Aldie
Landscape Lighting Design for Historic Aldie and the Willowsford Community
Your neighbors in Aldie, designing lighting for the homes around us
Historic Aldie is home for Dayloom. We are a Loudoun County company based in Aldie, across the street from Hammerdown BBQ, so the homes we light here are just down the road. Dayloom founder and principal designer Patrick Harders, LC, has been designing landscape lighting since 1998. We design every Aldie system by hand, install it with our own crews, and return after dark to aim every fixture.
Get My Free Design Plan or call 703-636-5225.
Willowsford and Aldie’s newer communities
Willowsford is a farm-centered planned community in Aldie and Ashburn, with trails, protected open space and newer homes. Its design standards set specific limits on outdoor lighting, and we design Willowsford systems to fit them from the start. See the summary of the guidelines below.
- Newer architecture. Stone, siding and board-and-batten facades take soft grazing and washing light well. We keep facade lighting restrained and on the front, as Willowsford’s guidelines expect.
- Young and maturing trees. Street trees and newer plantings grow quickly. We plan adjustable fixtures that can be re-aimed as canopies fill in.
- Outdoor living. Patios, pools and terraces should be usable after dark. We light steps, edges and seating areas for safety, and keep the mood warm and low.
Beyond Willowsford, Aldie and western Loudoun include farmhouses, horse properties and rural estates with long driveways, ponds and specimen trees. We plan transformers and wiring for the whole property, so the drive, the front walk and the back terrace feel like one design.
The historic village of Aldie, along Route 50, is a Loudoun County Historic District, where most exterior changes to properties need review and approval from the county’s Historic District Review Committee before work begins. If your property is in the village, confirm with the County whether your lighting plan is covered. We can provide drawings to support an application.
Respecting neighbors, HOAs, and the night sky
Many Aldie neighborhoods have HOAs with their own design review, and Loudoun County has outdoor lighting standards of its own. Every Dayloom system uses shielded, carefully aimed fixtures with precision optics and only as much light as each space needs, so your home glows without glare, spill onto neighbors, or light thrown into the sky. As lighting experts who teach on protecting night skies, we can also run a light trespass study on your design to make sure your lighting system’s light doesn’t leave your property. If your HOA needs a lighting plan before you start, we can provide one.
From concept to a finished design
Every Aldie project starts with a design you can see before we install anything. We prepare a lighting plan with drawings and renderings that show where each fixture goes and how the finished scene will look. Once you approve the design, we prepare working documentation: fixture schedules, circuit and transformer layouts, and installation details. Our crew builds from that plan, so what you approved is what gets installed. We aim for warm-white, high-color-rendering light that makes stone, brick, and foliage look natural, with careful aiming and shielding to respect your neighbors and the night sky.
Award-winning design
Dayloom’s work has earned 3 international LIT Lighting Design Awards and 8 North American AOLP awards.
The welcome home you deserve.
Willowsford Lighting Guidelines
Willowsford, which includes villages in Aldie, has design standards that set clear limits on outdoor lighting. Here is a summary of what they cover.
Walkway and path lights
- Space fixtures at least 5 ft apart.
- Maximum height of 24 in.
- Fixtures must be shielded at the top.
- No more than 1 fixture per 5 linear ft of walkway.
- Not permitted along community trails.
Landscape uplights
- Lots under 20,000 sq ft: up to 10 uplights (3 front, 7 rear).
- Lots over 20,000 sq ft: up to 16 uplights (5 front, 11 rear).
- These limits include tree, shrub and boulder accents.
- Lighting street trees is permitted.
- Never aim uplights toward neighboring homes.
House facade uplights (front only)
- Up to 1 uplight per 10 linear ft of house width, with a maximum of 11.
- One of these may light the entry.
- Second story: up to 4 uplights, each 400 lumens or less.
- No architectural lighting on the sides, rear or third story.
Willowsford’s guidelines can change. Please confirm current requirements with Willowsford’s design review before installing. Source: Willowsford Property Maintenance & Design Standards (2026).
Why Dayloom in Willowsford
- A local office right here in Aldie.
- Precision optics that put light only where it’s intended, which suits HOA communities with defined limits.
- Designing landscape lighting since 1998.
- Led by Patrick Harders, LC (Lighting Certified).
Planning lighting for your Willowsford home? Call us at 703-636-5225.
Our Work in Willowsford and Western Loudoun
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is your Aldie office?
Our office is in Aldie, in Loudoun County, across the street from Hammerdown BBQ. We work throughout historic Aldie and Willowsford and across Northern Virginia.
Do you design to Willowsford’s lighting guidelines?
Yes. We plan fixture counts, spacing, heights and aiming to fit Willowsford’s guidelines, and we can prepare a lighting plan for design review. Guidelines can change, so confirm the current version with Willowsford’s design review before installing.
Do I need to be home for the design visit?
Only at the start, so we can walk the property together and hear what you want.
Does my property in Aldie’s historic village need approval?
The historic village of Aldie is a Loudoun County Historic District, and most exterior changes there need review and approval from the county’s Historic District Review Committee before work begins. Please confirm with the County whether your lighting plan is covered. We can provide drawings to support an application.
Can you light large properties, ponds and long driveways?
Yes. We plan transformers and wiring for the whole property, and light trees, water and drives as one design.
Do you service systems you didn’t install?
We service and adjust Dayloom and Sterling Lighting systems, including systems installed for a previous owner of your home. For other systems, call us at 703-636-5225 and we’ll tell you how we can help.
How do I get started?
Start with your complete design, free. Get My Free Design Plan or call 703-636-5225.
Projects in other locations
Our Process
- Request your design. Tell us about your property online or call 703-636-5225. Daytime phone photos help.
- We study your property. Before we arrive, we look at aerial views and your photos.
- Your design visit. We walk the property with you and talk through the features you want lit, your budget and what matters most. You only need to be there at the start.
- Your complete design and proposal. Back at the office, we finish the drawings and photo renderings, shaped by your feedback, with a detailed proposal.
- Working documents. A wire diagram, a control schedule and an exact fixture schedule.
- Installation. Our crews install fixtures from Sterling Lighting and aim every light.
- Check-up visit. Within six months, we come back for a free inspection.
