Let There Be (Side) Light

5 months after finishing the siding, and 1 month after originally shopping for outdoor lights (I wrote about that over here), I made my selection and ordered the Mini Coach Silver Outdoor Light from Lamps Plus.

Wise choice. It arrived safely in the mail and is exactly what I expected.

Before making this selection, I had no idea about the various styles of outdoor lighting that are available. It was really eye opening to see one, two, three, and four light wall-mounted lights, as it gave me a number of options from which to choose. Post and wall lanterns were also intriguing, as they provide an alternative style on the exterior of the house, even though I didn’t seriously consider this style. I’m happy with what I chose this time around, but, who knows, maybe I’ll go with something completely different the next time I need new exterior lighting.

All of the lights I was considering were wall-mounted, to fit where I needed it, and motion-sensitive, for safety and efficiency purposes; before the siding was done, there was a dual spotlights that shone on the side entryway, although that fixture was old, inefficient, and unsightly.

When the new siding went up, I had asked the contractors to remove the old spotlight, but leave space for a new light, wiring and all. Even though they offered to install a new one right away, I wasn’t ready to pick a new light out right away (wanted to shop around and see what I could find, and not jump on the first nice one I found). So, I didn’t get around to installing anything right away, and the side entryway looked like this all winter. Pathetic. And yes, breaker was turned off because I’m careful like that – I was lucky that a single breaker controlled only that light switch.

The new light went up really smoothly. Pete trimmed and stripped the wiring back to a manageable length (we had asked the crew to leave it long just in case we decided to move the light elsewhere). We bought 2 3-1/2″ screws after realizing that needed to attach the light through the vinyl, insulation, and into the original siding of the house.

Wiring was a cinch, and the actual install was easy too – happy to say it looks great.

And it looks nice at night too. Big grin. Finally, a well-lit driveway (for my neighbors too).

Improved weather means we can get started on many more outdoor projects, so keep checking back – friends, remember you can sign up for daily emails via the RSS, or follow daily activity on facebook and twitter.