Custom-designed Coastal Source rugged outdoor lighting and audio systems deliver uncompromising performance quality and ease of use in a challenging beachside environment.
When the experts at Reynolds Lighting & Audio Design were asked to design outdoor audio and lighting solutions for a new home built near New Jersey’s Long Beach Island, they knew right away that Coastal Source’s high performance outdoor speakers and light fixtures designed to defy the elements would exceed the customer’s expectations.
“Like many of our projects, this home presented unique challenges, including the need to light a professional-grade skate park in the backyard, so it would be safe for nighttime sessions,” said Tanek Hood, manager of Reynolds’ lighting & audio design division. “Using Coastal Source’s patented, award-winning lighting and speaker solutions and the Lutron lighting control system, we outfitted the home’s walkways, seating areas, fence gates, outdoor shower pavilion and landscaping features with attractive nighttime illumination and powerful high-end audio performance.”
The project proceeded in several stages with the audio and general outdoor lighting coming first, followed by additional strategic lighting installations when the homeowners realized that their teenage children couldn’t safely use certain areas of the yard at night, including the skate park and hot tub.
“The skate park is a major attraction for our kids and their friends who use it to train for surfing, but at first we had to limit their sessions to the daytime because it lacked proper lighting to ensure safe use at night,” homeowner Vanessa Carvajal explained. “We loved the initial design of lights with zones and scenes that were easy to control, so we had Reynolds Lighting & Audio Design add more Coastal Source fixtures to extend our outdoor options even further. The kids love having more time to practice their skills, and we love simply being able to enjoy our property for longer each day.”
For Reynolds Lighting & Audio Design, which conducts comprehensive analyses of lighting and audio opportunities for each project, the expansion was a familiar part of the process that often arises once customers begin using their spaces and discover additional wants or needs. The company takes great care in its system designs, including optimizing the number, placement, and directionality of light fixtures and speakers, and ensuring the fixtures themselves blend into the environment.
“My career in lighting design actually began with an interest in photography, where I played with light to achieve specific aesthetics,” Hood said. “It also gave me experience with Photoshop, which I now use along with Illustrator to plan and document our projects.”
For the Carvajals, the lighting system’s dimming capabilities and zone control offer custom ambiance while the speakers provide enveloping sound at any volume, both oriented to avoid intruding on neighbor’s spaces.
“Coastal Source’s variety of fixtures provided the high-end appearance and performance this project demanded, with uplights highlighting the home, trees and landscape features, integrated deck lights gracing fence gates, LED tiki torches and path lights along walkways, and mounted downlights on trees blanketing the skate park with full light coverage,” he emphasized.
Images of the property show how the light fixtures and speakers — including Coastal Source’s 10.0 Ellipse Bollard speaker, 10.0 Bollard subwoofer, and MR11 Bullet Lights, to name a few — are located discreetly to preserve the natural outdoor setting. Even when visible, their sleek, unobtrusive forms complement the flow of each area and create a nighttime experience that keeps neighbors asking, “who designed this?”
As a well-known local installer with decades of experience, Reynolds Lighting & Audio Design almost exclusively specifies Coastal Source outdoor audio and lighting solutions due to the brand’s reputation for rugged, attractive designs that offer long-lasting performance in the most extreme conditions.
“Of course, defying the elements was a core concern at this property, requiring lights, speakers, and wiring that can withstand salty sea spray, humid summer heat, snowy winters, and everything in between,” Hood said. “That meant using Coastal Source’s solutions, which are so tough and resilient that we’ve even had customers’ yards flooded with saltwater with no effect on the lights or speakers. They also offer the industry’s best risers, which provide greater design flexibility and allow us to easily adjust the ground light fixtures for seasonal changes or new landscape features.”
Landscape risers may seem like a small issue, but by enabling simple height adjustment for individual light fixtures, they allow installers to quickly fine tune systems and maximize lighting effectiveness.
Ease of use is another major concern, which Reynolds Lighting & Audio Design made simple and intuitive by integrating Lutron and Sonos wireless systems to provide mobile device control for lighting and audio. Special considerations include a lighting and speaker setup in the shower pavilion with a physical on/off switch and two Coastal Source subwoofers that fill the yard with luxurious bass. The three-zone audio system offers localized volume control, making it perfect for parties or any time people are using different areas of the yard.
“Projects like the Skate Park House show why Coastal Source lighting and audio solutions stand alone in the industry, helping us provide superior experiences with flawless performance and premium aesthetics,” concluded Coastal Source Founder & CEO Franco D’Ascanio.
