Outdoor lighting gives nighttime curb appeal

Home sellers, beware the shadows of the night — better yet, just be ready.  

Remember that showing appointment when you baked cookies, lit candles and even put on a mask and gloves to clean out your 14-year-old's room?  

Peggy Oberfield, an agent with Keller Williams Green Meadow, has this home at 12901 Anduin Ave. in Rivendell listed for $739,875. [PHOTO PROVIDED]

Even if you made a good impression on the initial walk-through, that's just part one for a really interested buyer, who will definitely be coming back — and chances are after dark. 

Realtor Peggy Oberfield of Keller Williams Realty Green Meadow, 1624 SW 122, said she encourages buyers who express active interest in a house: “Go back and see it at night.”

And she reminds sellers of the importance of exterior lighting.

She said sellers can show off the “elegant, serene” side of a house, the side that comes out after the sun goes down, with downward lighting from soffits and eaves.

Upward lighting from flower beds and tree bases “creates a dramatic effect” that can make all the difference in causing a property to stand out, Oberfield said.

Lighting around a swimming pool and surrounding landscaping, tied in with a well-lit outdoor living area, can be “cozy and appealing” in a way that shows an entirely different side of a house, Oberfield said.  

With the peak of summer past, days are shortening.  

“It's just a fact,” Oberfield said, “when the sun starts setting at five o'clock, homebuyers spend more time looking at houses after dark.” 

New technology

New technology is making it easier to bring a house to life after sunset, said Isaias Rodriguez, a project manager for TLC Garden Center, 105 W Memorial Road.

LED lighting, available for an initial investment that exceeds incandescent, will operate for “years longer” than traditional bulbs “at a fraction of the cost on your utility bill,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he has supervised projects to light smaller houses for $4,000 to $6,000, while average-to-large houses and their surrounding yards might see design, material and installation costs starting from $10,000 to $15,000.

That's a number big enough to make some homeowners and builders flinch, but Rodriguez and Oberfield agreed that the immediate, head-turning effects of outdoor lighting — up-and-down lighting in old-growth trees and path lighting to line a driveway, for example — are hard to put a price tag on. 

“Right away, it separates that house from other houses,” Rodriguez said.

Vila's examples

Here are examples of exterior lighting from home improvement guru Bob Vila at www.bobvila.com (typically 120-volt, unless noted).

•Entry lanterns or sconces: mount beside doors, either frosted glass or shielded to prevent glare, with size proportional to the height and width of the entry area.

•Recessed lights: installed in eaves over decks and garage doors that provide large pools of light but are mostly
hidden.

“Small, low-voltage recessed lights can be used to light stairs, railings, posts and built-in deck furniture,” according to Vila.

•Floodlights: used to light wide expanses and large objects, such as driveways, stonework and trees.

•Path lights: low-voltage fixtures that illuminate paths by casting light on the ground.

•Spot light: similar to floodlights but a narrower beam for highlighting a specific object, such as a shrub or statuary.

•In-ground light: 120-volt or low-voltage fixtures buried in the ground and covered with a lens, often angled slightly to illuminate a wall, tree or fence.

•Hanging or pendant lighting: Frequently used for entry or porch lighting. “Low-voltage hanging lights strung in trees, arbors and pergolas have become popular as decorative accents,” according to Vila.