I am new to landscape lighting and would like some suggestions. I am thinking several lights in the landscape to highlight certain areas as well as provide lighting on the walk from the driveway (left) to the front door. I also think lighting to highlight the columns and maybe portions of the house would be good. The house is a little over 90 feet across. I've included pictures of the house / landscape area. Any suggestions on type of lights, wattage and locations would be appreciated.
Hi Mike, Thanks for your message. Here are some suggestions. Columns: One All-Star Spotlight for each column (stake mounted). Use 5W, 2700K, 12º LED bulb. Position the light as close to each column as possible. Do not center the spotlights on the columns, instead, for the first two columns (from left to right), position the spotlights about 6" to the left. For the last two columns, do the opposite - position the lights about 6" to the right. Aiming these lights is critical. Tilt them back so the hot spot on the column spreads from bottom to top. House Facade: Position one All-Star Spotlight between each window set (on the two-story section) an additional spotlight to the left and right of the entrance, and an additional spotlight halfway between the corners and windows of this section. Use 5W, 2700K, 38º LED bulbs. Use the same placement strategy on the left-side one-story structure except use 60º LED bulbs instead of the 38º bulbs. Pathway to Entrance: I like your positioning of the existing path lights, but would suggest (of course) that you replace them with VOLT Max Spreads or other path light of your choice. Large Tree on Right: I suggest uplighting this tree with one Infiniti 60 G3 LED Spotlight about 1 ft. from the trunk (left side). Tilt this fixture back so it just grazes the trunk. Ideally, you will add two more Brass Bully Open MR16 Well Lights that would uplight the tree from the turf area - about 8 ft. from the trunk - from near the street-side walkway and on the house side. The intention here is to provide some illumination on the full tree canopy so the tree's shape is preserved in the design. Small Tree Between Two Structures: I suggest two All-Stars here, one to the left of the trunk (slightly to the back side), grazing the trunk and illuminating the left side of the canopy. The second behind the rock to the right of the tree, uplighting the right side of the canopy. Use 5W, 2700K, 60º LED lamps. Hopefully, that will get you started. Let us know how it goes! Thanks again, Steve Parrott
Steve, Thanks for the suggestions. My bad on having the existing path lights still shown in the photos. The existing solar LED path lights will also be replaced, they were just a quick way to get some light with no real thought going into quantity or location. I was thinking either the MAX Spread or conehead would be nice but wasn't sure which would be better as well as wattage and location.
Your landscaping is beautiful and your home gorgeous. I feel like I'm in the same boat as you. We had our old fashioned shrubbery replaced last summer with many of the same plants/shrubs/trees as you have (wish I had that stunning red shrub). I'm working on getting the lighting for our yard as well. Steve's suggestions for light types & placement are great. My landscaper also had similiar suggestions but mentioned also including some sort of spotlights?? (not sure if correct term) but aiming them horizontally to highlight the smaller plants/shrubs (similiar to those on either side of your homes' columns). I wasn't sure if I like that suggestion or not- wonder if you or Steve or anyone else has comments on that idea.
I think using stake-mounted spotlights to highlight these small plants may lead to unsightly hotspots. If path lights are used, they'll provide nice area coverage of the garden. Also, you may be surprised how much light will bounce off the underside of the eaves along the front - that will bathe the garden beds in a nice soft and subtle light.
