Landscape lighting design, Kent WA and the South Sound
Landscape lighting design.
See your home lit before we install a fixture.
Send us a daytime photo of the front of your house. We return a rendering of it lit at night, with the fixtures marked, and a fixed proposal to build it. For homeowners in south King County and Pierce County.
Rivas Technology Group designs landscape and architectural lighting for South Sound homes. Send a photo of your house and we return a rendering of it lit at night with each fixture marked, then a fixed proposal. Installed systems run on sunset schedules and Control4 scenes and are rated for wet Pacific Northwest winters.
- The visualizer
- Send a photo; we return a lit rendering with fixtures marked
- Turnaround
- Rendering and proposal within three business days
- Control
- Sunset schedules, Control4 scenes, the app
- Weather
- Wet-rated fixtures and direct-burial cable for PNW winters
- Response
- Call or text back within one business day
- License
- WA electrical contractor RIVASGL799DR, bonded and insured
What does the visualizer do?
It shows you what your house looks like lit before a single fixture goes in the ground. Send us a daytime photo of the front of your home. We return a night rendering with each fixture marked. That means uplights on the columns and the feature tree, path lights along the walk, step lights on the porch and wall lights at the garage. It also marks a permanent eave strip under the roofline if you want it.
The rendering comes with a fixture count, the zones we would wire, and a fixed proposal to build it. You mark what you want moved, we revise, and only then does anything get ordered. Rivas Technology Group is the South Sound's security-first integrator, based in Kent since 2020; our own team designs and installs in homes.
What makes a good photo?
One wide, straight-on shot of the whole facade from the street or the end of the driveway, taken in daylight or at dusk with the house lights off. Add a photo of any side yard, path, patio or tree you want lit. A phone photo is fine; wider beats closer, and a level camera beats an angled one. Send it through the form on this page or by email to sales@rivastechgroup.com with your address, and we return the rendering within three business days.
How do we design outdoor lighting?
As a system, not a bag of stakes. We start with what the house should look like from the street after dark, then work backward to fixtures, beam angles, color temperature and zones. Warm white on the architecture, a narrower beam on the tree, low glare on the path so your eyes adjust, and nothing pointed at a neighbor's window. Each zone gets its own circuit so the facade, the path and the backyard can run on different schedules.
Fixtures are wet-rated, cable is direct-burial, connections are gasketed and transformers sit where they stay dry. A South Sound yard sees rain, dew, freeze and full sun in the same year. Permanent eave lighting, a color-changing strip under the roofline, gives you warm white architectural light every night and holiday colors on demand without a ladder. It is on the outdoor living page with landscape audio and outdoor TV.
How is it controlled?
By sunset, by scene, or by the app. On its own, the system follows an astronomic clock: on at dusk, dimmed at midnight, off at dawn, adjusting through the year without you touching it. With Control4, the same fixtures join the house. A Patio scene brings up the path and the music, and Goodnight turns the yard off with the inside lights. An Away scene runs the exterior on schedule so the house looks occupied.
With Ajax security, an alarm or a MotionCam event, which delivers its first photo within 9 seconds (Ajax MotionCam), can bring every exterior fixture to full. Control4 runs in over 500,000 homes and works with 25,000+ third-party products (Control4); we are a Control4 Authorized Dealer, listed on Control4's integrator map. Interior scenes and circadian schedules are on smart lighting, the control layer on Control4.
What drives the cost?
Fixture count, cable runs, and whether the eave strip and Control4 are in scope. A facade with six uplights and a path is a small job. A corner lot with a long driveway, a backyard, a dock and permanent eave lighting on three sides is a large one.
Trenching across a finished lawn or a hardscape adds labor; a bed along the foundation does not. The proposal comes with the rendering, as a fixed price before work begins. Published ranges for outdoor projects are on smart home installation cost, and the instant quote gives you a first figure in a few minutes.
What happens after the rendering?
A walk-through, an install, and a night visit to aim every fixture. We confirm fixture positions on the property, check the transformer location and the cable routes, and schedule the install. Our own team trenches, wires and mounts the fixtures, then comes back after dark to aim each one and set the schedule with you. Afterward you have a 90-day workmanship warranty, support at published rates and the optional CURATOR remote care plan if the lighting is on a Control4 system. Fixture warranties are the manufacturer's and are listed in the proposal.
Where we work
South King County and Pierce County from our office at 415 Railroad Ave S in Kent: Kent, Renton, Tukwila, Federal Way, Auburn and Covington and Maple Valley. Also Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Tehaleh, University Place and Gig Harbor. Olympic Peninsula by appointment. Licensed as WA electrical contractor RIVASGL799DR, active, bonded and insured (L&I lookup); BBB accredited, A+; 5.0 from 49 Google reviews.
Questions about outdoor lighting design
How does the visualizer work?
You send a daytime photo of the front of your house, or the yard you want lit, through the form or by email. We mark up a night rendering with the fixture types and positions we would use, and send it back with a fixture count and a fixed proposal. We revise it with you before anything is ordered.
What photo should I send?
One straight-on shot of the whole facade from the street or driveway, taken in daylight or at dusk with the house lights off. Add one of any side yard, path or tree you want lit. A phone photo is fine. Wider is better than closer.
Is the rendering free?
Yes. The rendering and the proposal are free within our service area. If you want a full lighting design as a document you can hand to another contractor, that is a consulting engagement.
What is the difference between landscape and permanent eave lighting?
Landscape lighting is the fixtures at ground level: path lights, uplights on the facade and trees, step and wall lights. Permanent eave lighting is a color-changing strip under the roofline for architectural white every night and holiday colors on demand. Most homes get both on one schedule.
Can it tie into my security system?
Yes. With Control4, an Ajax alarm or a MotionCam event can bring every exterior fixture to full. An away scene runs the lights on a sunset schedule so the house looks occupied. Ajax keeps its own app and monitoring path regardless.
How does it hold up in a wet winter?
We specify wet-rated fixtures, direct-burial low-voltage cable and gasketed connections, and we place transformers where they stay dry. The yard gets rain, dew, freeze and full sun in one year; the hardware is chosen for all four.
Do you install lighting without the rest of the smart home?
Yes. A landscape lighting system on a sunset timer is a complete project on its own. If you add Control4 later, the lighting joins it without being replaced.
Send a photo of the house.
Attach or describe the photo in the note, or email it to sales@rivastechgroup.com with your address. We return a lit rendering and a fixed proposal within three business days. We call or text back within one business day.