Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, you may not know, is one franchise brand under the Outdoor Living Brands family of companies. Its sister companies are Archadeck Outdoor Living, Mosquito Squad and Renew Crew. Each business model is in the outdoor living category and we encourage locations to work together when possible. Recently, Archadeck Outdoor Living, America’s deck builder, ran a contest with the grand prize of a $70,000 backyard makeover. Third place was an outdoor lighting system compliments of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives and earlier this week the system was installed.
To enter the Dream Backyard Makeover Contest, homeowners had to submit a photo of their backyard and a 200 word description of why they needed a new outdoor living space. Two finalists were chosen for February, March and April before opening it up to online voting. One of the February finalists was William Jakes from Columbia, South Carolina. His description explained an unfortunate event:
“We hired a contractor to rebuild our deck and he did about half the work and abandoned the work site. After inspection we found out that nothing was to code and he did not have a contractor’s license. This was part of our retirement savings and now we will have to wait until we can save up the money to have the deck torn down and rebuilt.”
Jakes came in third in the Archadeck Dream Backyard Makeover contest so he was awarded an outdoor lighting system, worth $3,000, for his home. Kenny Kaufman, who provides outdoor and landscape lighting in Columbia and the surrounding areas, met with William at his home discuss his options. Since William’s backyard isn’t in great condition and he would like a new deck before lighting, he decided to install the lighting system in the front of the home.
Kenny designed a lighting system that included both architectural and landscape lighting techniques. The majority of lights used were well lights. Well lights shine the light upward accentuating different design features. The Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Columbia team installed well lights in front of the porch columns and at the base of the home. Column lighting is the best way to make sure that the structures don’t disappear when the sun goes down. By grazing the columns with light, the patio also gets adequate light.
The textures of this home are really unique. The up lighting to the right of the porch shows off the neat siding installation while the column lighting highlights the siding in the eaves. The different textures really bring a charm to the house and without the lighting it couldn’t be appreciated at night.
In front of the porch there is a nice stone patio surrounded by flower beds. Kenny added copper path lights to the flower beds to show off the landscaping, but also light the patio. Now visitors to the Jakes house will know exactly where they are stepping!
The best part of the project? How happy William is. Here’s a snippet of an email that I got from him:
“I can not express the excitement we had in winning 3rd place in a national contest. It was fantastic and the lighting is unbelievable. Since it was installed we have stayed up at night to watch the lights. It really showcases our house. Also, I want to thank your company and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Columbia especially Kennith Kaufman. They were very professional and have restored my faith in having work done on our house. I just wish there were more professional companies with your work ethic.”
We would like to congratulate William and the rest of the Jakes family on their prize in the Archadeck Dream Backyard Makeover contest. We hope that you continue to enjoy your new Outdoor Lighting Perspectives system!
If you have questions on how outdoor lighting can enhance your property, please contact your local Outdoor Lighting Perspectives office. We’re confident we can design a system that you will love!