All kidding aside, I am certainly not one to jump out of the car or walk down the street and feel so compelled to take a picture of an inanimate object to post on my blog. And, if I felt so compelled, I would be likely to put a serious and very profound description with the photo.

Wow. Seriously?

As hard as I try, I cannot think of a better photo caption to describe this picture. This contraption actually sits in front of a beautiful well congregated St. Louis building. The outdoor facade lights are mounted on concrete and affixed permanently in one direction. Making it worse, this contraption is set up in a place that would be a tripping hazard and also a blinding light from those exiting the building in the evening.

Architectural facade lighting needs to be adjacent to the building that it illuminates to properly light the facade. Well designed outdoor lighting should never shine in your eyes whether you’re in the building or exiting the building. Fixtures should never be permanently affixed nor sticking up. What would happen if the fixture breaks or is run over by a lawnmower or tripped over by a small child?

All kidding aside, this outdoor lighting installation was almost certainly done by the landscaper who so elegantly landscaped this building. But, landscaper’s skills with their craft do not extend to a totally different craft in itself – landscape and architectural outdoor lighting. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis has been designing and installing landscape and architectural lighting in St. Louis for over 10 years. It’s all we do. Although our designs are placed in landscaping beds, if we are asked to dress the area with some landscaping, we recommend some great landscapers. If you are looking to illuminate your building, home or landscaping, ask your landscaper to recommend a professional outdoor lighting company. Or better yet, just give us a call. Our consultation is free. You can see our work on our website. Take a look at our outdoor lighting and landscape lighting photo galleries.

Give us a ring to discuss your commercial or residential outdoor lighting needs. Mention our blog for our associated blog discount.

Jim Schwartz

Owner, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis

Do you want a pool that looks like this in the evening?

A new pool in your backyard can visually make the difference between day and night. But by having GOOD outdoor lighting, there really is no difference between day and night in terms of how well you can see and move around your pool. So many homeowners have called me after having their gorgeous new pool installed with the “standard package” lights only to walk out to their pool at night and see the faint glow bulbs surround their pool. Or, they used a landscaper’s inexpensive fixtures and their new pool is surrounded by broken fixtures and peeping wires. Another scenario I’ve seen is where landscapers who are untrained at lighting install lights and completely leave dark areas around the pool.

Create an outdoor oasis with pool lighting in your own backyard.

When you make the investment  in a new pool it is important to contact your outdoor lighting professional at the same time you contact your pool contractor. Of course many landscaping and pool companies offer outdoor lighting but it is not what they specialize in. And they just don’t do a good job at lighting. Do you want to place your trust in your dentist to mend a broken leg? Leave the chosen profession of expertise and experience to those who specialize in that trade and  stake their reputation on it. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis specializes in outdoor lighting. It is all we do and we are good at it.

You want to plan the lighting for your new pool or water feature while it’s under construction. When we work in conjunction with your pool contractor and landscaper we can guarantee smooth sailing by having the chance to have the pool wired properly before the pool is finished. We can design the lighting to focus on individual plantings around your pool with your landscaper, and can work with your pool builder to deliver pool lighting that would rival a sunset in a tropical paradise anywhere in the world.

Now is the time to call for pool lighting for your upcoming pool construction.

Your pool is just the beginning. The enhancements that are used to accentuate your design and surrounding structures along with landscaping will heighten your evening pool enjoyment as well as your senses. A pool is a large investment. Don’t trust your pool lighting to just anyone, call us and we can do it right the first time.

If you are seeing a pool in your plans for the upcoming spring, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis now before you break ground to ensure your outdoor oasis is perfect down to the very last detail. After all, you want to enjoy your new endeavor morning, noon and most of all night. Call us at (636) 561-1818 or email us at JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

For more images of refreshing inspiration, visit our pool and underwater lighting gallery located on our website.

Landscape lighting creates a magical setting along this St. Louis pathway.

The mad rush of the holiday season is behind us once more and for many homeowners this time of year leads to dreams of spring – lush foliage, warmer breezes, fragrant blooms and weather more conducive to enjoying all the beauty spring has in store. Spring is closer than you may think and now is the perfect time to start planning for improvements within your landscape and gardens.

When preparing for your annual plantings and landscape upgrades, consider the addition of outdoor lighting to your existing landscape or as part of your spring landscape improvements. Outdoor lighting adds beauty, ambiance and enjoyment to your landscape. I like to compare the addition of outdoor lighting within the landscape to the addition of candles to a well set table during a delicious dinner gathering. Would the effect be as compelling without a few well placed candles on the table? The candles add romance, ambiance, highlight the focus of the evening and set the mood in the same way outdoor lighting can affect your landscape in the evening. A handful of carefully placed and expertly directed outdoor lights can make your landscape come alive with beauty under the veil of night.

Illuminating the beauty of choice plantings can create romance and ambiance in your landscape.

Increasing the visual interest in your landscape adds curb appeal and draws you and your guests into the beauty of the landscape at night. Up lighting works well to enhance a choice tree, outdoor structure or plant  and creates a focal point of both beauty and interest. Up lighting specific plantings  and  exterior structures, in multiple locations within your landscape designs will add layers of depth to your yard and also light areas that are typically left in the dark. We recently outlined important things to consider when doing landscape lighting in an earlier post.

Another good use of outdoor lighting is pathway lighting. Pathway lighting not only increases visibility along the areas trodden within your yard to make it safer, but also adds quaint beauty to the plantings and materials used to construct the paths themselves. For example, a brick or stone walkway located between mounds of flowering perennials become a work of art by enhancing the effect of materials playing off one another under the illumination of path lighting.

Outdoor lighting enhances this St. Louis gazebo and sets the stage for many memorable evenings.

Outdoor structures can also benefit from outdoor lighting. Decks, patios, porches, gazebos, pool cabanas and trellises spring to life in the evening with the addition of outdoor lighting. Lighting makes these beloved compliments to your home safer and easier to enjoy during the evening hours and add beauty and ambiance as well. Imagine hosting the first backyard barbecue of the season with no worry of impending darkness under the magical glow of your outdoor lighting. The laughter and fun will continue long after sundown. Outdoor lighting allows for the extended enjoyment of outdoor living areas that simply isn’t possible in the dark. My rule of thumb is if an area isn’t illuminated at night, people just won’t use that area. Not only is it invisible, it’s unusable at night.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis can design a landscape and outdoor lighting plan for your existing landscape and can even work along with your landscaper to plan for an upcoming landscape improvement. Working hand in hand with a landscape architect from the beginning stages of any new design promotes fluidity of your design and ensures the installation is managed properly from start to finish. From once upon a time in the developmental stages to a very happy ending.

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

To learn more about our professional outdoor lighting design and installation in St. Louis, including landscape and garden lighting, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis today, remember Spring is just around the corner and you won’t want to miss a minute of the beauty, morning, noon and night.  (636) 561 – 1818 email: JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

Don’t

1. Don’t try to light everything. It’s better to pick and area and light it well than to sparsely light a lot of areas and not do any of them well
2. Don’t focus on the fixture. Think of it this way. Outdoor lights are about how you want your home to look at night. Whether you use an artfully sculpted fixture or a plain-but-functional fixture, your your lighting goal of evening illumination renders that fixture barely visible if at all. On design features, focus on the design of those features. On lighting, focus on the effect.
3. Don’t put path lights in grass if it can be avoided. Grass needs to be cut. It gets walked on, run over by small legs, trampled over by dogs and destroyed by weed eaters. This is not the place you want to put up your outdoor lighting fixture. If you have a landscaping bed on the other side of the path or walkway, that is a much better place for path lights.
4. Don’t leave the critical areas dark. If an area of your front or back yard is not illuminated, people will not go there or walk there. Take this scenario for example. Let’s say you have a pool in your back yard. The pool has two paths that lead to it. One goes straight to the house into the living room. The other also goes to the house but through the mud room. Where would you rather have your wet swimmers enter your home? I’ve seen too many people light one path instead of the other and night swimmers will only take the illuminated path.
5. Don’t use too many fixtures. I’ve seen this so many times. Often an inexperienced landscape lighting designer or a landscaper not skilled in landscape lighting will install way too many fixtures. There are two unfortunate reasons they do this. Either they are using fixtures that are too weak to do the job or they are just plain selling you too many fixtures. Based on the bulb strength and direction as well as the placement of the fixtures and the bulbs within the fixtures, a couple of well designed and placed fixtures can do the work of 20 poorly placed and poor quality fixtures.

Patio lighting St. Louis

Top 5 Do’s for landscape lighting

1. Focus on lighting the house first and the trees second. Outdoor lighting’s primary focus should be the most beautiful and important thing on your grounds – your house. Outdoor lighting reveals the beauty of your home at night and makes it safer and more secure.
2. Keep fixtures close to the house so they’re not obtrusive to homeowner inside of home or tripping hazards to people outside the home
3. After lighting your house, focus on the area of your yard or grounds where you like to spend your time. When outdoors do you like to spend time on the deck, patio, or another place in your yard? Light that area next. Outdoor lighting makes it possible to enjoy your outdoors at night and not just during the day.
4. Think about lighting a focal tree or element. Often times, people want to light a tree line or another beautiful element of their yard when illuminating a beautiful 100 foot tree or water feature might add more to the enjoyment of the illuminated outdoor living area. For example, once you’ve lit your home and your deck, lighting a sculpture or tree or water feature might add to the ambiance without leading to over-lighting.
5. Do seriously weigh LED vs fluorescent and be VERY wary of anyone who tells you that one is better than the other. They both have tremendous benefits and both render outdoor light beautifully if designed correctly. Financially LED costs more up front and saves a lot year after year. Fluorescent bulbs cost a lot less up front but the maintenance and power bills cost a good bit more. As us for a financial analysis. Likely if you’re going to be in your home 5+ years, your initial investment may have already paid off.

Most importantly, talk to your lighting designer. Have them come out to your home. Ask them for their recommendations and ask them why. It’s very easy to spot a professional and it’s even easier to spot someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. Make sure you call lighting designers that focus exclusively on outdoor lighting. A landscaper just isn’t going to have the knowledge or experience that a qualified professional seasoned lighting designer is going to have.

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

Also, make sure the consultation is at no charge. Give us a ring for a no-charge consultation (636) 561 – 1818 or email: JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

St Louis garden lighting with copper path light

One of our most popular services is landscape lighting. Although we offer architectural lighting, lighting to enhance your home’s safety, deck lighting, pool lighting, and commercial outdoor lighting, landscape lighting is at the top of the list. Your landscape lighting includes:

• hedge row lighting
• tree-line lighting
• focal tree lighting
• water feature lighting
• garden lighting
• outdoor sculpture lighting
• trellis lighting

and so much more. We are asked so many questions about which elements of your yard are the best ones to light up or the “best bang for the buck”. We are also asked about how much of your landscaping and focal features you should illuminate. We are constantly asked about LED vs. low voltage outdoor lighting. So, we’ve decided to create a short series looking at landscape lighting. Over the next two weeks, we will add 2 blog posts addressing considerations, ideas and answering some of your questions. Whether you’re reading this article now or stumble up it at a later date, email us a question you’d like answered and we will get back to you with some thoughts and ideas.

Here is a slide show to get some great ideas started:

For more information, view our website, give us a call (636) 561 – 1818, or email us JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

This image shows the beloved Mary fretting over her garden's beauty.

Who can forget the old English  nursery rhyme about “Mary, Mary quite contrary” and the many means she talked about using to make her garden beautiful. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis can help you capture the same magic in your garden. One of our outdoor lighting specialties is superior garden lighting which lets you capture every bloom, and every bud in all it’s glory in the evening hours.

Take a look at what we can do to please the gardener in you…

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

To learn more about creating your own ethereal garden of Eden under the night sky, contact Outdoor Living Perspectives of St. Louis. You can call us at (636) 561 – 1818 or email us at JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

To see more imagery of gardens beautifully highlighted in the evening with garden lighting, visit our garden and landscape lighting galleries located on our website.

LED technology gives you freedom, convenience and energy savings when used in your outdoor lighting system

There are many reasons to use LED outdoor lighting but I’ve highlighted the top 4 below.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis uses LED lighting to achieve stunning results such as these.

LED = Savings

Here’s a realistic scenario to consider when thinking of using LED’s. Let’s say you spend $100 per month in power to light your outdoor lighting system. This comes out to an average annual usage cost of $1,200 per year. Just by choosing LED lights you will use 90% less energy, and this converts to a system that now costs $120 per year to operate. Who can argue with that kind of economic advantage?

LED = Environmentally friendly

Along with the energy savings LED outdoor lighting provides, there is also a”green” payback that comes along with LED usage. LED bulbs are 100% recyclable and contain no toxic materials, hazardous mercury, or halogen gases. This also means that disposal of spent LED bulbs will not impact the environment is a negative way. LEDs do not require a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or hazardous waste disposal like those required of fluorescents and their counterparts. LED’s also emit no ultraviolet rays or infrared radiation.

LED= Safety

Since LED technology transfers power to light instead of heat and therefore generates very little heat and results in a cool burning bulb. There is little danger of LED’s creating a fire hazard because they do not use ballasts which can sometimes fail and post a danger within their setting. They also exhibit extreme durability and work well in both warm and cold environments  and can also withstand moderate surges of power.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis uses LED technology to beautifully illuminate your deck or patio

LED= Peace of mind

When you take all of the positive aspects of using LED lighting in your outdoor lighting design, the upfront costs of installing an LED system, or converting your existing system to LED seems trivial. In just a brief period the upfront investments involved with LED’s are recouped by way of short and long-term savings on your monthly power bill. How could you possibly second guess installing an outdoor lighting system using bulbs that last an astounding 50,000 hours?  Making the decision to go LED is proof positive that a little green up front goes a long way with saving a whole lot of green in the long run.

Our LED outdoor lighting includes architectural and facade lighting, garden and landscape lighting, path lighting, deck and patio lighting, tree lighting and even outdoor holiday lighting. If you have an outdoor area in need of illumination we can expertly design and install an LED lighting scenario to take care of your needs.

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

Contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis to learn more about our LED outdoor lighting designs, and to discuss the positive impact their use can play in your lifestyle, and your wallet. In many cases we can even retro-fit your existing outdoor lighting fixtures to LED with ease. Call us at (636) 561 – 1818 or email us at JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

See more stunning LED outdoor lighting by visiting our outdoor lighting gallery located on our website.

These little gems offer elegance and classic designs.

When you look at the holiday lighting to the right, you think of old world charm and character. This type of holiday lighting is simple, elegant and stands the test of time. These lights offer simplicity and vintage appeal. Homeowners that want to capture a refined and sophisticated look in their holiday lighting often choose to use this classic style of lighting. These lights come in a host of holiday colors, but the most readily used among our clients is the clear or white lights.

They are available in energy-efficient LED. This energy savings is another great reason to choose these lights this season for your residential holiday lighting display.

This vintage ad. for GE holiday lighting features the use of the C9

You probably remember seeing these lights used in your parents Christmas lighting , or may even your grandparents holiday lighting. These lights were originally introduced by GE ( General Electric) , in 1927 and are still being used today to create the ultimate in elegant outdoor holiday lighting. The lights became quite popular following World War II and were all the rage all through the 1950′s. Not much has changed about the ambiance they exude, but the technology has improved immensely. These lights use parallel circuitry, which means that if one light goes out the rest stay lit, this means no more trying to figure out which bulb is out. They are long-lasting, being higher quality made than your average string of lights mean they can be used year after year without having to worry about replacement as often as regular lights. You only need a tree, a bush or a roofline to create a stunning holiday display with the C9, they offer higher visibility than a twinkle light, and lend themselves to drama from even a great distance.

Stunning holiday outdoor tree lighting with c9 outdoor Christmas lights

Outdoor Lighting Perspective of St. Louis can help you bring back the magic into your holiday lighting display with the use of these elegant lights with vintage appeal. We readily use them as part of our holiday outdoor lighting program, along with a myriad of other unique lighting choices you don’t see in your average residential holiday lighting display. Our holiday outdoor lighting program entails your holiday lighting design, installation and removal for the utmost in convenience. We even store your holiday lighting display in our temperature controlled warehouses for you after the holiday season is over. Our convenient lighting program also gives you the opportunity to add onto your holiday display year to beautiful year without the worry of having to take up your valuable storage space.

To learn more about all the elegant and classic outdoor holiday lighting choices we have available to help you create a magical Christmas lighting display, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis. (636) 561 – 1818 JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

Visit our holiday photo gallery located on our website  for more designs to put you in the spirit.

Your home can be stunning each and every day with landscape and architectural lighting

Ah… the holiday time of year. You drive down any street and witness enchanting holiday lighting. Witnessing holiday lighting gives you that same feeling as hearing an old favorite song. It creates a mood. It creates a feeling of enchantment and warmth. It’s a sign that magic is happening. Homeowners each year hire us to design and install their outdoor holiday lighting to make their homes a little more festive and a lot more beautiful for the holidays. Many of those same homeowners that take advantage of our holiday lighting also have our traditional outdoor lighting throughout the entire year.

Architectural facade lighting can make your home look even more stunning than it already is. Many of our customers tell us their home looks bigger and even more beautiful at night than it does during the day. We pay special attention to any customized elements within your home’s architecture to make sure they are subtly enhanced. Elements like dormers, columns, or even custom masonry or stonework won’t go unnoticed with architectural and facade lighting. These are just some of the key pieces used in designing an outdoor lighting system that turns heads. Along with architectural and facade lighting, we also provide superior landscape and garden outdoor lighting designs to enhance the look of your property as well as your home.

Landscape and garden lighting can add beauty to your landscaping and outdoor structures that during the day are already beautiful, but under the glow of outdoor lighting are breathtaking. Our landscape lighting focuses on the beauty within your landscape like flower beds, select trees or specialized plantings, garden statuary, and landscape borders. A well-lit home deserves a well-lit landscape so the two can harmonize together as one.

Outdoor lighting can also make your home safer. A well-lit home is less likely to be the target of a break-in. Adding the essence of outdoor lighting makes it easier for you and your family to navigate paths, walkways and driveways in the evening. Properly executed outdoor lighting will help prevent accidents like tripping over that limb that blew out of your beloved oak tree and onto your front walkway just before your dinner guests arrive after dusk. With outdoor lighting you never have to worry if you left that floodlight on for your teenage daughter to return home after a night out with the “girls” because our outdoor lighting can be programmed to automatically turn on and off at specific times to suit your individual needs.

Safety, beauty and elegance entwined with Landscape and architectural lighting by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis

Think about how the outdoor holiday lighting that is used throughout your community to add Christmas magic can make each evening magical for you as well with landscape and architectural lighting 365 days a year.

Contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis to talk about a customized outdoor lighting design for your home. Call today (636) 561 – 1818 or email JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

You can see more images of our stunning St. Louis landscape lighting and St. Louis architectural lighting by visiting our landscape lighting  and architectural lighting photo galleries located on our website.

This outdoor holiday lighting display includes a lighted yard display of an elegant lighted swan

Do you remember the magical feeling you felt as a child when you saw houses decorated with holiday lighting so beautiful that you just wanted to drive in the driveway, get out, tap on the door and say “I’m home”? I sometimes wonder if my love for outdoor lighting was founded on these early impressions of outdoor lighting which planted the seeds for what is now my career. In those days, the lighted holiday yard displays were mostly one-dimensional, rudimentary designs that were based on simplicity and fun. Today’s lighted yard displays are anything but simple. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis offers a wide variety of holiday lighted yard displays that span from traditional to unique and everything in-between.

Lighted yard displays of presents under a lighted exterior holiday Christmas tree

Our self-standing yard displays give you the capacity to build an entire theme within your landscape, or  create one special yard display to compliment your entire outdoor holiday lighting display. Many of our yard displays are available in LED  as well as standard bulbs. Some of our unique displays even feature changing light patterns that simulate motion to add an element of excitement and whimsy into your outdoor holiday lighting design.

We offer a large variety of lighted yard displays to choose from that are sure to transform your yard into a winter wonderland of light. Our yard displays come in both three-dimensional and one-dimensional designs.  Some of our most popular lighted yard displays include lighted candy canes, lighted toy soldiers, lighted snowflakes, lighted gift boxes, lighted angels, lighted Santa and reindeer and lighted Christmas carolers just to name a few.

Many of our outdoor holiday lighting customers like to integrate our lighted holiday yard displays into the theme of their Christmas lighting design. For instance, adding a sidewalk lined with lighted candy canes in conjunction with candy cane roofline lighting creates a a fun “Christmas candyland” effect.

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

To learn more about bringing back the childlike fascination and enchantment in your outdoor holiday lighting design, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis. We can design and install a holiday lighting display that will inspire you with our holiday lighted yard displays among all the many facets of Christmas lighting we offer to make your holidays unforgettable. You can call us at (636) 561 – 1818 or email us at JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com to discuss turning your property into a winter wonderland of lights.