Custom Outdoor Shade with Integrated Lighting

This summer, a client in Guelph came to us with a cool challenge: they wanted a custom shade structure for their backyard patio with built-in lighting for those long summer evenings. But there was a catch—the patio was completely detached from the house, and there was no existing power source in sight.

Building the shade? No problem. But getting power out there in a clean, safe, and aesthetically pleasing way? That took some creativity.

We love projects like this where we get to think outside the box and design a solution that’s as functional as it is beautiful. After working through a few ideas with the client, here’s what we came up with:

• A modern, low-profile shade structure built to match the home’s architectural style.

• A discreet, underground electrical line from the house to the patio, fully encased in weatherproof conduit.

• A new GFCI-protected outdoor outlet to keep everything safe and code-compliant.

• Integrated lighting wired directly into the shade structure, with all connections fully weather-sealed.

The end result? A comfortable, stylish outdoor space that’s ready for anything—sunny afternoons or cozy evenings under the lights. The client was happy not just with how it turned out, but with how we tackled the tricky technical parts without compromising on the final look.