How is my landscape lighting design created?
Quick Answer
Our landscape lighting design process starts with a phone call, and the next step is usually an on-site visit that we schedule during that call. One of our lighting designers walks your property, listens to your priorities, and plans layers of light that work together as one scene after dark, guided by the Gestalt Principles of Design. From that walk, we build a custom proposal for your review. Once you approve the design, we schedule your installation.
Detailed Answer
Great outdoor lighting is part art and part engineering, and our design process is built to honor both.
The first conversation happens over the phone. Tell us what you have in mind, and if you want to move forward, we usually book an on-site visit before we hang up. During that visit, one of our lighting designers walks your property, takes note of the architecture, plantings, pathways, dark spots, and any feature you want to highlight, and asks questions about how you actually use the space. We want to know what you want to see, what you want guests to notice, and what you want to feel safer about after sunset.
From that walk, we build a custom landscape lighting design and layer the light using the Gestalt Principles of Design, which are at the heart of our design principles. Those principles describe how the eye groups separate elements into a single picture, and they’re what let many individual fixtures read as one composed scene after dark. That means accent, path, architectural, and security lighting all work together rather than competing, and every fixture has a purpose. We also choose specific beam spreads and color temperatures so the finished result feels balanced rather than over-lit.
The design is then translated into a written proposal that includes the layout, materials, and pricing. We share it with you for review, make adjustments based on your feedback, and finalize the scope. We pride ourselves on staying flexible and sensitive to specific budgets, so if priorities need to shift, we work with you to phase the project or scale the design without losing the integrity of the plan.
Once the design and proposal are approved, we send the contract and schedule your installation. We design, install, diagnose, repair, and maintain outdoor accent and landscape lighting, including architectural, path, tree, and garden lighting, and our maintenance plans include a yearly cleaning and aiming visit.