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Lighting Tips
OUTDOOR
LANTERNS
Outdoor lighting enhances the beauty of your property,
makes your home safer, more secure, and increases
the number of pleasurable hours you spend outdoors.
A well-lit front entrance enables you to greet guests
and identify visitors. Wall lanterns on each side
of the door will give your home a warm, welcoming
look, while assuring the safety of those who enter.
Under a porch or overhang, use a pendant or outdoor
flush-mount fixture.
- A separate rear or
side entrance can be lit with a single wall lantern
installed on the keyhole side of the door. For the
safety and security of family members using the
garage at night, you can install a wall fixture
on the face of the garage. " When it comes to choosing
your outdoor fixtures, less is more. For a dramatic
effect, use lower-wattage lamps. If additional light
is required to light the surrounding area, consider
using low-voltage landscape lighting.
- Steps, paths, and driveways
should be illuminated to make sure family members
and guests are able to move about easily and safely
after dark. You can install path lights, post lanterns,
or attach lights to the side of the house. Low-level
path lights which spread circular patterns of light
will illuminate your walkway while highlighting
nearby flower beds, shrubs, and ground cover.
- Decks, porches, and
patios can be converted into evening retreats by
concealing low-voltage lights under steps, railings,
or benches. Another technique is to install a spotlight
flooding down from the branches of a nearby tree
creating a moonlight effect.
HOW TO SIZE AN OUTDOOR LANTERN
One of the biggest challenges of outdoor lighting
is selecting the right-sized outdoor lantern. " The
height of a lantern should be based on the height
of the door. If a lantern is only used on one side,
it should be approximately one-third the height of
the door. When two lanterns are used on either side
of the door, they should each be approximately one-fourth
the height of the door. In either case, if you choose
a fixture with a long tail or top scroll, be cautious
of the overall bulk of the fixture as the height should
approximate one-half the visual height of the door.
" The lanterns should be mounted so the filament of
the bulb is approximately 66" above the threshold
of the door. Depending on the outlet box location,
different mounting arms (on the top or bottom) can
be selected to place the filament correctly. " Don't
undersize your lanterns - As a rule of thumb, lanterns
will appear about half the size from 50 feet away.
Visualize the front of your home as guests and neighbors
would view it from the street, and when in doubt,
always go larger.
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