Light Up Your Life with Illuminations Landscape Lighting
We get it; home projects can be exhausting. The last thing you need is a contractor who doesn’t respond, tries to upsell and doesn’t stick to a schedule. We simply don’t stand for that. With Illuminations, you will receive quick, reliable, and professional service so your outdoor space is always ready for a party or a luxurious home experience.
For 20+ years, we’ve transformed hundreds of outdoor spaces from dark and drab to bright and beautiful. We specialize in elevating high-end homes with the industry's leading lighting products and techniques.
About the Founders
Michele and Bob Sams founded Illuminations Landscape Lighting in 2003. While growing up, Michele’s father owned a nursery in Oakland, CA, which led to a passion and love for landscaping, gardens, and plants. There was a demand and desire for landscape lighting, but very few companies provided that specialization and service, and nobody specialized in just lighting.
Specializing in this unique trade has allowed us to perfect our designs and installation procedures to ensure the highest quality of work and complete customer satisfaction. We use only high-quality materials and build our systems to last.
We know you have many options for your outdoor lighting. You can buy lights yourself or hire your landscaper. While YouTube may make it sound easy, installing lights yourself will be time-consuming and frustrating. Consumer-grade outdoor lighting won't last and requires more maintenance, inevitably costing you more over time.
We often get calls from clients with lighting installed by their landscaper with many issues. We specialize in landscape lighting. Our 20+ years of experience and certifications mean you'll have a lasting system. We'll keep your lighting looking just like the day we installed it. And the best part? You'll never have to lift a finger.
We pride ourselves on our commitment to excellence and, as a result, have a long list of delighted customers. We are dedicated, responsive, and professional. We welcome the opportunity to work with you to make your bright ideas and vision a reality!
“From the first meeting to discuss our vision for the backyard lighting, it was obvious that this is a company that cares about its customers and their satisfaction. Michele spent a great deal of time questioning and clarifying to be sure she understood exactly what we wanted. Once she developed the optimum plan, she made sure we understood that we could add, delete or put off for the future depending on our budget. Installation was the smoothest of any construction project we have done. Bob and every employee made sure we were happy and getting what we wanted. We can honestly recommend Illuminations without any reservations.”
- Alan Cook
If you want to learn more about brightening your property, landscaping and life
call or text us today at
(916) 983-9364
Our Team
Michele Sams
CEO & Founder
Michele founded Illuminations Landscape Lighting in 2003, where she has led the company’s sales, management, and lighting designs since its inception. In years past, you would find her installing lights in the field while answering business calls, but today her efforts are focused on clients, growth, and development.
Before Illuminations, Michele worked in several sales positions after receiving a degree in Business Marketing from Sacramento State University. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Michele is an avid skier and camping enthusiast. You can often find her walking the trails of Folsom with her Bernedoodle, Millie.
Bob Sams
Lead Lighting Designer & Founder
Bob founded Illuminations Landscape Lighting with his wife Michele in 2003. He had a concurrent career as a Technician with AT&T for over 20 years, installing and maintaining phone systems at businesses throughout Northern California. Bob retired from AT&T in 2022 and now leads and trains Illuminations’ technicians full-time. He is a Certified Landscape Lighting Designer and has created hundreds of designs throughout his career in outdoor lighting.
Bob holds a degree in Geography from Sacramento State University. A skilled skier and outdoors fanatic, you can find Bob most often in the snowy mountains at Palisades, Tahoe.
Treg Buckner
PROJECT MANAGER & LEAD Technician
Treg Buckner is the Project Manager and Lead Technician. He started with Illuminations in February 2023 as a Technician and has since been promoted to Lead Technician and then Project Manager. He leads our dedicated team of technicians and oversees all installations, maintenance projects, and repairs. He's also our resident pro at outdoor audio systems.
Before Illuminations, Treg held positions at Green Acres and AT&T, working as the company’s technician for several years. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force.
Courtney CONNELLY
FRACTIONAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER
Courtney joined Illuminations Landscape Lighting in 2022. She manages the company's behind-the-scenes operations and implements business strategy and development. Before joining Illuminations, Courtney held several administrative positions at New York University, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Eugene Symphony.
She has a Master of Public Administration, specializing in Management and Leadership, from New York University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Oregon. Courtney enjoys exploring the great outdoors, training for marathons, and is often found working in her vegetable garden with her dog, Jax.