Four ways a home can feel at night
Before we pick lights, we pick a feeling. Most houses fit one of four looks: warm and welcoming, classic estate, modern drama or celebration. Each one decides what gets lit, what stays dark, how warm the white is and how often color comes on. Not sure which is yours? Take the 4-question quiz.
Warm and welcoming
A lamp left on for you.
- Lit: the roofline washed soft, the entry brightest, the garage dimmer
- Dark: the back of the house and most of the yard
- White: warm, about 2700 K, run at 40 to 60 percent
- Color: holidays
- Fits: ranch, craftsman and suburban homes
What we'd install: Node lights along the front, or a continuous line across the front with nodes on the sides.
Classic estate
Arriving somewhere.
- Lit: a continuous line under the roof edge, the gables leading, columns or stone washed
- Dark: a lot of it, on purpose
- White: 2700 to 3000 K
- Color: the holiday window only
- Fits: stone, Tudor and colonial homes, and Nichols Hills (where light must also aim down)
What we'd install: A continuous line around the house, or across the front with nodes on the sides.
Modern drama
A gallery after hours.
- Lit: continuous lines on the horizontal planes only
- Dark: everything else, for high contrast and deep shadow
- White: about 3000 K
- Color: rare, and a single color when it happens
- Fits: contemporary homes, flat roofs and long horizontal lines
What we'd install: A continuous line, plus an accent or two.
Celebration
The house the street remembers.
- Lit: the full roofline, with color effects and chases on occasions
- Dark: not much, on the big nights
- White: warm white on weeknights
- Color: holidays, game days and birthdays
- Fits: corner lots, cul-de-sacs and families
What we'd install: Node lights on the whole roofline.
Choosing between them
Most homes mix two looks: warm and welcoming on weeknights, celebration on the holidays. The lights are the same; the scenes on the schedule change. The look you choose mostly decides what we install up front, either node lights that wash the walls or a continuous line that draws the outline. See dots vs a continuous line and how to make a house look expensive at night.
These pictures are concept renderings of one real home, not photos of finished installs. We'll replace them with real projects as we finish them.
See it on your own house first.
Send a photo for a free night mockup, or I'll come walk it with you at dusk.
Or reach me directly: 405-706-6042 (call or text) or [email protected].