Hi Guys, I'm trying to figure out what the best layout would be for our house. We're having landscaping done now, hence the virtual image attached. Some of the shrubs might be a little different and the 3 trees won't be quite established but otherwise it's pretty spot on. I'm planning on 3 spotlights on the garage on the corners and between the windows. 2 spotlights on each side of the double window on the right. Considering 2 spotlights for the middle 2 columns on the porch. 1 spotlight for each of the 3 trees, (redbud, japanese maple, dogwood). And 4 - 5 path lights. I would appreciate your input, if you think this is good, if you have other suggestions, also what angle and wattage for the bulbs, I'm thinking 2700k for color, 38 degrees for the angle but not certain. thanks for any help you can give.
Hey Keith, Beautiful house! I think you hit the nail on the head as far as lighting on the entire first story; I'm sure it will look beautiful. My only recommendation for the layout would be to add some light to the second story as well; for the sake of highlighting the beautiful architecture and balancing the design. Gutter mounts can be used to mount spotlights higher up and extend some illumination upwards. I took the liberty of marking some suggestions for placement; I was a little unsure on recommending any lights on the area above the front door because I think those may be bedrooms? Coming from someone who likes his bedroom pitch black at night, I always tend to proceed with caution when it comes to a second story but, it definetely looks beautiful getting some light up there. 2700k is the most popular color temperature and it's important to keep the color consistent throughout the entire design. As far as beam spreads, it typically varies depending on what you're lighting. For the columns and narrow areas on the windows to the right, I would recommend considering the narrowest (15 degrees). For the other areas on the exterior of the house, 38-degrees would look great; perhaps 60-degrees if illuminating the (2) wider peaks up top. For the trees, maybe account for the growth early on and start with a 60-degrees; you can always make it wider years down the road if the trees really start to grow.
Hi Evan, Last question on this. What wattage would you suggest for the spotlights? I was going to order multiple but was told once they're opened I can't return them.
Hi, Keith. Brightness is a matter of personal preference but my one major piece of advice before ordering your lights would be to first take a walk outside at night and look at your house from a few different vantage points. When you're deciding how bright to go, consider the ambient light. I live in an urban area where the streetlights are shielded and we still enjoy a pretty good view of the night sky. So I decided to go mostly with 2 watts bulbs on the house (my path lights are 3 watts). OTOH, my neighbor's house a few doors down doesn't have a 25 ft oak tree in the front yard like mine and so the facade gets a lot more light from the streetlights. In their case, two watt spotlights would probably be washed out and look way less noticeable, in my opinion. Creating a "wow" factor was important to me, but I didn't want a level of brightness that is distracting or harsh to passers by. Hope this helps. One other thing to keep in mind is that if you decide your lights are too bright you can always use filters, optics, and lenses to tone down the light level somewhat. https://www.voltlighting.com/landscape-lighting-acessories-lenses-filters-optics/c/34
Thanks Mesodude. I live in a suburban area with very little light. Trying to brighten up the house but in a subtle way. I'm thinking either 2 or 3 watt max. Appreciate the advice on the filters, this is all very new to me.
Happy to help, Keith. The learning curve might seem steep in the very beginning but the Volt site is super in terms of helping us newbies identify the more important landscape lighting dos and don’ts. Btw, though I’m comfortable enough with heights, I’m having my roofer mount the four fixtures I want on the upper level of my house. I’ll have him address any necessary adjustments or maintenance when he comes by to do other roof work during the year.
I'd keep most of the lights on the house at 2-3 watts as well. Depending on how the trees grow, you can always adjust the brightness as with the beam spreads. Like @Mesodude said, I'd recommend checking out the Learning Center. If you ever have any direct questions, the customer support team would be more than happy to help as well.
