Landscape Lighting for Sanctuary at Falls Lake
Sanctuary at Falls Lake is a gated community of just 28 nature-inspired homesites in north Raleigh, each up to 1.75 acres. Its gated entrance is flanked by towering pines and century-old oaks, and that mix sets the tone for the whole neighborhood: brand-new custom homes surrounded by very old trees.
That combination is a lighting designer’s dream. New homes have clean lines and fresh hardscape. Old trees have character no nursery can sell you. The art is letting the two meet gracefully after dark.
Let the Old Trees Lead
A century-old oak deserves better than a single floodlight blasting up its trunk. That look is blinding up close, and the canopy above disappears. Instead, Joe uses several low-output fixtures, each placed to bring out a different limb or layer, so the tree looks three-dimensional and alive. Mount a few soft lights high in the branches, aim them down, and you get moonlighting: dappled leaf shadows across the lawn and drive, the way a full moon would do it.
Tall pines work differently. Their trunks are the drama, so a gentle graze from the base, fading out before the crown, lets them stand like columns around the house.
Building Now? Plan the Light With the House
Many homes here are new or still under construction. If lighting is part of the plan early, wire and sleeves can go under walks and drives before they’re poured, and fixture locations can be worked out around the trees you’re saving. It’s far easier than cutting into finished hardscape later.
On homesites like these, we typically plan for:
- The drive and arrival, lit from the trees with no runway of path lights
- The facade and entry, washed softly so the architecture glows without hot spots
- Rear terraces, pools and outdoor kitchens composed as views from inside
- Wooded edges kept softly visible, so the yard has a backdrop
- Warm, shielded fixtures that keep light out of the sky and off the neighbors
A Personal, Stage-Trained Approach
Joe Yanulevich spent more than 35 years in concert and theatrical lighting, and his work appears in Masters of Landscape Lighting. He designs every job personally, starting with a visit after dark, and he finishes it himself with the final nighttime adjustments. His philosophy is simple: lower lumens, more fixtures and shadows on purpose, like a stage set where you notice the garden, not the lights. Read more in You Can’t Un-See Bad Landscape Lighting.
See More
Visit the landscape lighting portfolio or our page on Falls Lake and North Raleigh lighting.
Nearby communities we serve: Bay Leaf Farm, Norwood Ridge, Morning Mountain Estates, Maple Ridge Cove, Glenhill, Alpine Creek Estates, Greywalls at Trego, The Cove at Falls Lake, Avalaire, Radcliffe, Buckingham Manor.
From Our Landscape Lighting Portfolio
The photos on this page come from other Lite Visions projects around the Triangle.
Schedule a Design Consultation
Whether you’ve just moved in or your home is still going up, Joe would be glad to walk the property with you and talk through the trees, the views and the way you’ll use it in the evening.
You can also call Joe at Nine one Nine-518-9950.