Finding the right light to adorn the outside of your house is more complicated than it seems.
There are aesthetic aspects to consider, such as the color, type of material and style of the light fixtures. Then there are safety issues. Do you have enough light in the right places to keep would-be burglars at bay? Is there enough light to prevent a visitor from stumbling on your front walk?
And, can you accomplish all this without making your yard look like an airport landing strip?
In many subdivisions priced for first- and second-time buyers, builders offer standard lighting packages or give buyers an “allowance” to spend with a lighting distributor. Many provide one fixture outside each doorway, a typical building code requirement.
Some offer upgrades on the color, finish or shape of the fixture and allow buyers to add fixtures in other locations. Buyers could choose a brass hexagon-shaped light with beveled glass instead of the standard white plastic coach light, for example.
In this price range, though, buyers who want more elaborate fixtures typically have to buy them after they move in. The builder may be willing to extend the wiring to additional locations, even if you plan to add fixtures after moving in. This typically is less expensive than adding new fixtures or outlets after the house is built.
“You’ll always receive at least one garage fixture, one front-door fixture and one fixture by the garage service door,” said Lorie Randazzo, design center consultant for Centex Homes, a national builder with subdivisions throughout the Chicago area. The houses in their developments are base-priced from $89,990 to $244,990.
Houses with three-car garages, for example, include three exterior coach lights with beveled glass on the garage as standard items. The garages are built with a double door and one single door and an area in between the doors that is built of brick or siding. The lights are placed on each end of the garage wall and in the middle of the two doors, Randazzo said.
Depending upon the subdivision, buyers can upgrade from traditional coach style exterior lights to different styles or colors, such as Verde green or copper. In some subdivisions, buyers would be upgrading from a plastic to aluminum fixtures. The price to upgrade the whole package of exterior lights typically ranges from $75 to $200, she said.
William Ryan Homes, based in Schaumburg, includes brass coach lights as standard exterior fixtures. The lights are available in polished or antique brass, but most buyers choose the antique style because it requires less maintenance, said Pete Balistreri, vice president of sales and marketing. The Schaumburg-based builder has subdivisions throughout the area whose homes are priced from $150,000 to $230,000.
Polished brass will tarnish over time, so consumers should polish them at least once a year, he said.
The cost to upgrade the fixtures typically is $75 to $200 per fixture, Balistreri said.
At Delaine Farm in Morton Grove, Elliott Homes includes exterior fixtures in its townhouse units to ensure consistency throughout the units. The units are base-priced from $269,000 to $349,000. In the single-family houses in the same development, however, the fixtures are not included. Buyers receive a discount at an area lighting supply store and then can choose fixtures to suit their tastes, said Mark Elliott, president of the Morton Grove-based company.
The single-family houses are base-priced from $435,000. In that price range, as with custom homes, buyers often spend more time and money selecting fixtures to accent the house and the landscaping. “When it comes to light fixtures, there are so many types of fixtures, types of finishes, and sizes,” Elliott said. “Any one fixture may be ordered up to 10 different ways.”
In the custom-home market, buyers choose lighting based on the style of the house, their tastes and their lifestyle, said Patty Beck, a lighting consultant for Idlewood Electric Supply in Highland Park.
“There are some houses in Highland Park and Riverwoods that are on deep wooded lots and they need a lot of lights,” Beck said. “In other cases, I’m working with a professional or an athlete who says, `Are you kidding? I don’t want people to know where I live.’ “
Traditional designs with a European influence are the most popular style of exterior lighting, Beck said. “The No. 1 choice (in color) today is Verde and brown is second–I call it a dirty penny brown. The third choice is silver, in the pewter family.”
Consumers also are adding lighting to their landscaping designs, as they illuminate their yards, decks and patios.
“There are three distinct reasons for landscape lighting: safety, security and beauty,” said Rick Larsen, vice president of sales for Water Works Inc., an irrigation and landscape lighting company based in McHenry.
Lights should be placed so that they highlight outdoor areas such as flower beds, trees or walkways, but also enhance safety and security. This is achieved by adding lights under the eaves of a house and pointing the light toward the second story or by adding a light near a back door that also illuminates a flower bed.
“Let’s say you have a picture window in front of the house and a tree outside. You can put the light on the tree from the street side and it lights up the window,” Larsen said.
The light accentuates the tree, but also may deter burglars from breaking into the house through that window.
Many landscaping and wall-mounted lights can be purchased with a motion-detector mechanism that turns the light on when a person or animal walks near the light. These fixtures are popular for providing added security near doorways and in back yards. They can be programmed to turn on with motion or can be activated by a switch.
Landscaping lights are sold in several styles and are priced from less than $100 for a box of 16 lights sold through home improvement stores to several thousand dollars. Some are activated by the sun and then recharge during the daylight.
“There are as many different looks as there are furniture styles for your house,” Larsen said. “There’s modern, contemporary, country.”
Landscaping lights that are installed by lighting companies typically are left outside all year and require little maintenance. Those that homeowners can install themselves can be left outdoors all year or moved inside during the winter.
Pathway lights are common along driveways and walkways because they aim light down to the ground to light the path. Spot lights shine on one area and often are positioned at the base of a tree or under an eave to shine light on a second floor.
Water Works sells a set of 16 aluminum landscaping lights in different styles in black, white, red or Verde for $2,800, which includes installation.
There also are “pop-up” lights that recede into an 18-inch hole when not in use. “When the light is down, all you see is a 4-inch circle on the edge of the pathway,” Larsen said. “When the system comes on, the circle just rises about 12 inches.”
Subtlety is the key here. “You see the light effect, but you don’t want to see where the light is coming from,” Larsen said.
The price, however, is not for everyone. Each light is $300, plus $350 for the transformer that operates the set of lights.
