the picture of my house and recommend anything different.
I also recommend you search online for houses or other buildings with stacked columns to see other approaches.
I was able to talk to a guy at Volt. He recommended a few things. Spent all day yesterday installing. Have moved some fixtures a little since these pics but it gives you an idea how it turned out. I’m happy with it so far. A couple things I’m not sure how to solve just yet... gutter is blocking lights on the double stacked columns, and I wish I could light the highest center peak. That one will be tough, unless I could get a fixture that would be a small direct beam that would reach from the ground.
Looks great so far. If it’s in your budget to experiment a little, I would try to figure out a way to “layer” lighting so you could simply add to the lighting that’s already hitting that upper set of columns. For that peak, I think the Ground Hog might be a great choice. https://www.voltlighting.com/ground-hog-pvc-par36-in-ground-well-light
Excellent design on a beautiful house! Love the subtle illumination on the middle front area of the second story. Lighting from a distance and lighting peaks like yours can definitely be tricky. Tough to tell from photo, are there gutters on the second story above the patio as well? If so, a Gutter Mount Kit with a compact MR8 or MR11 spotlight could be an option. Without gutters, surface mounting directly on to the roof and using a Loctite/silicone waterproof UV resistant sealant around screw holes is something that has been done before. The resolution isn't the best, but here's a photo illustrating some spotlights surface mounted directly to the roof: It's not the most ideal solution but, lighting from that distance would be tricky with any fixture really and a par36 fixture might just oversaturate that nice front deck with too much illumination given the extra wide and powerful illumination you get from PAR36.
