The owners of this Hollywood, Fla. residence wanted to showcase the hundred-year-old oak trees surrounding their newly constructed home. Tom Crowley, lighting designer and owner of Paradise Landscape Lighting, worked with Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting and the homeowners to create an elegant ambience around the house that illuminates the oak trees as well as the pool deck, pathways, and yard.

The key to superb landscape lighting design is creating an artistic effect while hiding the lighting source, according to Tom Crowley, lighting designer and owner of Paradise Landscape Lighting. Crowley is passionate about the true art of lighting design, from creating the initial concept to overseeing the final steps of installation.

"Lighting is all about the effect, and it definitely influences mood," he says. "If a house is dark and gloomy at night, it has a powerful negative impact on us. Conversely, a well lit home elevates and inspires us."

Brass underwater LED fixtures light the papyrus in the pond at the home's main entrance. Tree-mounted 8-watt LED fixtures softly light the granite pavers in the driveway.

When beginning a new project, Crowley takes several factors into consideration before starting the actual design process, including a home's street view, second floor viewing angles, architectural details and the variety of foliage and open spaces surrounding the residence. "All elements of a home and its surroundings are paramount to the design I ultimately create," Crowley explains. "After those considerations, I establish a design concept which includes a layered lighting look that blends different types of illumination." The layers include general area lighting, which provides overall illumination; task lighting, which is achieved with pathway fixtures or garden art lighting; and finally accent lighting, such as indirect wall washes to create diffused light without glare or shadows. Crowley collaborates closely with landscape architects, general contractors and interior and exterior designers to ensure no detail is overlooked and make sure his team is knowledgeable about all of a project's intricacies.

Crowley designed tree-mounted downlights under the oak trees, preventing a big void on the lawn area. A variety of extension poles were used to raise the 8-watt fixtures in the various flowerbeds that uplight the oak trees.

Unique Challenge Leads to Spectacular Outcome
While Crowley approaches all lighting design projects with the same factors in mind, each residence or commercial structure has its own set of distinct obstacles. "A Hollywood, Fla. homeowner came across our website and contacted me with the hopes that my team and I could showcase the beauty of the 100-year-old oak trees that would be surrounding their new home. The home was being constructed in the heart of a protected oak tree area," Crowley explains. "The homeowners also wanted to create an elegant ambiance around the pool deck. They have children and host many fundraising events at their home, so we needed to consider that, as well."

Very narrow LED beam lamps in brass flush-mounted fixtures uplight the patio's white marble columns facing the pool. As the owners frequently host fundraising events the illumination of the patio was critical.

Crowley got started as soon as possible so he could be involved early in the construction process. His preliminary design originated from a set of landscape plans from the landscape architect, and he worked with the homeowner.

"We met privately with the homeowner often throughout the building phase to make sure we set and reexamined expectations if necessary," Crowley says. "Collaboration is key to keeping a project on budget while still providing superior lighting design. And, because the project was new construction, it was critical to make multiple site visits to ensure sleeves for wiring were in the right locations."

Crowley used a variety of beam widths on the tropical foliage in the main driveway and entrance. Paradise Landscape Lighting positioned all of the landscape fixtures so that no LED light sources could be seen from inside the residence, and all of the fixtures had shrouds.

Executing the Design and Installation
It's typical for Florida's landscape to be littered with various types of palm trees, but oak trees are more rare. For that reason, the 100-year-old oaks are protected by a city ordinance and cannot be damaged. Crowley's team had to craft a design to showcase the vast trees scattered throughout the entire yard, while keeping the fixtures discreet and hidden from an onlooker's view.

"I wanted the oak trees to have a soft, balanced light throughout each tree," he explains. "I had to use several fixtures on each tree. It was very challenging to ensure every fixture had a shroud and to position all of them so no light sources could be seen from the pool deck or the second floor of the home. I wanted the homeowners to look out from their bedroom windows at night and enjoy the softly lit gigantic oak trees and the landscape." Crowley and his Paradise team were present on location for the duration of the lighting installations so they could fine-tune every single fixture.

Three tree-mounted brass fixtures with 8-watt LEDs, set at 40 degrees, light the upper portions of the gigantic oak tree. The lighting designer worked with the landscaper to choose and position the smaller silver buttonwood trees near the pool to create a vivid effect with the blue LED lights. Custom ordered 36-inch path lights illuminate the special wood bench that runs the entire length of the pool.

"We installed all Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting fixtures in a variety of sizes. We primarily used brass fixtures with 8-watt wide and medium beams on the oaks and 5.5-watt lamps with a variety of beams on the lower foliage," Crowley describes.

The Paradise team utilized 2.4-watt LED path light fixtures in a variety of heights for the walkways and pool deck. Low foliage wattages consisted of a mixture of 4.5- and 5.5-watt lamps. The uplighting on the oak trees were 8-watt lamps set at 40-degrees. Four 600-watt transformers and 3,000-feet of 12-gauge wire were used throughout the design.

The Paradise team used 2.4-watt LED path light fixtures in a variety of heights for the walkways. Four 600-watt transformers and 3,000-feet of 12-gauge wire were used throughout the property.

Relationships Equal Success
Crowley credits strong relationships with clients, vendors, and project partners for his business's success. "The support and service we receive enables us to deliver superior quality and service to our clients, and that is priceless," he acknowledges. "It allows us to keep our promises to clients and build a positive rapport in our region."