Southern Lights Outdoor Lighting & Audio- Greensboro Historic Estate, Original Vick’s Vapor Rub Estate Makeover
Landscape Lighting on White Brick Ranch, Northern Shores Greensboro NC 27455
Southern Lights Outdoor Lighting & Audio- Greensboro Historic Estate, Original Vick’s Vapor Rub Estate Makeover, Greensboro, NC 27455
PROJECT SUMMARY
Southern Lights Outdoor Lighting & Audio had the privilege of working on this historic home in Greensboro, NC 27455.
- Original Owner: Lunsford Richardson III
- Hillsdale Farm: A Landmark Mansion on 27 Acres
- The Colonial Revival house of Hillsdale Farm, built by Lunsford and Margaret Richardson
- Plant Material
The property includes the mansion with eight bedrooms, six full bathrooms and two half baths, and an indoor pool; greenhouse; playhouse; bathhouse; water tower; five-car garage with five-room apartment; and a very long driveway. The property also includes a 1/6 share of the very private Richardson Lake.
Hillsdale Farm has been designated a Guilford County Landmark. The house was built in 1929 by Lunsford Richardson III (a son of the Vicks VapoRub inventor) and his wife, Margaret. It was designed by nationally known architect Richardson Brognard Okie of Philadelphia. “Okie’s Colonial Revival designs were notable in that they applied materials and design features of colonial period structures into new building construction,” Benjamin Briggs of Preservation Greensboro has written.
“The resulting structures often appeared to be centuries old, when in fact they incorporated all of the conveniences and spatial uses required of mid-twentieth century families such as modern kitchens, private bathrooms, laundry rooms, garages and walk-in closets. Okie used several design techniques to assure the illusion of history, such as rambling floor plans that appeared to have been added organically through time, massive masonry chimneys, and fine hand-carved woodwork.”
Hillsdale Farm left the Richardson family’s holdings more than 30 years ago, and its original 2,800 acres have been pared down to a more manageable 27. But the house still has the look and feel of one of Greensboro’s most notable historic homes.
During the design phase, Southern Lights provides the road map and detailed lighting designs for our clients, capturing beautiful settings at night, creating the most ideal landscape lighting effects.
LANDSCAPE LIGHTING FOCUS
When talking with our clients, Southern Lights always tries to listen for what’s most important from our client’s perspective. In this case and in our company motto of (Safety. Security. SERENITY), All three of these focuses played an equal role in these lighting designs:
- Safety lighting was needed to address the elevation changes throughout the property and along the long winding sidewalk and into the vegetable gardens.
- Security lighting was needed to help illuminate a very dark back and side yard and keep intruders out.
- SERENITY lighting is always needed to give the space and property a clean and natural design during evening hours. Tying the function with the beauty is always our goal.
- Functional Utility Lighting along driveway, steps, and sidewalks
- Architectural Lighting
- Garage Lighting
LANDSCAPE LIGHTING FIXTURES
100% made in USA Clarolux Landscape Lighting Fixtures. Clarolux BL21 “Tivoli” Compact Directional Spot Lights Highlighting Architecture on home and Clarolux WL16-FT-III “Starmount” MR16 Well LightWL16-FT-III illuminating the garage.
LOCATION
This custom night lighting design and installation can be found in Greensboro, NC 27455 at the county line of Summerfield, NC.
LANDSCAPE LIGHTING DESIGN
Ideal landscape lighting should evoke Safety. Security. SERENITY and should always start with a design. Such a distinct and pronounced home needs a sophisticated custom landscape lighting design and installation. Southern Lights Outdoor Lighting & Audio offers a full range of design and maintenance services to accommodate different styles and budgets.
The new owner of this beautiful estate saw value in working with the Triad’s #1 Outdoor Lighting Company. He allowed Southern Lights Outdoor Lighting & Audio the ability to be creative with the lighting design and to have some freedom of fixture selection and location, proved to be a great decision:
- 100% LED Lighting
- Up Lighting
- Grazing
- Wash Lighting
- In-Ground Core Drilled Fixtures
HURDLES TO OVERCOME
Designing an ideal landscape lighting system takes planning. Getting light to the right place takes some skill and time to coordinate installing wire to the desired fixture location. The old Vick’s Vapor Rub Estate had a beautiful canvas to work with, but also added a layer of difficulty to the installation.
Highlighting the upper elevations of the home required an experienced outdoor lighting technician to install a few gutter mounted fixtures. Many times to provide consistent and even lighting designs on architecture, additional fixtures are needed to offset shadows that can be only be mounted from a soffit or gutter. This takes experience and a willingness the make sure the design is correct, even if it becomes a more difficult installation. The Garage was a real focal point for this client and really wanted to draw attention to it. Southern Lights decided the best solution for illuminating the garage was to core-drilled the concrete driveway and install military grade in ground (flush) mounted fixtures to properly highlight the architecture without creating unneeded glare as someone was pulling in or out of the garage.
Keeping the plant material properly pruned will be an ongoing maintenance need for these clients to keep the lighting design in tact for years to come and to reduce unnatural shadows on the architecture. This client ultimately trusted Southern Lights with the lighting designs allowing us to provide them with the most ideal landscape lighting effect with the best lighting fixtures for the space and structures. We think it turned out pretty awesome.
Located in Summerfield, NC Southern Lights Outdoor Lighting & Audio serves clients properties and property management companies throughout the state of NC including Greensboro, High Point, Jamestown, Burlington, Reidsville, Oak Ridge, Brown Summit, Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Raleigh, Charlotte, Kannapolis, Salisbury, Gastonia, Matthews, etc.
Southern Lights has installed hundreds of outdoor landscape lighting and audio systems and carries more certifications than anyone in the state. We specialize in audio & lighting designs, servicing everything we install as well as lighting systems installed by others.
With attention to detail and a solid knowledge of design, Southern Lights is the leading outdoor landscape lighting firm in the state of NC and beyond. See why our clients choose the most ideal landscape lighting company Greensboro, NC. Contact us today by web (online form) or phone 336-451-4969.
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PROJECT DETAILS
Approximate Investment:
Call 336-451-4969
Designed & Installed:
1 day
Lighting Designs Include:
- Phased Lighting Design
- 100% LED Lamps
- Spot / Bullets Lights Uplighting Architecture
- Provide adequate light for safety at elevation changes
- Provide control system for clients to remote into
- Design System For Future Growth
Skills
- 20+ Years Experience
- Wire Management
- “Leave No Trace” Installation
- Installation of Fixtures in Trees
- Automation Integration
- Scene Selection
- “See the Effect, Not the Fixture” -Pete Bryant