Hi, I thought this would be easy, but with so many choices it’s harder than I thought. Would love assistance on what lights to use and placement. The area near garage and fence is really dark at night and not sure what can be done or used. Thanks!
Hi, Laura. I've diagrammed your photos to suggest some possible approaches to lighting your house and yard. I think decision-making will be less daunting if you start by thinking in terms of both how much light you want to introduce to your property overall and how much of your property you want your lighting to highlight. In terms of your house facade, if you did nothing else, I think a plan that included lights where the yellow graphics appear would do a decent job of illuminating your house attractively. With this approach, you're highlighting the basic contours of your house as opposed to flooding your entire facade with light. For instance, you could also uplight the two wall sections flanking the windows on that small gabled section to the left of your front entrance as well as that small section with the closed shutters (where the orange graphic just above your address sign appears). But I personally like the idea of leaving some areas indirectly illuminated or illuminated by a different lighting fixture type. So let's say you didn't like that the small gabled section I mentioned previously wasn't as well illuminate as the other sections. Instead of uplighting them, you could stake a compact floodlight or an area/path light there (where that orange graphic is) that highlights the foundation garden there but also indirectly illuminates some of the house above that garden bed. You could even eliminate the fixture designated by the farthest yellow graphic to the right and instead light that crape myrtle that's on the corner there. And/or, you could illuminate all some sections of your fence there, which would define the contours of your property in yet a different way. Btw, I added that orange graphic to the far left before I realized that column next to your garage is landlocked (so feel free to ignore that). As you can see in the second photo, I'm recommending that you flank each of those awesome trees in your front yard with spotlights and illuminate that crape myrtle as well. Maybe if you decide not to illuminate that far right section of the house, you'd want to go a little bit brighter (so you can indirectly light that side of the house somewhat). An area/path or a beacon type well light could illuminate your address plate. Because I realize a lot of people are hesitant to stake fixtures in their lawn (for fear of damage by lawn equipment, for one thing), I usually avoid recommending that approach. But if you're ok with that, you could illuminate sections of your fence with compact spotlights or floodlights. Another way to get some light over there is to light that crape myrtle and/or place a path/area in that mulched bed that highlights that garden area and even your driveway to some extent. In fact, your mulched areas are a good way to add some fill light (yellow oval graphics) for the house, border gardens, and pathways and you won't have to worry as much about the fixtures being too obtrusive or getting in the way of lawn maintenance. Yet another way to add lighting back there would be soffit lights above your garage door and other parts of that section of your house (including that column with the orange graphic mentioned earlier). Btw, keep in mind that, depending on how brightly you illuminate those three trees, you may want to add two or three path/area lights to illuminate the mulched areas beneath the trees. Hope this helps to get you started and makes you feel less intimidated by the process. And have fun!
Thanks! This is helping me get started and select what I need. I forgot to add that all of the windows (not including the ones under the front porch) along the front of the house are not for a room. They are for the garage or a closet window, so the light wouldn’t bother anyone. Not sure if knowing this would change how to put the spot lights on the house.
Glad to help, Laura. My approach is less about preventing light intrusion than lighting the house in a way that highlights rather than floods the facade. But the great thing about lighting is there’s no single perfect way to illuminate a home or landscaping. If you’re feeling adventurous, play around with different lighting placement. You can always move fixtures later if you change your mind.
