Looking for some suggestions. I would like to add some lighting to the front of my house. I'm going to go with the All-Star spotlights. I'm looking for suggestions for wattage and beam angle. I was thinking 5w with 38 degree angles for the pillars and 60 degree for the garage. Would this look ok or would I be better off just using 38 degree for all spots. Is that good wattage? I have attached a couple pictures for perspective. Any advice/opinions would be appreciated.
Hey Jeff, Nice house! Good choice on the All-Star as well, it is our most popular spotlight. Those columns seem quite narrow so, I would suggest possibly using 15-degree spreads on them. Wattage is truly a matter of preference as to the intensity of light you were searching for; 5W bulbs would certainly do well to illuminate the columns and provide indirect ambient light for the front patio. For the garage, I am a bit hesitant to recommend any spotlights over there because it appears they would be installed directly under garage lanterns (difficult to tell with the technical illustrations). This could lead to a shadow being cast on the upper area/second story, the spotlight's illumination being drowned out by the lantern, or even glare shining off of the glass on the lantern. Sconce style lights on either side of the garage would really give you the best of both worlds; illumination on the beautiful stonework above and functional light for the ground below. While we don't specialize in garage lights such as those (our sconces are for subtle deck lighting), another low-voltage option would be a downlighting method. You could mount a downlight with a wide beam angle under that second story terrace with the wire running down your gutter system to the ground floor. Truth be told, it is quite a tricky area of your house to illuminate with landscape lights given the design of your home and the pre-existing luminaires.
Thanks Evan - The garage area is a tough one. We only have a garage lantern on one side (the left side). If we tried to go with spotlights on the garage, would you go 15 degree, 38 degree, or 60 degree? I would ideally light up the stone but don't really want to light up the garage door. I was thinking to set them back a bit and aim that above the garage door as best as possible.
It's my pleasure! If going that route, I would recommend 38-degrees; the slightly more narrow spread will help to focus the light on the stone. Another option would be mounting a spotlight or smaller floodlight (like a Gentle Splash) to the very corner of the gutter above the front patio and then aiming the light to shine across the brick. Just another option to consider!
