Design Center - Outdoors and Landscapes

Welcome home

Exterior lighting draws your eye outward, creating visual expansion and continuity between the indoors and outdoors.

A well-lighted front entrance enables you to greet guests and identify visitors. Wall lanterns on each side of the door will give your home a warm, welcoming look while assuring the safety of those who enter. Under a porch or other overhang you can use chain-hung lanterns or flush mounts. A separate rear or side entrance can be lighted with a single wall lantern installed on the keyhole side of the door.

• TIP: Coordinate the style of your outdoor lighting fixtures with the style of your home's exterior. Creating a unified look on the outside makes a sharp first impression, and leaves room for variety on the inside.
• TIP: When choosing bulbs for your outdoor lanterns, remember, less is more. Ambience can be created inside and out.
• TIP: Dimmer controls aren't just for chandeliers and other interior lighting. Fitting your outdoor fixtures with dimmer controls will give you the flexibility to design a lighting plan with multiple uses and decorative effects.

Outdoor lighting enhances the beauty of your property, makes your home safer and more secure, and increases the number of pleasurable hours you spend outdoors.

Loving Outdoor Living

The trend toward a fashionable outdoor living space is not just for the "rich and famous". With the advent of stylish and affordable all-weather furnishings, fabrics and appliances, outdoor living is popular with a broad range of consumers.

With landscape lighting you can make your home stand out in your neighborhood, improve safety and security and expand your outdoor entertaining options.

Choose to be eco-friendly

People are paying more attention to the planet than they used to; many of us now understand the importance of decreasing our carbon footprints. With this shift in mindset, a natural extension has been the demand for more energy-efficient lighting options. Hinkley offers a variety of options that allow you to design an outdoor lighting plan with the environment in mind.

• ENERGY SAVING (ES)
  Energy saving lighting fixtures come equipped with GU24 sockets and include self-ballasted, CFL bulbs. Fixtures meet California's Title 24 requirements.
• DARK SKY (DS)
  Dark Sky light fixtures come equipped with a captive reflector or other design feature that minimizes or eliminates light glare upward into the night sky.
• ENERGY SAVING DARK SKY (ESDS)
  Fixtures come equipped with the combined technology of Energy Saving (ES) and Dark Sky (DS) configurations. Fixtures meet California's Title 24 requirements.
• ENERGY STAR (EST)
  Energy Star light fixtures meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and the DOE. Fixtures combine a GU24 socket together with a self-ballasted CFL bulb and a photocell.

How to size an outdoor lantern

Selecting the right-sized outdoor lantern can sometimes post a challenge. Follow these sizing guidelines for a fit that's just right.

The height of an outdoor lantern should be based on the height of the door:

FOR 1 LANTERN: If you place a lantern on only one side of the door, it should measure one-third the height of the door. The center of the bulb should rest 66"" above the threshold of the door.

FOR 2 LANTERNS: When two lanterns are used, they should each measure approximately one-fourth the height of the door. The center of the bulb should rest 66"" above the threshold of the door.

• TIP: In either case, if you choose a fixture with a long tail or top scroll, pay attention to the overall bulk of the fixture.
• DON'T UNDERSIZE YOUR LANTERNS: As a rule of thumb, your lantern should appear to be about half the size of your door from 50' away.
• TIP: When in doubt, always go larger.