I wouldn't do soffit lighting, I would probably just have a little big bigger fixture next to the front door.

I should note we have no street lighting so it's very dark.

How about a post light out in the yard.

My personal feeling is that soffit lighting tends to be unflattering except for the most contemporary sort of house, and it frequently looks "commercial" even then. What would you be highlighting?

Hmm good point. I don't know exactly. Just needing some more light. We have ugly flood lights on the home right now. Maybe landscape lighting would be better?

Landscape lighting and maybe a post light in the yard, and lighting on the out building?

Low-voltage landscape lighting can make a big difference. Put some up-lights on surrounding trees and light up the perimeter. Put them on a timer.

You want to light up a dark grey house?

It looks like you don't have a sidewalk to the front door?

So maybe the side entrance needs to be lit better, too.

I have never seen soffit lights that I like. I have a couple at my house strategically (near the grill for instance) but I would never want them left on. They create ‘hot’ spots on the facade. Low voltage lighting in the landscape would work much better.

It's a style in some places.

How do you enter your house, front door or back? I think you need at least stepping stones to the front door, and if people are coming and going at night, more lighting is appropriate. We have one floodlight that is motion activated at the corner of the house to assist with coming and going on dark nights.

Any outdoor lighting should follow Dark Sky Principles:

I don't see how soffit lights would accomplish anything. Sure, they'd illuminate the house but not the areas that need to be illuminated so that one can find the house from the barn or street. Note that most of the lights on the house in the photo posted above don't illuminate the area that needs it, just the house's walls.

Are there paths to the house from the garage, driveway or street? If so, use low-voltage path lights to illuminate them. Use downward-facing fixtures near doors and above the porches. Avoid lights that face upward or that shine on the house or into the yard.

You're lucky. Unlike us city folks, you can probably see the stars!

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@palimpset that just hurts my eyes. It doesn’t accent the architecture or pathways. It’s just bright lights…

Soffit lights work best if they are at least three (3) feet away from any wall.

@HALLET, I don't care for it either except on a contemporary house with larger expanses of plain white stucco or something like that. And even then with restraint.

@shadywillowfarm. Yes we need a walkway but that's a later job ;)

"we need a walkway but that's a later job"

Install path lighting as part of the walkway project.

No to path lighting. It’s a nightmare to mow around. You have to get off the mower, pull them all up, the reset them when you are done.

Not if you put the path lights into a landscaping bed on either side of the walkway.