The best client meetings for Kyle Adamson happen after the sun goes down.
Adamson is owner of Red Oak Outdoor Lighting, the Lexington-based company he founded 20 years ago this year. Once night falls, Adamson can walk prospective clients through a portfolio of lighted landscapes — spaces transformed by his company’s carefully placed illumination — and also highlight changes in technology that have happened over the past two decades.
Red Oak designs and installs outdoor lighting that brings homes and landscapes to life. From bistro lights over patios to subtle fixtures highlighting pathways and trees, the work adds drama, depth, and security.
Kyle Adamson
A Lexington native, Adamson earned a degree in landscape architecture from the University of Kentucky and spent time with design-build firms in Dallas, Atlanta, and Charleston, South Carolina. When he returned home in 2001, he launched his own firm, initially offering both landscape architecture and lighting design before shifting his focus to lighting within a few years.
“I loved the landscaping and design side of it, but lighting makes such a difference,” he said. “People invest in their properties and landscaping, and then they lose those details at night. Lighting enhances the property, and it’s a fantastic investment.”
That background in landscape architecture remains central to his approach. Adamson considers how plantings will mature and how lighting will interact with them across seasons.
“I know what the plants and trees are going to do and how they’ll look throughout the year,” he said. “In the spring, a tree might bloom white and really pop. In the fall, it might turn yellow and feel completely different. The lighting captures all of that.”
Technology has also reshaped the business. The shift from incandescent and halogen bulbs to LED lighting has improved energy efficiency while reducing maintenance.
“When I started, it was still incandescent and halogen,” he said. “LED changed everything. It’s more efficient and cuts down on maintenance.”
While no system is entirely maintenance-free, Red Oak offers service plans to keep installations performing as intended, including adjustments as plantings grow and change. The company also advises clients on proper pruning and upkeep to preserve the integrity of the design.
“We stay in touch with clients to make sure everything still looks the way it should,” Adamson said. “We’re always adjusting as needed.”
Design trends have evolved as well. Where outdoor lighting systems were once primarily concentrated in backyards, they’re now just as common in front-facing spaces, where they enhance curb appeal and improve safety. Well-lit properties can also serve as a deterrent to crime.
Advances in technology have introduced new possibilities, from lighting sequences that activate as a car approaches to fixtures that gradually brighten along a walkway, adding both convenience and a sense of arrival. As Red Oak looks to its next chapter, Adamson points to clients who embrace creativity as some of his favorites.
“We did a project this fall at a beautiful modern house, and the client said, ‘I have two things I want you to light,’” he said. “They were these seven-and-a-half-foot metal cutouts of Bigfoot. As you drive up, you see them right as you make the turn.”
For Adamson, the goal is simple: to elevate the exterior of a home with the same intentionality as the interior.
“I’m still surprised how many neighborhoods have so little lighting,” he said. “People used to think lighting your house was like bragging. But when it’s done well, it’s a real asset. Just like inside your home, you need good lighting. We believe the same should be true outside.”