Lighting Up Your Exterior
Are you following us on Facebook? If you are you will have seen the finished product of my front landscaping and outdoor lighting. We rolled our sleeves up at The Cob Collection and really dug into this one. Of course we wanted something that was aesthetically pleasing, without looking like a runway or alien invasion, and we wanted an eco-friendly design that provided optimal lighting using the least amount of energy possible. The final product provides a beautiful view using strategies throughout to enhance colors and plants and to safely light the walkways.
Tips For Designing Your Landscape Lighting
Landscaping Network offers a lot of information on all aspects of landscape design and has a gallery of pictures you can look through too. They suggest the following list of points to consider when choosing lighting for your landscaping:
- Layout
- Views from indoors
- Focal Points
- Depth
- Ambient vs spotlighting
- Downlighting
- Uplighting
- Crosslighting
- Pathways
- Patios
- Trees
- Water Features
- Architectural elements
- Driveways
A lot to think about! You can visit their site for more detailed information on each item.
Types of Landscape Lighting
Now that you know what you want to light you’ll need to think about what kind of fixtures to choose.

Path Lights

Postmount/Piermount

Deck and Step Lights

Bollard Lights

Spotlight

Well Lights

Post cap lights
*photo from trex.com
Can you believe there are so many choices?
Make It Unique
We added a few special accents to the lighting design of my house. One of them is the two scrolled bollards we used at the entrance to the driveway. They cast a beautiful shadow against the concrete and add a unique touch to the design.


Another thing we did was to add a blue lens to certain lights focused on trees and shrubbery. The blue light acts as a color enhancer to bring out the true rich greens.

Lastly, we used photocells on the front and side lanterns. They come on after the nightscaping goes off – around 2 a.m.
Day and Night
Here’s a side by side comparison of day and night views.


Who We Like
We recommend checking out Volt Lighting. They have a wide array of fixtures to choose from and they offer a lifetime warranty (20 years) on transformers, photocells, fixtures, wire (unless cut) and led bulbs. Their service is top rated! Get a bad bulb, call them get a free shipping return label, and a new bulb sent out ASAP. They also provide unique lighting for hubs only (hubs are a fused junction point for transformer and fixture wiring. This allows an encased area to splice all wiring instead of using wire nuts).
Adding Value
If you’re planning on adding some lighting to your landscaping be sure to take the time to create a well thought out plan. Putting your house in the best light after the sun goes down not only looks pretty and provides function but adds value.
Need help? Just ask! We’d love to hear from you.
Let’s create great design.

Save Energy
Consider LED lights

According to the US Department of Energy, LED bulbs can be six to seven times more energy efficient than incandescent lights, save over 80% more energy, and last 25+ times as long as traditional light bulbs.
All the LED lights used in my yard add up to (1) 125 watt bulb! It is truly a great savings in energy without sacrificing light.
Be Kind to Mother Earth