This was a summer project we meant to share on Instagram, but it deserved more than a single photo—so here’s the full story, which we first hinted at in our update post and podcast. The good news: what we assumed would be expensive and time-consuming turned out to be neither. We started and finished it in the same day and got to enjoy the results by sunset.
We’ve always admired houses in our neighborhood with landscape lighting—there’s something so welcoming about that warm evening glow. After seeing Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick’s tutorial, adding lighting to our own home moved to the top of the list. We didn’t document the entire installation process (we’ll admit the photos are sparse), but the wiring and assembly itself were straightforward.
The planning and materials shopping were the parts that required attention—mainly because a bit of math and the right material choices were necessary. Based on the kit Sarah mentioned, we knew we needed three basic components: lights, a power pack (transformer), and cable. Finding the right combination of those elements was the only challenge.
Note: The exact products we used are no longer available, but there are similar kits that are more affordable and include LED fixtures instead of the halogen lights we used.
The lights were the simplest choice. We stayed with the 20W halogen spotlights from that original kit and decided on placement by looking at houses in our neighborhood: one light between each downstairs window and one on each front corner of the house. That determination made it easy to buy the right number of fixtures.
The power pack needed more thought. Also called a transformer, its job is to convert your outlet’s 120V electricity down to the 12V low-voltage required for these systems. You must choose a transformer with enough wattage to run all your lights. Add up the wattage of all fixtures (for us: 20 watts × 9 lights = 180 watts) and select a transformer with some headroom—most retailers recommend at least 20W extra. We chose a 200W multi-tap transformer so we could connect multiple wires to it.
The cable is equally important. Voltage drops over distance, so keeping cable runs short helps ensure even brightness from the first to the last fixture. There are charts and guides to help select cable gauge and layout for balanced illumination. We split our lights onto two similar-length runs of 14-gauge cable, each serving one side of the front porch, which simplified balancing the load.
With the layout decided, the physical work—connecting wires, positioning lights, and burying cable—was easy. We connected all wiring before plugging in the transformer, which meant we never worked with live low-voltage connections. We staked each spotlight in place and loosely laid the cable along the planned route. Each fixture connects to the main cable with a screw-on connector cap; the installation instructions made that clear and no special tools were required. Here’s a connection we found after uncovering a section this weekend so you can see what it looks like.
Because we used two separate cable runs rather than one long loop back to the transformer, we needed to protect the cable ends. We used waterproof wire caps designed for buried applications to guard against moisture and corrosion. They’re simple, effective, and a good choice whenever cable ends will be underground.
Next we exposed the cable ends with basic wire clippers and connected them to the underside of the transformer. The transformer plugs into an exterior outlet and we mounted it a few inches off the brick for aesthetics and to avoid any potential porch puddles after rain. A planter hides the box in everyday life, but we moved it aside for the photo below.
When everything was connected, we waited for dusk to fine-tune angles and stake placements. Each light has about a foot of cord between fixture and connector, which lets you make small adjustments after installation. Once satisfied, we dug a shallow trench a few inches below ground and buried the cable, connectors, and wire caps within our mulch bed so normal yard maintenance won’t disturb them.
The transformer includes a light sensor so the system switches on automatically at dusk, and a timer lets you decide how long the lights remain illuminated each night. We set ours to turn off around our bedtime. In total, the project cost a little over $200 and took about four hours from planning to finish.
For the time-lapse we captured of the installation, we propped an iPhone on a selfie stick clamped to an old stepladder and used the phone’s time-lapse feature. It was an efficient way to document the process while we finished dinner—probably looked a bit odd to the neighbors, but it worked.
These lights have been performing reliably for months. We still enjoy rolling up the street at night and seeing them already on, welcoming us home.
UPDATE: We later switched our fixtures to LED bulbs to save energy and reduce maintenance—LEDs last much longer so you rarely need to change them. We also tested LED options for both interior and exterior uplighting and found some that produce a warm, natural glow.
UPDATE #2: After moving to our new house, we experimented with backyard lighting using only solar fixtures and found a few great options that work well for low-maintenance illumination.
Psst — we also put together a Shop Our House page to help locate furniture, accessories, and paint colors featured throughout our home.
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