Services
Design and installation services
Every service is available across Houston and the surrounding communities.
Landscape Lighting
Uplighting, moonlighting and grazing that pulls your trees, stonework and architectural detail out of the dark.
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Low-Voltage Lighting
Correctly sized 12V systems — brass fixtures, toroidal transformers and wire gauged so the far end still gets full voltage.
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Permanent Lighting
Colour-changeable track tucked into the eave. Soft white nightly, team colours on game day, full colour for the holidays.
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Holiday Lighting
Seasonal installs done properly — hung, timed, maintained through the season and taken down in January.
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Bistro & String
Catenary runs on tensioned steel cable, anchored to posts or trees so they hold their line for years.
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Pathway Lighting
Low, shielded fixtures that light the ground rather than the guest. Safe without looking like a runway.
ExplorePlus repair and restoration for systems that have stopped working — whoever installed them.
Start here
Which service do you actually need?
Most people arrive knowing what bothers them about the property after dark rather than knowing what the fix is called. This is the shortest route from one to the other.
“The house disappears at night.” That is landscape lighting — uplighting on the trees and grazing on the facade to give the property shape and depth. It is the service that changes how a house looks more than any other, and it is where most projects start.
“I want it done properly and I want it to last.” Then the thing to read about is the system rather than the effect: low-voltage 12V covers transformer sizing, wire gauge, voltage drop and brass fixtures. Same lights you see on the landscape page, described from the engineering side.
“I am tired of putting Christmas lights up every year.” That is permanent lighting — colour-changeable track tucked into the eave line, invisible by day, soft warm white most nights and full colour for the holidays. Higher up-front cost, then nothing to hang ever again.
“I just want Christmas lights this year.” That is holiday lighting: hung, timed, maintained through the season and taken down in January. Book it in September or October, because the calendar fills.
“The patio feels like nowhere after dark.” That is bistro and string lighting. Overhead light on a tensioned catenary is what turns an open deck or lawn into a room, and it is usually the single cheapest change with the biggest effect on how much you actually use the space.
“Somebody is going to trip on that path.” That is pathway lighting — low shielded fixtures that pool light onto the walking surface instead of glaring at eye level.
“I already have lighting and half of it is dead.” That is repair and restoration, and it is usually a fraction of the cost of replacement. Failed transformers, corroded connections and mismatched replacement bulbs account for most of what we see. Get it diagnosed before anyone quotes you a new system.
In practice most properties use two or three of these together, which is why they are designed as one scheme rather than bought separately. Pathway lighting that runs at a different colour temperature to the uplighting is the most common giveaway that a garden was lit piecemeal by different people.
Our process
How it works
Night demo
We come out after dark with fixtures in hand and light the house in front of you. You see the actual design before anything is bought.
Fixed quote
A written plan with fixture counts, placements and one price. No hourly surprises, no change orders once the number is agreed.
Clean install
Most residential systems go in within a day. Wire is trenched, transformers mounted discreetly, beds and turf left as we found them.
Aim & aftercare
We return at night to fine-tune every beam once the system is live — then optional maintenance keeps it aimed and lamped year-round.
Components
What goes in the ground
Cast brass bodies
Machined solid brass with silicone gaskets. Lifetime manufacturer warranty on the fixture itself.
2700K LED lamps
Rated to 50,000 hours — roughly a decade of nightly use — and replaceable without pulling the fixture.
Stainless transformers
Toroidal low-voltage units in stainless enclosures, timer and photocell driven, mounted out of sight.
Maintenance plans
Optional annual service: re-aiming, lamp swaps, connector checks and seasonal changeovers.
Reviews
What Houston homeowners say
I had wanted to do outdoor lighting for years, but it was hard to find a company to give a quote or even return my call. These guys came to my home and listened to my ideas, they made valuable suggestions. The installation was simple and their crew was very respectful. The end result is perfect lighting for my home.Charles Crixell
We are really enjoying our backyard every evening now, which looks like a fairyland. He did lots of reworking, repairing and adding to an old system. I very seldom give reviews, but I really was so pleased with the service and work. He came when he said he would and did what he said he was going to.June Stanley
Elwin was very professional. I watched him the whole time he was restoring my landscape lighting. He replaced bulbs for better lighting, installed new wiring, and did a great job of hiding wires. He arranged for my unit to run off of one box instead of three. My landscape lighting means the world to me.Luong Tieu Hung
Common questions
Questions about the work
What does outdoor lighting cost in Houston?
Most residential landscape projects land between roughly $3,500 and $12,000 depending on fixture count, how far the wire has to run and whether the back garden is included. A small front-elevation scheme can be under that, a large property with bistro spans and a pool surround above it. Indicative ranges are set out on the pricing page, and the estimate you get is a fixed written number, not an hourly rate.
How long does installation take?
Most residential landscape systems go in within a day, occasionally two for larger properties or long trenched runs. Permanent roofline lighting is usually a single day. Christmas installations are booked to a date and finished in a morning. We return separately after dark to aim, which is a short visit on a later evening.
Do I need an electrician or a permit?
For low-voltage landscape lighting, no. The transformer plugs into an existing exterior GFCI outlet and everything beyond it runs at 12 volts. If your property has no suitable exterior outlet, that one piece of work needs an electrician and we will tell you up front. Permanent roofline lighting occasionally needs a dedicated circuit; that is flagged in the proposal rather than discovered on the day.
What is covered by the warranty?
The brass fixture bodies carry a lifetime manufacturer warranty. LED lamps are covered separately by their own manufacturer term. Our installation work — connections, burial, transformer mounting and aiming — is warranted too, and the specific term is written into your proposal rather than left vague.
Will you dig up my lawn and planting beds?
Cable is trenched rather than surface-laid, but the trench is narrow and beds and turf are put back as we found them. On established planting we work around root systems rather than through them. If a run has to cross a lawn, it closes up and disappears within a couple of mows.
Can you add to a system later?
Yes, and it is worth planning for. Transformers are deliberately sized with headroom so a future zone — a new bed, a tree that has grown into being worth lighting, a back patio added two years on — can be added without replacing the transformer. That headroom costs very little at install and a great deal to retrofit.
Do you offer maintenance?
Optionally, yes. An annual service covers re-aiming, lamp replacement, connector checks and seasonal changeovers. It is not compulsory and nothing is voided if you skip it, but lighting drifts out of aim as planting grows, and a system that is never re-aimed slowly stops looking like the one you paid for.
Do you work on commercial properties?
Yes — restaurants, small offices, event venues and HOA common areas as well as homes. The approach is the same; the difference is usually scheduling around business hours and, for anything public-facing, more attention to glare control and trip hazards.
Free, no obligation
Not sure which service you need?
Tell us what bothers you about the property after dark and we will tell you what would fix it.
- (832) 303-0428
- ambianceoutdoorlights@gmail.com
- Houston, Texas