Design af terrasse i Walnut Creek, CA.

“Rafat was a pleasure to work with and is not only very knowledgeable but has wonderful taste in design. We are delighted with our garden.”

“I just completed a remodel of my pool and landscaping with the Alder Group, and simply stated I could not be happier. From the first meeting until the project was completed, Don always looked for ways to improve the project and at the same time ways to minimize the cost of the project. His keen eye for design saw needed simple improvements that were relatively inexpensive but had a massive effect on the overall beauty of the project. Perhaps most importantly when the manufacturer delivered the wrong custom coping, and I worried that we would not be able to meet the deadline of a large party that was planned for my backyard; Don found a way to resolve the issue and keep the job on schedule. Don is truly one of the good guys.”

“The owner of this firm, Omar Khorsheed, carried out a very extensive and difficult landscaping job for our home about 10 years ago. This involved all aspects of design and construction - and subsequent maintenance. It is something of an understatement to say that we were and have remained delighted with the result. An essential part of that abiding delight derives from Omar's remarkable, and to us surprising and unexpected, artistic vision about the job,. The result owes relatively little to our input, and what we have, what we enjoy, we overwhelming owe to his very creative artistic understanding and sensibility. Importantly, however, when we did disagree with him he discussed the issues with us in a good-spirited and respectful manner and, when we resolved on a clear decision, acceded to that in good will. Highest marks and much gratitude to Habitat and DeVries.”

“Sarah Ray and her design build firm are nothing short of exceptional. Sarah and her crew restored our trust in the home service industry after experiencing a botched home interior addition & remodel seven years ago. Our experience with Sarah now sets the gold standard for any home service provider we hire in the future. We spent a month carefully interviewing 6 landscape designers, architects, and design-build firms. Sarah was always the front runner and knew the second we hired her that we initiated a great partnership and were embarking on an awesome ride! And it was, on every front. Sarah is not only a talented visionary, designer and expert in her field, but a great listener, collaborator and partner. We have a large flat backyard (about 5000 sq. ft.) that was overgrown and neglected. We had ideas of the style and design elements that we liked, but it was overwhelming to think of how to get there! Having Sarah shepherd us through the design to build process was a privilege and an experience I will always treasure. She is extremely approachable, upbeat, patient, and easy to work with. She was very open to listening to our ideas and iterating on design options together. We also hired Sarah to build/implement our master design plan. A full design-build firm appealed to us because of the seamless and efficient implementation of the design. Sarah is also very available throughout the build process and was onsite nearly every day, as was her foreman. Sarah also met us countless times at various suppliers so that we could carefully select our materials. Her build crew is talented and very hard working. They started at 7:30am and worked for 7-8 hours/day, sweltering hot conditions or not. We really appreciated the undivided attention and the integrity and all-around work ethic displayed by Sarah and her crew. You will also find Sarah to be very transparent. Her billing system is the most logical and straight forward approach I have experienced in the home service industry. The invoice is directly tied to our contracted line items whereby charges reflect only percentages completed on a weekly basis. All change orders were at my request, and were only represented in the invoice if we agreed to it prior. There were no hidden costs or surprises. So, aside from my change orders, the project cost aligned with the signed contracted budget. Sarah created a gorgeous garden space that is everything we ever dreamed of and much more. Our family is looking forward to enjoying this beautiful extension of our home, our new found sanctuary, for years to come. Sarah Ray Design comes highly recommended for any size project. Thanks a million, Sarah!”

“Kristen designed a beautiful makeover for our yard - front, back and sides. She asked lots of questions before designing anything - what we wanted (pavers, pretty flowers), what we didn't want (water feature, yellow flowers) and in general, how we wanted to use our yard. She came up with lovely, detailed plans for a traditional looking garden (with our traditional looking house) - that were revised slightly with discussion, then found a couple of contractors to bid on the work. She supervised the work of the one we chose, making sure they followed the plans. She recommended a new gardner - good choice. About a year later she replaced the few plants that hadn't made it (for no charge), and now almost two years later the place is absolutely beautiful! I can't tell you how many complements we have received ever since the job was originally completed - and they continue to this day!”

“I am a Landscape Contractor and have installed many of John's designs. His plans are detailed and easy to follow. He is one of the few Landscape Architects that designs to a budget. The client will know the construction costs prior to receiving my written proposal. I enjoy working with John and his staff. Very professional and talented One of the best custom residential Landscape Architectural firms in the East Bay.”

“Monica Perrone was wonderful to work with. She helped our group from start to finish in achieving our landscape goals. Monica drew out samples and explained in detail what our thoughts would look like in reality. She made knowledgeable suggestions of what types of plants would work best for our project and the reasons for these ideas. The plan even detailed the projection of long term water use needed for the area and the plants. Our project looks beautiful and we are very happy with the end result, all thanks to Monica Perrone's expertise.”

“Sue Miller of Miller Landscape Architecture took our weedy, uneven, unusable backyard and transformed it into a beautiful terraced garden perfect for relaxing and entertaining. She patiently listened to our thoughts and concerns, and designed and developed a plan that reflects our lifestyle. We now have expansive outdoor living space that fully suits our needs, including native plant gardens, lawn, horseshoe pit play area, deck/pergola, multiple flights of custom cut flagstone stairs, and a flagstone patio. We benefitted from Sue's design talent and construction experience, as well as her ease in working with contractors. She kept us updated throughout a multi-phased construction process, while providing suggestions and soliciting our input. We highly recommend working with Miller Landscape Architecture.”

“L&L did a fantastic job! Ross listened to what was important to us and came up with a great design that we just love. The process was smooth and professional. They kept us informed of project dates and deliveries and the crew was just excellent. We love our new backyard and we always get great comments every time we have guests over. I would highly recommend L&L to all my friends.”

“We heard about Susan’s work from our son. He had hired her to do the landscaping for his front and back yards and was very pleased with her work. We met with Susan in October of 2011 and found her to be a wonderful, easy going and a comfortable person to be around so we moved forward with asking her to design our front yard. We didn’t have a specific plan in mind but we did want a front yard without have any grass. We wanted a low maintenance yard with drought resistance plants. Beyond that, we weren’t really sure what we wanted. Susan didn’t ask many questions but through conversations with us, she came up with a concept that was fantastic. As an example my husband mentioned that as a child he remembered homes that had front porches and neighbors sat on their porches and watched the world go by. I mentioned I liked places that were serene. From those conversations, Susan came up with a beautiful design that had a front porch and a fountain. We had never considered either of those items but were tremendously pleased with the idea. We didn’t change a thing in Susan’s final design and we couldn’t be more pleased. We love our front yard and neighbors have stopped by to admire Susan’s work As the work began, Susan frequently checked in with the landscape owner and crew to ensure they were following through with her design. When the landscape owner went on vacation, Susan was here daily to check on the crew. Susan was very fast to respond to questions or concerns we had and she was available to assist us with picking out the pavers for our driveway as well as the tiles for the walkway leading to the front door. She was extremely patient as we took forever to make a decision I would highly recommend Susan to anyone looking for a landscape architect. She is extremely easy to work with; has a lot of patience and comes up with beautiful designs incorporating childhood memories and lifestyle choices. When we are ready to start on our backyard Susan will definitely be the person we hire to work on a design for that.”