Last week I was scanning Facebook when I saw a few pictures from Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Birmingham that caught my eye. The pictures depicted a cozy spot that made me just want to sit on with a cup of tea and enjoy the night. Marlin Bennetch, who designs and installs custom landscape lighting in Birmingham and the surrounding areas, was gracious enough to provide me with some details to share.
Mentone is a small mountain town northeast of Birmingham. It’s known as a beautiful quaint spot with an abundance of arts and crafts shops, restaurants and bed and breakfasts for tourists to enjoy. The town has the only ski slope in Alabama and cooler temperatures due to the high elevation.
The Mentone Inn is one of the bed and breakfasts that people enjoying visiting. It was built in the 1920s and has 12 rooms as well as a large front porch and outdoor pavilion. The current owner of the Inn is also a residential client of Marlin’s in Birmingham. Having seen the transformation landscape lighting can provide, he asked Marlin to come to Mentone to design a lighting system for the Inn.
In designing the system, Marlin used a combination of bullet lights, path lights and deck lights to illuminate the walkways, deck and architectural details. When discussing the fixtures themselves, it was clear that they needed to be LED. The owner and innkeeper wanted something that was environmentally friendly and cool to the touch. Families often roam the property at night and they wanted to ensure that if a child touched a fixture, they wouldn’t be burned.
LED is both eco-friendly and cool. Compared to halogen or the typical commercial outdoor lighting fixtures, LED landscape lights use on average 80% less energy, saving on electricity bills. Additionally, LEDlights don’t create the amount of heat that other fixtures do.
The Mentone Inn has always been a picturesque property for visitors to enjoy, but the lighting allows it to be enjoyed both night and day. Guests can safely and clearly walk the property and passersby can enjoy the beauty as they walk or drive by.