Luxury Outdoor Lighting and Shading in South Florida
Maxicon designs and installs luxury outdoor lighting and motorized shading for South Florida homes, from Palm Beach to Miami. By mid-afternoon the terrace is often too hot to use, and after dark the yard becomes the main room, so we plan lighting and shading together.
Maxicon has 21 years in the industry. Every project gets an engineering team and a dedicated project manager, and the owners stay involved from the first conversation to handoff.
Outdoor Lighting Design for South Florida Estates
Many yards get lit in pieces. A few fixtures go in for the pool and a few more for the path. A year later, the lighting no longer matches the house. We start differently. Our in-house lighting designer works with you, or with your architect and interior designer. Together, you decide what you want to see from inside the house at night. The fixtures come after that. Our team then handles the outdoor lighting installation.
In Coral Gables, many properties have established oaks and courtyards. We plan where the light should land around those first, then pick fixtures to suit them.
Architectural, Landscape, and Pool Lighting
From the kitchen window at night, you see the house and the garden beyond it as one view. We light them that way.
Architectural Lighting
Lighting on the building shows its shape after dark. We graze textured stucco and stone so the surface stands out, and we place fixtures where you won’t see them.
Landscape Lighting Design
Trees and planting change every season, so landscape lighting design on a Miami property has to adjust with them. Specimen trees and key beds each get their own aimed light. We mount the fixtures so they can be re-aimed as the garden grows.
Pool and Water Lighting
Pool lighting shouldn’t glare at anyone sitting beside the water. We plan pool and spa lights together with the lights around them, so the water and the planting look like one scene.
Smart Outdoor Lighting Control with Lutron and Ketra
When guests walk up the drive, nobody wants to look for an app to turn on the yard lights. We build exterior smart lighting control around scenes and schedules. Press one button by the door and the whole property goes to its evening setting. The controls stay simple enough for family and house staff.
The right control system depends on what your house already runs. Many of our projects use Lutron. Lutron runs outdoor lighting on the same scenes and schedules as indoor lighting, including timing that follows sunset. We also design around Crestron, Control4, and Savant, so the outdoor scenes sit next to the indoor ones you already use. Tied into your indoor lighting control, the evening button dims the great room and brings up the terrace lights.
Ketra lights warm as the evening goes on. Outdoors, we use weather-tight Ketra Ready fixtures from Coastal Source, a manufacturer we partner with.
Beachfront Lighting and Sea Turtle Nesting Rules
If your home faces the ocean, learn your town’s lighting rules before you order a single fixture. In the Town of Palm Beach, oceanfront owners have to keep artificial lights from being visible from the beach. That rule applies between March 1 and October 31, which is sea turtle nesting season. Broward County and Miami Beach have their own rules, and the details vary by town.
We go over those rules with you at the start of the design, and fixture placement and shielding follow from them. Nesting season begins in March, so the cooler months are a good time to settle it. Changing lights after installation usually costs more.
Outdoor Motorized Shades and Screens
A west-facing terrace works well until about three in the afternoon. Many estates in Boca Raton’s gated golf and Intracoastal communities, like Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, have large covered terraces. They open toward the course or the water. Those views come with glare. Motorized shading cuts the glare and keeps the view.
Exterior shades differ from interior ones. They are larger, they face wind and weather, and the structure they mount to decides what will work. We start with the structure. Our motorized shades page covers the interior side of this work.
Motorized Outdoor Screens
Screens filter sun and glare and keep the view. Some fabrics also keep insects out. Fabric openness depends on how much sun you want to block and how much of the view you want to keep. We put the screens on the same scenes as your lighting.
Exterior Roller Shades for Terraces and Loggias
Motorized roller shades suit a loggia, a covered lanai, or the side of an outdoor kitchen. They add shade and privacy when you want them and roll away when you don’t. We size each shade to its opening and match the fabric and hardware finish to the house.
Shading Structures and Covered Areas
If your terrace has a pergola or a louvered roof, we plan the screens and shades around it. If the structure is motorized, we connect it to the same controls, so one keypad or app runs the whole space.
Outdoor Shades and Screens Built for Florida Wind
Before a storm, you’ll want to know what happens to the shades. Miami-Dade County’s product approval is widely treated as the benchmark for high-wind performance, and some exterior shades carry it. We ask about wind ratings and approval documents at the start of a project, before you choose a fabric or color. Larger installations and shading structures may also need permits, so we bring that up early.
Outdoor Living Technology Integration for Lighting, Shade, and Audio
On many canal and Intracoastal lots in Fort Lauderdale, from Las Olas Isles to Rio Vista, the backyard runs to a dock. An evening often moves from the pool to the seawall and back. We program lighting and shade as scenes. One press lowers the screens by the pool and brings the dock lights to a soft level.
At Maxicon, our outdoor solutions extend beyond lighting and shading. We design and install outdoor audio and video systems as part of our broader outdoor entertainment work. It all runs from the same controls.
How We Plan an Outdoor Lighting and Shading Project
An outdoor project touches the architecture, landscape, pool, and electrical work, and you shouldn’t have to referee between them. One Maxicon team carries the project from the first conversation to handoff.
Discovery in Our Showroom
The first visit is in our showroom. You can try the technology in person and tell us how you want to use the space.
Design and Drawings
Our in-house engineering team designs every part of the project. You review a detailed proposal with drawings and equipment placement before anything is built.
Installation and Programming
You get a project manager, and our engineers prepare the wiring plans and system drawings. Wiring goes in first, then the equipment is installed and programmed.
Handoff and Support
You get a walk-through of the whole property, and we teach you how the system works. Then we go through a final checklist until every detail is complete to your satisfaction. After sign-off, you can choose a 24/7 support plan, with help available remotely or on site. You can read more about our process.
For Builders and Landscape Architects
If you are building the house or the garden, you probably know how this goes. The owner wants lighting and shade, and the call to us comes after the conduit is buried and the pavers are down. We would rather be on the drawings early, as we are with our professional partners. Our in-house engineering team can map fixture and power locations, shade mounting points, and control wiring against your plans. That way, trenching and planting happen once.
Outdoor Lighting and Shading Across South Florida
Maxicon provides luxury outdoor lighting installation and motorized shading across our South Florida service area, including:
- Jupiter Island
- Jupiter
- Palm Beach Gardens
- Palm Beach
- Manalapan
- Boynton Beach
- Boca Raton
- Pompano Beach
- Fort Lauderdale
- Golden Beach
- Sunny Isles
- Aventura
- Bal Harbour
- Miami Beach
- Key Biscayne
- Coconut Grove
- Coral Gables
- Pinecrest
Outdoor Lighting and Shading Questions
When should outdoor lighting be planned in a new build or pool project?
As early as the architectural and landscape drawings allow, and ideally before trenching and paving begin. Many Miami homes are built in concrete, so it is much easier to plan routes for conduit and power before the pour. Our in-house engineering team can map fixture, power, and control wiring locations against your plans, so trenching happens once.
Can outdoor lighting and shades run from the same system as my indoor controls?
Yes, in most cases. Outdoor scenes can live on the same keypads and apps as your indoor lighting and shades, so one evening scene covers both. If the house already runs a smart home system, the outdoor scenes join it.
How do you light a beachfront home during sea turtle nesting season?
We start with your town’s ordinance. In the Town of Palm Beach, for example, oceanfront lights cannot be visible from the beach between March 1 and October 31. We plan fixture placement, shielding, and lighting schedules around that rule, and we recommend settling it before you order fixtures.
What shading works for a lanai or terrace in South Florida wind?
It depends on how exposed the space is. Guided screens and purpose-built exterior shades handle wind in ways interior shades don’t, and some carry Miami-Dade product approval for high-wind areas. We look at the structure and the exposure first, then choose the shade and the hardware.
Can lighting and shading extend to the dock or seawall area?
Yes. We can add dock-side lighting and shade to the same scenes as the pool and terrace. We choose fixtures and hardware for salt and moisture. If a yacht is tied up at that dock, our marine lighting and shade systems cover the vessel itself.
How do you light mature trees, and adjust as landscaping grows?
Each tree gets light aimed at the trunk and canopy from a position chosen for that tree. We also mount the fixtures so we can re-aim the beams as the planting matures. Our in-house lighting designer decides where the light should land around specimen trees and key beds first, then picks fixtures to suit them.
Who supports the system after it is installed?
Our team does, remotely or at the property. After sign-off, you can choose a 24/7 support plan, so help is available when a scene or control misbehaves. We also teach the people who use the space how everything works before handoff.
What affects the cost, and what happens at the first consultation?
Cost depends on the size of the property and the number of lighting zones. It also depends on the type of shade and structure and how much wiring is already in place. At the first consultation, we talk through how you use the space and look at the plans. Our team then prepares a design and proposal.
Plan Your Outdoor Lighting and Shading Project
Begin discussing your project today to get the most out of Florida’s cooler months. We’ll talk about how you use the space and what you want it to feel like at eight in the evening and at three in the afternoon.
Our team will follow up directly to talk through your project and next steps, or you can call us at (305) 479-2679. The first consultation is free.