Thinking of using our services for the first time? This is our process…

Schedule a design consultation with us

We offer weekdays & weekends to suit your schedule. We do charge a small amount for the consultation ($100) - we spend up to an hour with you at your project. We listen carefully to your thoughts & requirements, offer our own experience & design ideas, identify any challenges, provide great advice & often recommend products, plants, & solutions on the spot. For projects that will require more than just a consultation (full design concepting, renderings, drawings and plans), we follow up with a written, detailed design proposal/estimate & contract, usually within a week.

So you decided to work with us? (Great choice btw!)

After you complete the contract paperwork and put down a deposit, we will schedule a time to measure and site survey. This can take anywhere from an hour to several hours, depending on the size & complexity of the project. We will also source any existing plans that might be available (especially if we are working on a property undergoing extensive renovations).

After the survey, we will start on the ‘As-Built’ base plans. These are an important starting point. They are also often an important part of the plan set if we are dealing with government organizations for permits or Home Owners Associations.

Where the magic happens!

Once the ‘As-Built’s’ are complete, we get to work on the creative design. This involves a few stages. We will set up a shared cloud folder with you so that you can share any images or ‘inspirations’ as we like to call them. We consider it a valuable part of the process to consult with you, especially if you have firm ideas about what your project needs to deliver or styling & plants that particularly appeals to you. We will then take those initial ideas into the creative process & add our design flair & professional expertise.

Next up, design concepting, function planning, form composition & spatial concept design. This usually takes around 3-4 weeks, sometimes longer if the project is very large or features extensive hardscaping or architectural planning. Details! Details!

So when do I get to see my design concept(s)? Do I see just one or more?

Once the initial creative process is complete, we will schedule an online design review meeting with you. This enables us to take over the screen & virtually walk you through the design concept(s). If you prefer, or do not have a device with a larger screen, we can do this in person too. This meeting usually takes 60-90 mins depending on the complexity of the design.

The question of multiple concepts is a good one. We will usually discuss this with you at the initial consultation & in the paperwork. Quite often we will prepare slight variations around an initial main design. Sometimes, & more often when it comes to new pool design, we may provide more than one option if it makes sense. Usually, we find that our first design is the one that our clients love the most. It’s a strange phenomena but, that’s how it’s been for the last 15 years!

What happens next?

After the design review, we upload screenshots of the concepts to the cloud folder for you to review at your convenience. Once you have had time to consider the concept(s), we then schedule a second online meeting for feedback or a meeting on site to review. We take notes of your feedback & work through any questions that you may have. Following this, we update the design relative to your feedback & either meet again or send revisions to you in the shared cloud folder, via email or through text links to the cloud folder.

Are we there yet?

Almost! Much of the work in the first few stages is done in 3D. This enables you to see a very photorealistic rendering of your project. Once the 3D design reaches a finished stage, we then have to produce working/construction drawings. These are the 2D blueprints, used for building, permitting, dimensions & scale, materials specification & quantities, plant placement & specification, irrigation, lighting, grading & drainage, & all the details, details, details!

Plan delivery, permitting, installation bid process

Our standard plan delivery is by electronic pdf. We can also print a set of scaled plans and deliver to you. We will also send out electronic plan sets to contractors for bidding (an additional service billed at our usual hourly rate). See below for additional services we offer.

Are there any shortcuts?

In reality, time needed is dictated by the amount of detail in the plans, especially those that must be submitted to a governing body/organization for approval. If your project is on the smaller side then, yes, there are quicker ways to make it happen, including going straight to 2D plans, if you feel that you are a good visualizer or don’t require 3D renderings.

That said, the best possible process is to plan ahead & allow for the time it takes to produce good quality concepts and then plans. Start your design process as early as possible. This can also bring you significant savings during the project, including maximizing the bid process, provision for lead times on materials supply, & also enabling you to lock in the installer of your choice - who could also have a waitlist!

It is also worthwhile remembering that, here in Southern California, the best time of the year to plant is fall through early spring. For natives especially, fall is the absolute best time. Plants get time to settle into warmed soil, before the chill of the winter and heat of the following summer - the most stressful time for a lot of plants! It is not uncommon to want to rush to get a project done right away but, there are many savings to be made by allowing enough time for the process.

However, if time is a critical factor, we do offer expedited services (by request) and charged at a higher rate.

Additional services

We do offer additional services which are outside our contract scope of work & charged at our usual hourly rate. These include: managing the bidding process for installers, ordering materials/furnishings/accessories/lighting, supervising installations, selecting plants at the nursery, spotting out plants on site, managing the permitting process & submitting permit & rebate applications, & more.