Choosing Colors and Scenes for a Resort-Style Home Exterior

The homes that look best at night don't use the most color. They use a calm everyday setting and save bold color for occasions. Here is how to set up your scenes.

Pick your everyday white

White light comes in different color temperatures, measured in kelvin. Lower numbers are warmer and more amber; higher numbers are cooler and bluer.

- **Around 2700K to 3000K:** warm, like indoor lamps. It flatters stucco, stone, wood trim and green plants, and is the safest everyday choice. - **Around 4000K and up:** cool and crisp. It can look harsh on a home and is better kept for task or security lighting.

Most Florida homes look best with a warm white along the roofline every night.

Keep brightness lower than you think

Full brightness looks great in a demo and glaring by 10 p.m. Most owners run their everyday scene well below full power and save full brightness for holidays or parties. Dimmer also means less glare into neighbors' windows.

Use color with intention

Saturated colors feel special when they're used for something: Christmas, the Fourth of July, game day. For a subtle everyday accent, a soft amber or a gentle teal on one part of the home, such as near palms or the pool cage, can add mood without looking like a storefront.

Think in layers

Roofline lighting outlines the house. Landscape lighting lights palms, trees, walls and paths. Lanai lighting makes the pool area usable. Each can have its own scene, and they look best when they share the same warm white as the base.

Set schedules, not reminders

Tie your lights to sunset so they come on automatically year round, and set a later scene that dims them or turns them off at bedtime. Add holiday scenes on the calendar once and let them run every year.

Check your HOA rules

Some communities limit colors or the dates holiday colors can run. A warm-white everyday scene almost always fits.

Want help setting up scenes for your home? We cover it at the design visit and again after installation.