Are You Still in the Dark
With Your Landscape Ideas?

Have you ever considered extending your living space beyond
the walls of your home? The strategic placement of luminaries
in the outside garden areas can effectively bring your vision

out beyond your home, making the boundaries transparent.

Correct lighting design highlights the effects of the source thus making the source itself secondary. Beauty, usefulness, safety, security and emotion are the positive attributes of a proper lighting design. Award winning outdoor lighting designer Michael Gotowala has been able to portray this vision to hundreds of clients. To be able to envision the scene as it appears lit at night during the day. Next priority is strategic placement of the luminaires and their effectiveness during the “shine”. Finish pointing or returning at night to individually access the results is of the utmost. This indeed is a step above most outdoor lighting designers and is second nature in award winning outdoor lighting. Outdoor lighting designer Michael Gotowala is a two time nationally recognized award recipient of the AOLP Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals
Michael is also president elect of the AOLP NE.

All this is accomplished in the darkness of the night. Areas

and spaces that we occupy during the day, disappear and

reappear unfamiliar at night. A well balanced lighting display

equalizes the skepticism of the night. Lighting throughout the

house is so essential in all the aspects of just about everything

you do during the evening. Each and every fixture is designed

to hold bulbs, single or numerous, in many different

configurations to achieve endless illumination possibilities.

For instance in the kitchen there are many types of lights each

specified for a function such as cooking, general purpose,

dining and after dinner ambiance. Locations of these lights can

be in various places throughout the room anywhere from floor

to ceiling.

One must consider the outside an additional room of living
space. A space can be designed to accommodate gatherings,
patio dining, entering and exiting the premise or for seasonal

enjoyment such as swimming and extended play hours outside.

Outdoor lighting can make all this seem so natural, similar to

how one would perform these tasks during the day. The

configuration of these fixtures have to be in sync with the

lighting already available. Lighting designers should have the

vision to help illuminate and not over exaggerate the areas.

Light intensity and beam spray are priorities. Equal brightness

and balance are pertinent in a good design. The common

mistake is evident in every neighborhood. You see 2 lights, one

on each side of the front door and a post light. These minimal

lights try to achieve everything there is to be seen outside.

Homeowners load up these fixtures with the brightest bulbs

one could find. The result is a glaring landscape, so bright it

annoys the neighbors across the street.

All decisions on architectural features such as stone, brick,

stucco and peaking roof lines deserve the greatest of concern.

Winding walkways, circular driveways and lavish focal

plants, anchoring the landscape, need illumination. Landscape

lighting can achieve this. To excell in this, one must know the

ever changing faces of the landscape. Lighting allows for not

only four seasons, but eight seasons both day and night. One

can start immediately. For instance one light is better than

none. A good guideline is to ask yourself what you would like

to see at night. Experiment with different types of fixtures

and various lighting techniques. Start with the house and fall

back into the landscape, highlighting focal trees and shrubs

throughtout the garden

Now that the scene is set and correctly lit with the most beneficial type and manufacturer of fixtures, Michael goes on to reveal the functionality of automation to fit the likelihood of lifestyle by the family.
Automation ranges from a simple set clock, smart timer, or scene phasing changes and security settings like “gone to bed”, away on vacation, be back shortly” scene variables.
The greatest and most prevalent discussion is LED outdoor lighting luminaires or retrofit bulbs with many great and energy saving benefits.
The majority of our outdoor lighting installations are now LED.
So what if you have an older existing landscape lighting. Can you convert to LED’s? The answer is under most circumstances. Yes you can. Michael’s advice. Use a professional as step down or re engineering the system integration with the transformer is necessary. In most states you need to be licensed for low voltage work. Second to that is certified or acknowledged perhaps in the field of landscape lighting

If you would like to see the areas most passionate outdoor lighting designer in Connecticut, New York and areas upon request, outdoor lighting designer Michael Gotowala of Preferred Properties Lsc Go to http://www.nightlightingdesigner.com to see online photo gallery of award winning outdoor lighting of Preferred Properties Lsc.
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