I am very interested in installing some landscape lighting around my home. I have never done this before so I would really appreciate some advice on what lights to use and where to place them. I have included pictures. Thanks in advance for the suggestions.
Hi Ryan, Thanks for your post. There are so many great opportunities for lighting your property. Starting with path and area lighting. You could use path lights for along the paths and at the edges (or corners) of your patio and gardens. Or, you can mount downlights in the trees to project dappled light across the lawn and hardscaping. Your retaining walls could be lit with hardscape lights installed under the capstones. The trees would look beautiful up-lit by spotlights and/or floodlights. Since you have never done this before, I suggest you take on the project in stages. Focus on one area at a time. Our articles section has some great advice for getting started. And, our customer support team (813-978-3700) can answer specific questions if they come up. Thanks again and enjoy! Steve Parrott
Thanks for the reply. I am going to take your advice and focus on one area at a time. Im going to start with the first picture i posted. Any specific suggestions for this area?
Hi Ryan, First, I suggest you select some path lights you like. In the half-circle mulch area with the tree inside, add one path light to each of the straight-side corners. Add another path light in the dark dirt region on the far left side across from the halfway point of the mulch semi-circle. Add one more path light outside the curved part of the semi-circle on the other side of the path. All these path light suggestions are rough, best for you to get the lights, plug them in and try different locations in the dark. The next part would be uplighting the trees in the mulch - including the ones heading past the oven. A single spotlight for each tree should suffice. I suggest either the Infiniti 40 or the All-Star with a 35W equivalent lamp at 60º. Install these spots about 1 ft. from the trunks and tilt them nearly straight up. Another trick with spots is to make sure you hit each tree from the same angle - preferably from a side somewhat away from the viewers perspective - that will make the lighting look more natural. Hope that's helpful. Be sure to leave a lot of extra wire at the base of each fixture in case you want to move them around. Enjoy!
