Outdoor Lighting Design · Nashville & Middle TN
Photorealistic renderings, fixture specifications, and zone layouts for Nashville homes, estates, builders, and landscape architects — the design work that separates a finished property from an installed one.
What We Do
Outdoor lighting design is the planning of a complete exterior lighting system — renderings, fixture specifications, and zone layouts — independent of installation. Light TN creates outdoor lighting design plans for Nashville and Middle Tennessee homeowners, builders, architects, and landscape architects, so the lighting is decided on screen and approved before any fixture goes in the ground.
Before choosing an installer, use our guide to compare the complete scope of lighting proposals.
Light TN is a family-owned landscape lighting designer in Burns, Tennessee, led by Principal Designer Daryl Bentfield, who personally walks each property. The studio has produced designs behind 500+ Middle Tennessee projects since 2020. The design fee is credited toward the project when Light TN installs the system, and design-only plans are available for owners and trade partners.
The Craft
A design studio sells the judgment about where light belongs, how it's shielded, and how the property reads at night — not just fixtures and labor. A designed plan accounts for materials, grade, and how the landscape will grow, which a parts-list quote does not.
The studio designs for where the landscape is headed, not only where it is — a tree's canopy filling in, a bed maturing over five years — so the plan still reads right in the future and supports phased installation.
What a Plan Includes
On-site assessment — Daryl walks the property, reads the architecture, grade, and trees, and listens to how you use the grounds after dark.
Photorealistic rendering — you see your property lit at night before anything is installed, so the design is approved on screen rather than discovered in the yard.
Fixture specification — each fixture is specified for beam control, finish, and 2700K color temperature — chosen for the property, not pulled from a truck.
Zone and control layout — we map zones and scenes so the system can be balanced and, where wanted, put on smart control.
Master plan for phasing — where a project is staged, the plan keeps transformer sizing, wire runs, and color temperature consistent as it grows.
Design-only or build — take the plan to your own installer, or build it with Light TN and have the design fee credited toward the project.
Who It's For
Outdoor lighting design is ideal for homeowners who want to see the finished look before committing, for custom builders coordinating lighting with new construction, and for architects and landscape architects specifying lighting for their clients. Builders, architects, and landscape architects bring Light TN in to specify lighting and coordinate it with their plans, so it's built in rather than added on.
It also suits properties being phased, where a master plan guides each stage, and owners who value design judgment over a parts-list quote. The design is approved as a rendering first, so the result is decided before any digging, and the plan can grow without being rebuilt.
Our Process
An on-site assessment of the architecture, landscape, and how you live outside after dark.
We outline a lighting approach built from the property, not a template.
A photorealistic night rendering you react to and approve.
Fixtures, zones, and a layout documented for installation.
Build it with Light TN (design fee credited) or take the plan to your team.
Why Choose Light TN
Daryl Bentfield does the assessment and the design himself, not a salesperson. You see a photorealistic version of the finished property at night before committing.
Builders, architects, and landscape architects bring Light TN in to specify lighting for their clients. The lighting is coordinated with the build, not added on.
Licensed contractor CE-D: 76580, BBB A+, and 4.9 stars across 62 verified reviews.
FAQ
Light TN quotes the design fee after a free on-site consultation, based on the property’s size and complexity. The fee is credited toward the project if Light TN installs the system. Design-only plans are also available for homeowners, builders, architects and landscape architects who want to use their own installation team. Confirm the deliverables and fee in the design proposal before proceeding. The cost of planning and documenting the lighting is a separate decision from the installation price, which follows the approved plan.
A lighting designer decides where light belongs, how it should be directed and how the property should read after dark. At Light TN, Daryl starts with an on-site assessment of the architecture, grade, trees and the way you use the grounds. That work becomes a concept, a nighttime rendering, fixture specifications and a zone layout. The role includes coordinating those choices with building and landscape plans. A list of fixtures and labor does not, by itself, explain the intended nighttime result or how the parts will work together.
Light TN’s outdoor lighting plan includes an on-site assessment, a photorealistic nighttime rendering, fixture specifications, and a zone and control layout. Fixture choices address beam control, finish and color temperature. Where installation will happen in stages, the master plan also considers the transformer, wire runs and consistency between phases. You can take a design-only plan to your installation team or have Light TN build it. Confirm the documents included and how they will be handed over in your proposal, so the design scope is clear before installation begins.
For outdoor lighting, a rendering is a visual representation of the proposed nighttime appearance. Light TN prepares a photorealistic view of your property so you can react to the composition before fixtures are installed. Use that review to discuss the areas emphasized, the balance between the building and landscape, and the atmosphere around outdoor rooms. The rendering works alongside the fixture specifications and zone layout; it does not replace them. Together, those documents describe both the intended appearance and the system planned to create it.
Start with how you use the property after dark, then study the architecture, grade, planting and views together. Identify the features worth emphasizing and the routes and outdoor rooms that need useful light. Light TN develops that assessment into a concept and rendering before specifying fixtures and zones. A master plan can guide later phases, so today’s choices account for the rest of the property and maturing plants. DarkSky’s outdoor-lighting principles add a useful check: give every light a purpose, aim it carefully and use only the light needed.
An outdoor plan can combine landscape, architectural and hardscape lighting. Landscape lighting addresses trees and planting. Architectural lighting reveals the building’s form and materials. Hardscape lighting addresses built features such as steps, walls, patios and walkways. Light TN designs those parts together so the property reads as one composition after dark. They are different design tasks, rather than interchangeable fixture packages. The assessment establishes which are relevant to your property, and the rendering helps you review their balance before the final fixture and control layout is documented.
Use the property’s features to choose the effect: graze textured stone, wash a smoother wall, accent a specimen tree or use downlighting to create a softer outdoor room. Light TN’s design ideas guide shows how those effects change from the arrival to the backyard, patio and garden. Restraint matters as much as adding another light; unlit areas can give the emphasized features depth. Bring the views and outdoor spaces you value to the design consultation. The rendering then lets you compare the composition before committing to a fixture layout.
Light TN’s published design approach uses 2700K warm white, selected to complement the property’s materials and planting. That is the studio’s design preference, rather than a rule that makes 3000K unsuitable for every outdoor project. Review the proposed color temperature with the fixture specifications and consider how adjoining areas will look together. DarkSky recommends warmer-color outdoor light where possible while also limiting brightness, spill and unnecessary operating time. Color temperature is one part of that coordinated design; it does not establish the quality or suitability of the whole plan by itself.
Glare is excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort. The National Park Service identifies it as one form of light pollution, alongside light trespass and skyglow. For a property’s lighting plan, that makes viewing positions important: a fixture can light the intended feature while also shining toward someone approaching the door, sitting on a patio or looking out of a window. Light TN considers shielding and how the property reads at night during design. Review those sightlines along with the rendering and fixture layout, rather than judging the plan only by how much light it produces.
Choose lighting that directs an appropriate amount of light only where and when it is needed. DarkSky and the Illuminating Engineering Society recommend useful, targeted, low-level, controlled and warm-colored outdoor lighting. Shielding, careful aiming, suitable output and operating schedules all contribute; a warm lamp alone does not address every source of spill or unnecessary light. Light TN documents fixtures, zones and controls as part of the design. Ask the plan to show how those choices serve the intended areas and limit unwanted light. Do not assume that a product label guarantees zero light pollution or local approval.
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Book a free on-site consultation and Light TN will design your property's lighting and render it at night for your approval.
