About Blue Hour Lighting
Blue Hour Lighting is a landscape lighting and outdoor audio company based in upstate New York, serving Westchester and surrounding NYC counties in addition to Greenwich, Litchfield County, and western New Haven County in Connecticut, led by founder Jarod Halstead. Since 2019, Jarod and his team have designed and installed lighting systems that bring greater definition, comfort, and usability to outdoor spaces after dark.
Much of the company’s work begins with a referral from a landscape architect, designer, builder, or homeowner who has seen a Blue Hour Lighting project in the evening. The company’s namesake comes from the blue hour, an enchanting, but brief period after sunset when the sky retains its color, architectural details become more pronounced, and a well-considered lighting design can bring it all together in a beautiful presentation.
We Think About the Landscape First
Blue Hour Lighting was founded as a company specializing in dedicated lighting and outdoor audio. That focus has remained unchanged.
A lighting system should complement the property and highlight its natural beauty. Before fixtures are selected or wire routes are planned, the landscape is considered as a whole: its architecture, mature trees, garden structure, circulation paths, grade changes, stonework, and the way the property will continue to develop over time.
Each fixture and speaker can then be placed with a clear purpose. The result is a design that supports the existing landscape in the present while allowing for thoughtful additions, growth, and future refinement.
Meet Jarod
Jarod Halstead brings together a background in landscape design, electrical engineering, and masonry. He studied landscape design at Rutgers, holds an associate’s degree in electrical engineering, and spent 20 years working in masonry before focusing on landscape lighting full-time.
He is a certified outdoor lighting designer through AOLP and holds additional certifications from CAST Lighting and Infinity Lighting. Jarod and his team also attend industry training and trade shows each year to remain current with lighting systems, controls, materials, and installation methods.
That experience is especially valuable on projects where lighting intersects with planting plans, architectural elements, patios, walls, steps, driveways, and other hardscape features. Blue Hour Lighting approaches those details with a deep understanding of how the work must be planned, built, and maintained over time.
What Goes Into a Blue Hour Landscape Lighting Installation
The Site Visit
Every project begins with a free on-site visit and a conversation about the property, the design priorities, and how the outdoor space is used at night. From there, Blue Hour Lighting then prepares a detailed plan for review before installation begins.
The Plan
The plan includes a diagrammed layout showing fixture locations, aiming direction, and the scope of work. Materials are not ordered until the plan has been approved, giving clients a clear understanding of the proposed design before the project moves forward.
The Installation
Blue Hour Lighting’s team manages the installation, including projects that incorporate outdoor audio. This provides continuity when lighting must coordinate with masonry, millwork, planting, irrigation, pool areas, or other elements of the property.
Masonry and Hardscape
Jarod’s masonry experience is particularly useful when a project includes stone walls, patios, pillars, steps, or other hardscape. When lighting is planned during construction, Blue Hour Lighting can coordinate fixture placement and conduit sleeves before the masonry is completed. On existing hardscape, the team carefully retrofits and plans wire routes to preserve the finished work as much as possible.
Outdoor Lighting, Hardscape Lighting & Outdoor Audio
Blue Hour Lighting provides installation, additions, upgrades, and service for the following:
Landscape lighting
Facade, tree, garden, path, walkway, and safety lighting designed to reveal the property’s architecture, planting, and circulation after dark.
Hardscape lighting
Lighting integrated into patios, pool decks, driveways, walls, steps, and pillars. Fixtures are recessed where appropriate so the source remains discreet and the light itself takes precedence.
Outdoor audio
Sonance outdoor audio systems with landscape speakers, buried subwoofers, and configurable zones that can be controlled from a phone. Sound is distributed across the property without relying on conspicuous speakers.
Smart controls
Zone-by-zone settings and smart systems that can integrate with Lutron, Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Savant, Control4, or Crestron. Lighting scenes and schedules can be controlled manually from your phone, or automated in a manner that suits the property and its routines.
Commercial and HOA lighting
Lighting-level checks, insurance compliance reviews, and return on investment estimates for energy-efficient LED lighting, documented for review and filing.
- Note: Our security work is lighting-based and involves illumination, deterrence, and clear sight lines. We do not install, supply, or service security cameras or surveillance equipment.
Designing an Outdoor Space You Will Use After Dark
A successful outdoor lighting design does more than make a property visible. It gives the exterior curb appeal and makes it feel thoughtfully considered and usable after sunset.
Safe passage is part of every plan. Grade changes, stairs, pool edges, long driveways, and transitions between outdoor areas receive careful attention from the outset. The objective is clear, comfortable movement through the property without over-lighting it.
The visual effect depends on restraint. Properly placed landscape lighting can enhance and reveal stone texture, mature trees, architectural lines, and planting depth while preserving shadow and contrast. Excessive light can flatten those details, wash out color, and make a landscape feel more exposed and uninviting.
The difference is often found in small technical decisions: fixture selection, beam spread, mounting location, aiming direction, intensity, and the relationship between one illuminated area and the next. Blue Hour Lighting considers these decisions as part of the full nighttime composition, not as isolated points of light.
Certified, Licensed & Insured
Blue Hour Lighting is licensed and insured and holds county and state licenses where required:
WC-32147-H19
Dutchess County, NY
Blue Hour Lighting is a Gold Level Kichler LightPro contractor, a CAST Lighting certified installer, a Unique Lighting Systems installer, and a Sonance authorized dealer and installer. Every brand carried by Blue Hour Lighting, chosen for the highest quality, is listed on the manufacturer’s page. The company is also a member of the Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce.
Working With Your Landscape Architect or Designer
Blue Hour Lighting regularly joins projects that have already been shaped by a landscape architect, designer, builder, or other member of the project team and deeply values the collaborative process.
Lighting is planned in relation to the intended planting design, architectural features, and material selections so fixtures support the larger vision of the property. Wire routes are considered carefully around root systems and planting areas. When hardscape is still under construction, Blue Hour Lighting coordinates sleeve placement so wiring can be routed cleanly after the masonry is complete. When stonework or concrete is already in place, the team retrofits circuits carefully where needed.
The same attention applies to a focused residential lighting plan, a larger commercial property, and multi-building projects. Blue Hour Lighting also provides lighting for high-end outdoor weddings.
Where We Work
Blue Hour Lighting is based in upstate New York, serving Westchester and the surrounding counties, plus Greenwich, Litchfield County, and western New Haven County in Connecticut. The company does not work in New Jersey or New York City.
Projects range from tailored front-yard lighting designs to complete outdoor lighting and audio systems for larger properties. Blue Hour Lighting serves communities throughout these counties, including:
What Happens After the Installation
Every landscape lighting installation includes a one-year workmanship warranty. Many fixtures also carry lifetime factory warranties, although coverage varies by product.
For many clients, installation is the beginning of an ongoing relationship because they see the value in continuing to invest in and protect their property and its image. Weather, seasonal growth, and normal outdoor conditions can affect fixture alignment, lamp performance, wire connections, and the overall balance of the design. A maintenance plan with two visits each year helps keep the lighting system functioning as intended and allows the design to be adjusted as the property changes.
Request a free consultation, call 845-202-3369, or email info@bluehourlighting.com. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30.