Driveway Down Lighting
Illumination along a driveway is one of the most requested designs/installations we receive. The goal is to provide a safe and welcoming entrance to your home. One of the most common ways homeowners try and achieve this is by installing path lighting on either side of the driveway and over-lighting, I refer to this as the “runway look”. You do not want to highlight the driveway. Alternatively, just enough lighting should be used to guide you or your guests safely to or from your home. One way of doing this is through down lighting. Down lighting not only provides for better coverage than any other method of lighting, it also keeps the fixtures out of harm’s way. By putting lighting in the trees we get them off of the ground where they can be hit by a vehicle such as a delivery truck or a snow plow.
Driveway 1
This residence had a very long driveway in an extremely wooded area. I wanted to create a natural effect to keep the rural feel. I accomplished this by using lamps with cooler color temperature to create a moonlighting effect. We installed the fixtures above low branches for a shadowing effect that really displays its beauty as the wind blows and sways the leaves.
driveway 2
The client here wanted an inviting feeling into their driveway but was adamant he did not want to see the street. By providing a warmer lamp and proper aiming, this entrance is not only welcoming, but the street disappears into darkness as seen here.
driveway 3
On this particular driveway, because it was narrow, the client requested the rock border and the address sign be highlighted. We were able to accomplish this illumination with only two fixtures mounted about 20’ within a nearby tree.