Professional outdoor landscape lighting in Spokane typically costs $1,500–$15,000+, depending on the size of the property, number and quality of fixtures, lighting design, installation conditions, controls and the complexity of the overall system.
A smaller project illuminating a front entry, pathway or a few important landscape features may fall toward the lower end of that range. A comprehensive lighting design for a large home and outdoor living space—with pathways, architectural lighting, trees, retaining walls, patios, steps and entertaining areas—can reach $10,000–$15,000 or more.
The important distinction is that professional landscape lighting isn’t simply a matter of buying a certain number of lights.
It’s about determining what should be illuminated, how it should be illuminated and how the entire property should look and function after dark.
How Much Does Landscape Lighting Cost?
For initial planning, Wall & Company uses approximately $1,500–$15,000+ as a realistic range for professionally installed outdoor lighting in the Spokane area.
Outdoor Lighting Project | Typical Planning Range |
Small, focused lighting project | $1,500–$3,500 |
Moderate landscape lighting project | $3,500–$7,500 |
Larger whole-landscape lighting system | $7,500–$15,000 |
Extensive/custom property lighting | $15,000+ |
These aren’t rigid packages.
A property shouldn’t be forced into a predetermined number of lights simply to fit a pricing tier. The actual system should be designed around the home, landscape, outdoor living areas and the way the property will be used after dark.
What Affects the Cost of Outdoor Lighting?
The biggest variables include:
- Number of fixtures
- Fixture quality and type
- Size of the property
- Distance between lighting areas
- Transformer size
- Wiring requirements
- Existing versus new landscaping
- Installation access
- Hardscape and obstacles
- Lighting controls
- Smart controls
- Architectural lighting
- Tree and landscape lighting
- Pathway and step lighting
- Outdoor living areas
- Number of separate lighting zones
- Design complexity
Two homes with the same number of fixtures can therefore have substantially different lighting costs.
How Does the Number of Fixtures Affect the Price?
Fixture count is one of the most obvious cost factors.
A small project might illuminate a front walkway, entry and a few landscape features.
A larger project might include lighting for:
- Front architecture
- Entry
- Driveway
- Pathways
- Trees
- Planting beds
- Retaining walls
- Boulder walls
- Steps
- Paver patios
- Outdoor kitchens
- Fire features
- Water features
- Sport courts
- Backyard entertaining areas
As the property gets larger, the system generally requires more fixtures, more wiring and potentially greater transformer capacity.
But fixture count shouldn’t be the starting point for the design.
The better question is:
What needs to be illuminated to achieve the desired effect?
Why Does Fixture Quality Matter?
Outdoor lighting fixtures live outside year-round.
In Spokane, that means exposure to:
- Rain
- Snow
- Irrigation
- Freezing temperatures
- Summer heat
- Soil moisture
- Seasonal temperature changes
Fixture construction, seals, connections and materials therefore matter.
Inexpensive fixtures can reduce the initial project cost, but outdoor lighting should be evaluated as a permanent landscape system rather than a collection of temporary lights.
A professionally designed system uses fixtures appropriate for the application and environment in which they’re being installed.
What Types of Outdoor Lighting Can Be Used?
Different fixtures accomplish different jobs.
A landscape lighting design can incorporate several techniques rather than repeating the same fixture throughout the property.
Path Lighting
Path lights provide illumination along walkways and landscape areas.
The objective isn’t necessarily to create a continuous brightly lit path. Proper spacing can provide enough illumination for navigation while maintaining a more natural nighttime environment.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting highlights selected landscape features such as:
- Trees
- Boulders
- Plantings
- Walls
- Architectural details
- Water features
The objective is to create visual interest and depth rather than illuminate everything equally.
Uplighting
Fixtures positioned near the ground can direct light upward onto trees, architectural elements or other vertical features.
This can emphasize texture, height and structure after dark.
Downlighting
Lights positioned above the area being illuminated can direct light downward.
Depending on the location and technique, this can create natural-looking pools of illumination similar to moonlight.
Step and Wall Lighting
Lighting can be incorporated into retaining walls, seating walls, steps and other hardscape.
These fixtures can improve visibility while remaining visually integrated into the structure.
Architectural Lighting
Landscape lighting can also highlight the home itself.
Carefully positioned fixtures can illuminate columns, stonework, rooflines, entry areas and other architectural features without making the house appear excessively bright.
Why Does Lighting Design Matter?
The goal of professional landscape lighting isn’t to make the property as bright as possible.
It’s to put the right amount of light in the right places.
If every tree, wall and pathway is illuminated at the same intensity, the property can become visually flat.
Good lighting uses contrast.
Some areas are intentionally brighter. Others remain darker. Certain trees or architectural features become focal points while surrounding areas provide depth.
The result should feel intentional without drawing attention to every individual fixture.
Ideally, people notice the landscape—not the equipment producing the light.
How Does an Existing Landscape Affect Lighting Cost?
Installing lighting while a landscape is being constructed is often different from adding lighting to a finished property.
During new construction, wiring can frequently be installed before:
- Pavers are completed
- Planting beds are finished
- Decorative rock is installed
- Irrigation is finalized
- Retaining walls are completed
- Lawn is established
That creates opportunities to conceal infrastructure while the site is already under construction.
Retrofitting an existing landscape may require routing wiring around or beneath finished improvements.
That doesn’t mean existing landscapes can’t be professionally illuminated. It simply means installation conditions can affect the amount of labor required.
How Does Hardscaping Affect Outdoor Lighting?
Lighting is frequently integrated directly into hardscape.
For example:
Retaining walls can incorporate wall or cap lighting.
Paver patios may include lighting around steps, edges or seating areas.
Pathways can use path or directional lighting.
Outdoor kitchens need functional lighting for cooking and entertaining.
Fire features often benefit from subtle surrounding illumination rather than bright light competing with the fire.
Water features can use carefully positioned accent lighting to emphasize moving water and stone.
When Wall & Company is constructing both the hardscape and the lighting system, those elements can be planned together.
That’s usually preferable to deciding where lighting should go after everything else has already been built.
How Much Does Smart Outdoor Lighting Cost?
Controls are another variable in the total system price.
A basic system may use relatively simple scheduling controls.
More advanced systems can provide automated schedules and smart control of the landscape lighting.
Depending on the system, homeowners may be able to adjust when the lights turn on and off without installing an unsightly control module in a prominent outdoor location.
Smart controls can be particularly useful as the lighting system becomes larger or more complex.
How Many Outdoor Lights Do I Need?
There isn’t a useful universal formula.
A property with a large open lawn may require relatively little lighting.
A smaller property with mature trees, pathways, elevation changes, retaining walls and multiple outdoor living spaces could require considerably more.
Fixture count should follow the lighting plan rather than determine it.
Wall & Company evaluates what should be illuminated and selects fixture locations based on the desired result.
Does Every Tree Need a Light?
No.
Lighting every tree can actually reduce the visual impact of the landscape.
Selected specimen trees, mature trees or trees that contribute to the property’s nighttime composition may warrant accent lighting.
Others may be intentionally left dark.
That contrast helps create depth.
The same principle applies to boulders, walls, architectural elements and other landscape features.
Not everything needs to be highlighted.
Can Outdoor Lighting Improve Safety?
Yes.
Outdoor lighting can improve nighttime visibility around:
- Steps
- Pathways
- Elevation changes
- Entries
- Patios
- Outdoor kitchens
- Driveways
- Retaining walls
But safety lighting doesn’t necessarily need to be harsh or excessively bright.
Proper fixture placement can improve visibility while still preserving the atmosphere of the outdoor space.
What About Security Lighting?
Landscape lighting and security lighting serve somewhat different purposes, but they can complement one another.
Landscape lighting can reduce large areas of complete darkness around entries, pathways and the perimeter of outdoor living areas.
Dedicated security lighting may use brighter fixtures, motion activation or different placement.
A good outdoor lighting plan can account for both without turning the property into a commercial parking lot.
Is Outdoor Lighting Worth Adding During a Landscaping Project?
For homeowners already investing in a significant outdoor project, lighting is worth considering during the design stage even if the final lighting system isn’t particularly large.
A $50,000, $100,000 or larger outdoor environment may include beautiful masonry, specimen plants, retaining walls, patios, water features and architectural elements.
Without lighting, much of that investment effectively disappears after sunset.
Lighting extends the visual and functional life of the landscape into the evening.
It can also be easier to install wiring and infrastructure while the landscape is already under construction.
What Is Included in a Wall & Company Outdoor Lighting Project?
Depending on the project, a professionally installed outdoor lighting system can include:
- Lighting design
- Fixture selection
- Fixture placement
- Low-voltage wiring
- Transformer
- Connections
- Path lighting
- Accent lighting
- Uplighting
- Downlighting
- Step lighting
- Wall lighting
- Architectural lighting
- Outdoor living-area lighting
- Smart controls
- System setup
- Final fixture positioning and adjustment
The exact system depends on the property and the objectives of the homeowner.
How Much Should I Budget for Outdoor Landscape Lighting?
For professionally installed landscape lighting in the Spokane area, a useful Wall & Company planning range is $1,500–$15,000+.
A smaller, focused installation may cost approximately $1,500–$3,500.
A more substantial landscape lighting project may fall around $3,500–$7,500.
Larger whole-property systems can reach $7,500–$15,000, while extensive custom lighting projects can exceed $15,000.
Those ranges provide a realistic starting point, but final pricing requires evaluating the property, landscape, installation conditions and desired lighting design.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does landscape lighting cost in Spokane?
Professionally installed outdoor landscape lighting typically ranges from approximately $1,500 to $15,000+, depending on the property, fixtures, system size and complexity.
How much does a small outdoor lighting project cost?
A smaller, focused project may fall in the $1,500–$3,500 range.
How much does whole-property landscape lighting cost?
A larger system illuminating multiple areas of the home and landscape can cost approximately $7,500–$15,000 or more.
What affects the price of landscape lighting?
The biggest variables include fixture count and quality, property size, wiring distances, transformer requirements, installation conditions, hardscape, controls and the complexity of the lighting design.
Can landscape lighting be added to an existing yard?
Yes. Lighting can be retrofitted into an existing landscape, although existing patios, pathways, walls, planting and other improvements can affect how wiring is routed and installed.
Should outdoor lighting be installed while landscaping is being built?
When possible, planning lighting during landscape construction can make it easier to coordinate wiring, fixtures, hardscape, planting and other improvements.
Can outdoor lighting use smart controls?
Yes. Landscape lighting systems can incorporate scheduling and smart controls depending on the equipment and design.
Does every tree and landscape feature need lighting?
No. Professional landscape lighting uses selective illumination and contrast. Leaving some areas darker can make the features that are illuminated more visually effective.
Does Wall & Company install lighting with patios and retaining walls?
Lighting can be incorporated into larger Wall & Company landscape and hardscape projects so fixture locations, wiring and the surrounding construction can be planned together.