Here at CE Pro, we’ve seen hundreds, maybe thousands of case studies featuring elegant lighting with robust controls that offer functionality, flexibility and customization, but we’ve never seen a project that included lighting for a professional-grade backyard skatepark.
That changes with this project from New Jersey-based Reynolds Lighting & Audio Design, which included outdoor speakers and light fixtures from Coastal Source to help bring a professional-grade, backyard skatepark to life.
The new build near New Jersey’s Long Beach Island features Coastal Source’s lighting and speaker solutions, as well as Lutron lighting control systems throughout, including the home’s walkways, seating areas, fence gates, outdoor shower pavilion and landscaping.
Skate Park a Late Addition to Lighting, Audio Plans
However, the skate park wasn’t initially included in the audio and lighting design, as the general outdoor lighting came first, following by additional installations when the homeowners realized that their teenage children couldn’t safely use certain areas of the yard at night. In addition to the skate park, this last-minute addition included the hot tub area.
According to homeowner Vanessa Carvajal, the skate park is a major attraction for the children and their friends who use it to train for surfing. However, before the lighting was installed, use of the skatepark was limited to daylight hours.
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“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,” Carvajal explains. “The kids love having more time to practice their skills, and we love simply being able to enjoy our property for longer each day.”
However, the expansion was no big deal for Reynolds Lighting & Audio Design, as customers often discover additional needs or wants during projects. 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, says Tanek Hood, manager of Reynolds’ lighting and audio design division.
“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.”
Coastal Source Dimming, Zone Control Bring Backyard to Life
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,” Hood emphasizes.
Images of the property show how the light fixtures and speakers – including Coastal Source’s innovative 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.
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.
The project, which was located near the ocean, required lights, speakers and wiring that can withstand both saltwater spray, humid summer heat, snowy winters and everything in between.
“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,” Hood says. “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.”
An Easy-to-Use System
The integration firm also took ease of use into consideration, integrating Lutron and Sonos wireless systems to allow for mobile device control for lighting and audio. Special considerations included a lighting and speaker setup in the shower pavilion with a physical switch, and two Coastal Source subwoofers that fill the yard with bass.
The three-zone audio system also features localized volume control, so the family can control 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.
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