Thinking about Spring already.

Although most of you are in the thick of winter with piles of snow everywhere, it's a good time to think about your Spring projects now and plan for the future. When it comes to lighting, this is an excellent time to plan and make things ready for your outdoor lighting project. Start to think about your home or landscape areas and what you want to emphasize or maybe places on your property where you want more security.

If you want help in arranging a plan or maybe you live in an area where the ground doesn't freeze, either way, we can help you with an intelligent outdoor lighting design. Along with the plan, we have light fixtures that will enhance your landscape without detracting from it during the daytime. Another product you may want to consider for some Spring installation is our marine dock lighting which can add to your property as well. It's the latest innovation from Touchstone giving you free light with no electrical lines and no maintenance ever. There's so much to think about in Winter, so don't waste your time and be ready with enhanced outdoor landscape lighting this Spring.

When flooding an area with light, stay on target.

Many times when people think about washing an area with light, they think in terms of lighting up the space in general. Now that may be fine in some cases where security is the biggest issue, but most of the time it defeats the purpose of good architectural lighting. When lighting a home or building, it's possible to get the benefits of security lighting while still lighting features. In other words, think about lighting up features to your home or office building rather than a general spray of light that highlights nothing. One of the purposes of good outdoor lighting is to feature certain architectural or garden elements, which requires good light control from the fixtures you buy and the design in general.

When you light a feature or design element, stay on target and try to be as focused as you can. It will lend a bit of drama to the structures you're lighting. It makes all the difference, because some spill light will still occur which will light the surrounding area. If you're concerned about security lighting, then this should do fine. You don't need to have the entire area lit up with no highlighting, instead be careful about aiming the fixtures and the quality of the fixtures. If they aren't good quality, you won't get the control you need in your design.

It's so important to us that we offer our very own line of light fixtures which will give you the light you need, where you need it.

Even when the snow flies, it's good to plan for Spring.

We're busy all the time working up the next landscape lighting project even here in Minnesota, in the winter. Just because it's cold doesn't mean that you can't take stock of a major lighting project for this upcoming Spring.

It's good to work on getting a plan together for better landscape lighting design, then when the weather gets warmer, you'll be ready to install your new landscape lighting. Think about those areas you would like to see more light for security, most homes have that kind of a need. Then think about lighting your home itself and the surrounding landscaping. Think about what you would want to highlight and what kind of emphasis you would like to see.

Then give us a call, we can begin working on your project so it will be ready to go at Spring's first blush. Instead of waiting and getting something installed later in the summer, enjoy it from the beginning of the 2006 growing season. In fact, it's easier to install early in the Spring when growth is far less dense.

The vision for landscape lighting comes first.

Whenever anyone approaches home lighting, especially outdoor, it's important to really understand what you want to accomplish up front. There are some things to consider when lighting a home facade or a garden or even a driveway. When you think about lighting an area, try to visualize what you want to see as a result. Imagine how you want the light to be spread or focused. With that in mind, then you can then select the proper light fixtures which will make that vision happen. It sounds so elementary, but many people don't do this. They think that they need light in an area, and buy some cheap fixtures that create blobs of light and believe that to be a good idea. We couldn't disagree more.

There are many types of light fixtures that have a specific purpose in light distribution achieving the goal you set out to reach. Not all fixtures are good enough to meet the requirements of a certain lighting idea you have. That's why you'll need to understand your vision and then get the lights that meet it. When you do that, you'll find that the lighting job will be better than anything you could imagine. Make sure to call us with the light fixtures you need and if you have any questions about your lighting vision, we'll help you with that too.

The ultimate solution for dock lighting.

People sometimes ask, what's the big deal with dock lighting? Isn't it just as easy to have a fixture mounted from a tree or pole in the area and just illuminate the whole area? One of the things that makes that form of lighting poor is that there isn't any light control. It puts light everywhere and generally not where you want it. These types of situations also create a lot of glare and it can be hard to dock the boat when glaring lights are coming into your eyes.

The better solution is to use our H2 LED dock lights which give shielded light control and mount on the dock itself. They don't ever have to be changed with a long life LED and battery combination which recharges every day. This illuminates the dock and surrounding area with a subtle but very adequate amount of light. No longer will you experience glare and you will have a safer way to light your dock at night. Once again, it's about good light control and because the H2 LED dock lights are totally sealed, there's no way water or people can damage it. It's the ultimate solution for good dock lighting.

The rush is on....

It never fails at this time of the year. Everyone wants to get that lighting system or piece of it in before the ground freezes. Of course, we can handle almost any timing issue for installation, but it's nice to have a little breathing room!

If you've been considering installing a great new landscape lighting system from Touchstone, please make every effort to contact us now so we can help you get it in before the snow flies. We love working with new and existing customers and it's still not too late.

A little reminder, those of you who own boat docks, cabins or lakefront property, check back to our web site to get the latest in outdoor lighting technology, the H2 LED dock lights. If you're a boat dealer or dock dealer, please contact us so you can get in on the beginning of a revolutionary new product.

Outdoor lighting control for maximum benefit.

When most people think about outdoor lighting, they usually think about general illumination. In other words, they believe that light in almost any way or direction is better than none at all. Nothing could be further from the truth. Outdoor lighting needs to be very specific for the lighting task. There are far too many lighting jobs that are lit generally without thought to how to light certain features or areas.

If you have a property or a home that has distinctive features, you should take advantage of those in night lighting. Those features are what make your home or area special and they can usually be lighted to make it even better at night. Suppose you have a particular architectural idea thoughout the facade of your home, why not give it a lighted emphasis which brings all the elements together? Think about that for the areas or buildings you have.

The reason so many of our projects get rave reviews is the way we approach the project and the products we use in it. We suggest that you work with our products becuase they have great photometry which delivers the control you need for any outdoor lighting situation. It makes a difference, call us with questions about your next lighting project.