TLDR; I'm looking for input on lights for the front and both sides of my house, photos included. I don't have anything set in stone - this is lighting more for aesthetics than security - gentle, soft light. Open to any and all suggestions. Thank you! Front: I'm fairly set on lighting the corners of the chimney, the base of the chimney brick and another light mounted just below the shingled portion that would push light up along the chimney itself. Additionally, what are thoughts on spotlights for the holly trees? Two on the larger one on the left and a smaller one on the right? I also think it would be nice to do some path lights along the front of the bed. Update: I'm likely moving the roses on the front posts to a spot in the back yard which means I'd light the posts with some soft light. I included a photo of the side of the front bed for spacing. Those 5 hydrangea are being moved and swapped for 5 boxwood balls. Side (with HVAC): Likely 2 gentle splash floodlights against brick, one spotlight under holly trees in back corner. Side (with column in bed): Likely 2 gentle splash floodlights against the brick, potential path lights to mirror front.
First, thanks for posting clear photos showing your property from multiple perspectives. Extremely helpful. You've got lots of great ideas.Very little I would quibble with. I diagrammed several of your photos to highlight some of my recommendations. Given that it's the most remarkable feature of your house, I love the idea of illuminating the chimney. Since the shingles are so accessible, consider lighting the left and right sides of it as well. I think it'd be a shame to leave those handsome dormer hidden. If you can avoid or mitigate light intrusion, I highly recommend you illuminate them with gutter mounted spots.You mentioned illuminating the front border garden with path lights. To add some more drama to your lighting plan, consider multiple lighting approaches. if there's room to fit some puck lights underneath the front porch roof edge, that's one way to bathe that area with light different from what you will achieve with path lights. I would place a wide spread path light or a couple of mini path lights near the step to the side of your front porch. On the side where the column is, you could uplight one or more of those wall areas and/or place a couple of path lights to highlight that side of the house. Consider following the same approach on the other side of the house. Now, it probably seems as if I'm encouraging you to use a lot of lights on your property. What actually doing is presenting you with options. You'll want to think about how much light you want to introduce to your property overall and work from there. Keep in mind that you can create a very compelling lighting plan with very low lumens light fixtures. Resist the urge to illuminate all of your favorite plants or features and allow reflected light and bounced light to do some of the work for you. HTH
