This St. Louis home is an example of how washes of light exemplify an upscale elegant outdoor lighting design. Notice how the areas of interest and the driveway gets your attention with clarity.

There are two things in outdoor lighting that I  frown upon. One is the “spot light” style lighting which creates bright spots and dark spots on the facade  of a house,  or streaks of light on the facade. Spotty lighting has no rhyme or reason and just looks poorly designed and installed. Spot lighting can also create what is commonly referred to as “hot spots”. A good analogy to describe hot spots is the flash of a camera in your face when someone takes your picture. In essence the light on the illuminated area is so bright and overpowering you can’t make out what the spotlight is illuminating. All that is visible is the light itself.

The other thorn in my side is the use of “runway” style lighting. We see this frequently on paths and driveways via solar lights or dim path lights that create only enough light to see the light itself but not to illuminate anything of meaning in the area around it.  These inferior installations resemble an airport runway on a dimmer.

Another fine example of outdoor lighting done right, pleasing to the eye as well as the senses.

The common element found in both forms of outdoor lighting is that they both emit “spotty lighting” which I mean both literally and figuratively.  In professional outdoor lighting this is considered to be the key giveaway of poor design and installation. Less experienced outdoor lighting companies use spotlights for architectural lighting and facade lighting because they simply don’t know the ropes. Outdoor lighting design is artistry. It involves the art of playing with light to achieve an effect, a mood, and a feeling.

We use soft, gentle washes of light. In elegant upscale outdoor lighting you want to create a wash of light that makes a worthy presentation of the object or area you are illuminating. This means when you look into the landscape, or up to the homes facade you notice the beautifully lit stone pathways garnished with colorful blooms, or you notice the incredible masonry or custom stone work, but never the light itself.  Good outdoor lighting requires the  proper placement of the proper fixture to ensure the light fixture itself blends into the background and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. This approach leaves the eye seeing only the beauty of the way the light and the object or area harmonize together.

Jim Schwartz, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives St. Louis

If you are looking for the right outdoor lighting company to don your home and landscape with elegant outdoor lighting, contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis. Outdoor lighting is all we do. We create designs that define elegance and refinement. Call or email us to learn more and schedule your night-time demonstration that will leave you seeing your home in a new light. (636) 561 – 1818 email:JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

You can see more elegant outdoor lighting artistry at work by visiting our architectural lighting gallery, landscape and garden lighting gallery and our outdoor lighting gallery located on our website. Our galleries are packed with inspiration for your little piece of heaven.

Lake St Louis deck lighting outdoor lighting

One of the design accomplices of any professional outdoor lighting company is greenery such as shrubbery. Our goal is for the effect of lighting to be seen and not the light fixtures themselves. With our architectural facade lighting, the fixtures sit in the hedge row at the front of the home. With deck lighting, we attach our fixtures to the balusters or rails so the lighting effect is the focus.

When we were called to this beautiful home on Lake St. Louis, their stunning grand patio had a set of narrow railings and had no shrubbery. Our solution was to core drill and flush mount our LED outdoor lighting fixtures in both the deck area and also in the patio area.

Take a look at the patio during the day and at night

Above you see pictures of the lake view during the day and also with the new outdoor lighting in the evening. With a view that beautiful, it’s impressive that it can look even better at night than it does during the day. Making the effect of the light the focus instead of making the fixtures the focus is something we feel so strongly about. Not only can lighting fixtures be tripping hazards but they can also be eye sores. They can easily distract and detract from the ambiance of the outdoor living area. By bringing in the heavy equipment to drill on both the deck and patio for flush mount lighting, we were able to keep the focus exactly where it belonged – on the mood, on outdoor living, and on safety.

Lake St Louis home with core drilled deck lights by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis

Core drilled LED inset lights on composite deck

Jim Schwartz, owner - Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis

Give us a call for a free consultation. We look forward to discussing your outdoor lighting needs at your home. (636) 561 – 1818.

Our LCA outdoor lighting technology welcomes the arrival of daylight savings time.

Ever since Benjamin Franklin conceived the idea of daylight savings time, we have become accustomed to languishing in the longer days that harken the first of Spring each year.  Since we now have clocks that automatically adjust to this special event we also have to adjust all the other systems we use in our homes that operate on the basis of time to accommodate the change. From your homes  irrigation system to your microwave settings,  regulating the timers on the items we depend on to function consistently can become quite a daunting task.  Luckily, your outdoor lighting doesn’t have to be one of them.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis uses LCA, ( lighting control animation) technology to regulate your outdoor lighting system for a truly worry-free, set it and forget it lighting system. Our technology doesn’t leave you playing the guessing game of dusk and dawn settings because it automatically adjusts to the ever-changing times of dusk and dawn as the seasons change to ensure your home is properly lit each and every evening. This includes regulating your outdoor lighting automatically to reflect daylight savings time.

Spring ahead this season with true worry free set it and forget it convenience.

Not only does LCA keep you from having to hover over the switch every evening, you don’t even have to worry about flipping a switch at all if you don’t want to. LCA is a no worry system that promotes ease of operation, convenience, and aids in making your property safe, secure and more beautiful. Our systems can even be programmed to cut energy costs by being set to run off 50% , or 75% illumination when you need it.

Of course, the power to control your own lights is always an option, even with LCA. The LCA technology can even be controlled via your smart phone, so the control is always in your hands and you can amend the lighting anytime, from anywhere with a simple touch of a button. It is that easy, and yes, it is that simple.

While you are busy making plans for the landscape and the home for the Spring, why not consider adding our LCA technology to your outdoor lighting? We can make sure the lights are always on exactly when they are supposed to be, leave your outdoor lighting to us and enjoy the long sunny days ahead.

Contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis today to learn more (636) 561 – 1818  email: JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

You can view more of our stunning outdoor lighting designs by visiting our many outdoor lighting photo galleries located on our website.

This before and after image shows you what a big difference professional tree lighting can make in your landscape.

When you think of all the elements that go into a beautiful landscape, trees are the cornerstone of any landscape design. Trees serve many purposes within the landscape as well. Trees can be a focal point, a border or even serve as a way to create privacy and sanctuary from the sun. With all the important functions trees serve in our landscape, and our lives for that matter, it is important to properly illuminate them when considering an outdoor landscape lighting design. In order to create a cohesive and elegant tree lighting it is important to use an outdoor tree lighting professional to plan, design and install your tree lighting. This approach will ensure you receive an outdoor lighting design that will not only enhance your landscape and home, but will also lift your spirits as well.

Whenever we begin planning an outdoor lighting project that includes tree lighting, we look at it as an artist would a blank canvas. It is important to create drama through subtle overtures and nuances on each tree we are lighting to get the best effect. In many cases, as with art, less is more. Many do-it-yourselfers and less knowledgeable companies that provide outdoor lighting will attempt to over-light a tree in an attempt to light it. We steer away from over-lighting or using too many fixtures to accomplish an effect that needs to be simple yet elegant.

Our proven formula of using the width and height of the tree when adding illumination brings out the best features of each tree in your landscape.

The key to beautiful tree lighting is to focus on the height of the tree and the width of the canopy. These are the major determinants that direct us as to which type of light to use and how many to use. We can use narrow spot lights and by directing the angle of the bulb itself upward will steer the majority of the light up to accentuate the height of the tree. This is great for tall trees. We also use wider spot lights which create a gentle spray of light that will accentuate the width of the tree, which creates depth and romance within the canopies of wider, more stout trees. Lighting the trunk as well as the canopy is important in creating harmony and balance and the results will make you want to stare into the landscape just a little longer, or linger on your patio a few extra minutes before retiring indoors.

Keep in mind that trees are living entities. Care and consideration should always be taken when lighting a tree for the health of each individual tree. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of St. Louis avoids any type of equipment that could scar or damage the tree. Damage caused to a tree can leave it vulnerable to fungus, disease, insects or even cause the tree to die. We ensure the safety and care of each tree we light.

Now is the perfect time to consider adding tree lighting to your landscape. With the whispers of Spring already in the air, wouldn’t your ornamental flowering trees like cherries, dogwoods and crepe myrtles look gorgeous under the spell of outdoor tree lighting while in full bloom? Imagine the endless possibilities you can create in your landscape with outdoor tree lighting. Contact us today at (636) 561 – 1818 or email us at JimSchwartz@OutdoorLights.com

See more stunning imagery of tree lighting by visiting our landscape and garden lighting gallery located on our website.

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.