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Writer's pictureHandgraaf Estates

A day in the life of an Estate Manager: Lighting Project

Updated: Jan 25, 2022

Property Managed by: Handgraaf Estates

Lighting by: Lighting Distinctions

Photos by: Carrasco Media

A birds eye view of the entire property
A birds eye view of the entire property

As an estate manager, it is the top priority to keep the principal happy.


With this project, our principal tasked us with replacing / redoing the outdoor lighting fixtures. Since the completion of the house 15 years ago, most of the light fixtures were falling from trees, were broken or so heavily oxidized due to the proximity to the ocean, that they barely functioned.


One of the estate manager tools we use is a ''Preferred vendor list''. We created this list over the years as we've become familiar with what vendors to work with, and which ones to avoid.


We collected a total of 5 bids from different vendors, and it quickly became apparent that one lighting company stood out compared the others; Lighting Distinctions.


Lighting distinctions explained that due to their good standing relationship with the manufacturer of the fixtures, they had the possibility of refurbishing the existing fixtures rather than buying completely new ones. This resulted in a better bid compared to other the vendors, while recycling at the same time.


From the 164 original fixtures that were on the property (that were to be refurbished), we added an additional 232 brand new ones, bringing the total to 396 lighting fixtures on the property. As you can imagine, the end-result was quite the difference compared to what the property looked like before.

The complete collection of all the old light fixtures, up lights, down lights, path lights, moon lights. all collected together
The complete collection of old light fixtures

The crew of Lighting Distinction were professional, discreet and a pleasure to work with. They placed all the new and refurbished up lights, down lights, path lights, moon lights etc. and took care of all the wiring as well, including setting the timers, ensuring that all lights went on 10 minutes before sunset.

on the left is the old light fixture, on the right is the newly polished and refurbished fixture
Refurbished light fixtures: Before (left) & After (right)

An important detail worth mentioning was the fact that instead of using the standard black colored rubber bands to attach the fixtures to the trees, Lighting Distinctions found and installed brown colored rubber bands. This allowed for the fixtures to blend in more with the color of the tree bark, making them harder to notice during the day.

Torrey pine pool side lighting
Torrey pine / pool-side at dusk

Working together with Lighting Distinctions was an absolute pleasure. On multiple occasions we've met with their team during the day, at dusk and after sunset to discuss and evaluate the lighting quality, placement and adjustment of fixtures, lens color and bulb preference to ensure the best result for the principal.


With all the customization and great attention to detail, the end result was nothing less than amazing. The Principal explained that she was very happy and, since completion of the project, has entertained multiple times where the guests were blown-away as well.


Thank you Lighting Distinctions for working together on this amazing project and taking the time to address all the details.


estate at dusk with lighting
Completed lighting project at dusk
property lit up with all lights
Completed lighting project at night



Credits

Property Managed by: Handgraaf Estates - www.HandgraafEstates.com

Lighting by: Lighting Distinctions - www.LightingDistinctions.com

Photos by: Carrasco Media - www.CarrascoCreative.com

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