We’ve talked before about the benefits of adding on to your outdoor lighting system. Often time’s homeowners start with a particular area of their home when designing an outdoor lighting plan. The front of your home may be more for aesthetic reasons, lighting the façade of your house or the majestic trees in your front yard. In due time, you realize how much the pathways leading to your backyard can create warm invitations to all the work you have done on the landscaping in your backyard. And with the time you spend in the back, you may realize how outdoor lighting can not only enhance the area but make it more useable for your family. Maybe it’s a quaint setting that would be perfect for cozy late night dinner if only there were enough light. We just helped a Kansas City family with the same predicament this past week.
A client of ours called us for some additional landscape lighting to be added to their system. While we were converting their soffit lamps and coach lights to our energy-efficient LED outdoor lighting, they asked us for a solution to their patio area. The homeowners had a beautifully manicured backyard with our landscaping lighting installed, creating a private oasis for their enjoyment. A spacious patio with a large wrought iron table for ten met the grassy area and was protected by a custom pergola. It was a beautiful setting ready for guests to sit and watch the night sky or gaze into the backyard at the illuminated trees and shrubs. What was missing was enough lighting for the family to entertain at the table and share the lavish space they had created. The homeowners didn’t want typical landscape lighting inside the pergola since the elegant setting called for more elaborate lighting. They wanted the space to mimic a formal dining room complete with a robust chandelier above the table. When they saw the exact lighting they were looking for online they knew they had to have it. The only problem was that the chandelier was a line voltage fixture and they had no power source in the desired area.
The problem they encountered was not seen as a setback to us. With a little ingenuity and skill, we were able to convert the line voltage light fixture to a low voltage LED fixture. We then tied the wiring into their existing outdoor lighting system so that the chandelier would be lit along with the other outdoor lighting fixtures. Using LED bulbs made this fixture more energy-efficient and will save the homeowners money and time since LEDs last up to 50,000 hours. They may never have to change a light bulb in this fixture.
The homeowners love the chandelier and the warmth it gives their outdoor dining space. Getting the outdoor living space of your dreams can be a reality when you use low voltage outdoor lighting. If you find you have a space outdoors you would like to light, give us a call. We may have the perfect solution for your home to make it the space you’ve always wanted.
