Hello, I’ve been learning a lot reading through the forum. Kinda stoked there are so many gurus around to lend an ear! My wife and I are doing some major additions to the back yard so I wanted to class up the front too. Been thinking about the All Star mini (or all star) but could use some help with placement, bulb wattage, and beam angles. I was thinking of uplighting at the posts, a couple spots lighting the garden, and maybe a bigger spot pointing up on the gable. We will be redoing the garden area with some non-builder plants. I don’t have a better pic on hand but there’s not much more to the front yard lol. Most of our lot is in the back. I’d welcome any thoughts on where to begin as I’ve never done lighting before, but I can handle the implementation if I get some direction. We’re going for more of a subtle set up, but still something that will class it up a notch. TIA!
Hi Foxtrotbravo. You have a charming home and I agree that you can enhance that charm by lighting it in an understated way. I diagrammed your photo to suggest one possible approach. With most of your facade “landlocked” (with asphalt or concrete meeting the foundation), I suspect your biggest challenge will be figuring out the best way to route and conceal your wiring for house mounted fixtures. My approach is fairly straightforward. You’d light the columns from above (with puck lights mounted on your soffit) or from below using staked fixtures. Puck lights would illuminate the columns and your foundation plantings. With lights in the ground, you could isolate the columns by going with narrow beam spotlights (15-25 degree range would be my suggestion). I’d also illuminate your flag from the ground as well. I’d go with 38 degree spotlights (minis would work well) on each of the gables. Your garage doors fill 2/3 of the lower facade of your house. If you can figure out a way to conceal the wiring effectively, I’d go with either puck lights or hardscape lights to illuminate your garage doors. Finally, it appears you have at least four wall sconces. If you want those to be part of your lighting plan, I might forego the garage door lights and go with fairly low lumens bulbs to subtly light those sections of your facade. One advantage of having a house where you can easily and safely access an upper level is that mounting fixtures is not as daunting as with taller multi-level homes. That’s something to keep in mind whether you DIY or hire a roofer or electrician or landscaper to do the work.
Mesodude2, thanks so much for the thoughtful and prompt reply! You definitely gave me some ideas I hadn’t thought of and I started piecing together a list based upon your suggestions. What lumen output would you recommend? Recommendations seem to vary a great deal on this so perhaps it’s more subjective? In terms of the gables, do you think gutter mounting the spotlights would achieve the same effect you recommended? I’m not opposed to getting into the soffits but if could run the LV through the gutters I’d fore sure take the easier route lol. I’d need to add a small section of gutter to accomplish that but it’s not a big deal. Thanks again!
Glad to help. A lot of choices will be subjective. I think it will help you to spend some time exploring the site to learn about techniques and available products and accessories. Looking at the project gallery, looking at lighting photos online, and looking at landscape lighting projects in your area are good ways to get inspiration and see what’s possible. If you don’t have a lot of ambient light or street lamps near you house, you can achieve impressive results with fairly low lumens lighting. You also don’t need to go very bright when you’re illuminating lighter surfaces like the light grey and white areas on your house facade. Something to keep in mind is that some fixture types and models are way more customizable than others. For instance, there is currently no 3000K color temp option for puck lights. So to keep your lights colors consistent across the fixtures lighting your house, you’d probably want to go with all 2700K. Puck lights are available at two brightness levels. So for consistency’s sake, you’ll want to choose bulbs of a similar brightness level for your spotlights. I don’t want to risk bombarding you with TMI at once. That’s why I recommend exploring the site and learning about products and techniques at your own pace. At first glance, it may seem like there’s a steep learning curve. But designing your system and installing it are a lot of fun if you are a handy, DIY type. And other users and the administrator are here to help if you find yourself overwhelmed.
I’ll be sure to post back with what I come up with. Once our deck and patio are finished I’ve got some plans for the back yard too so it may be a few months.
Sounds good. VOLT is continually releasing new and improved products so you may find more choices to consider a few months from now. I haven’t seen one in action but the new spotlight lamps that offer multiple beam spreads in one bulb seems like a very cool product.
Hello, again. I figured I’d post back with some updates. Always nice when people do that, right? Attached are some front and back yard pics. I’m generally happy with things but not quite feeling it’s done. What does it need? Cannot put my finger on it. For the front yard I’d like to do some minimal lighting on the left side near the yellow flower/bush, but not anything overpowering. For the back yard, we illuminated the flame grasses but nothing in between. We will have a fire pit in the patio so I don’t want to make it too bright, but some indirect light in the plants in between would be nice. Anyway, I figured you guys were so much help I’d ask for any ongoing suggestions. Thanks!
