Simple Elegance

I wasn’t too happy with the service. The drawings were good, but the whole dimensioning of the landscaping was off. I then had to figure out how to put this into the landscaping plan I had.

It went fine, but we ended up using someone else a year later to design a different plan and actually do the landscaping

Benjamin followed my idea but suggested some slight but very good improvements. I liked that he did not try to steer me in a complete new direction. He had very good selections for plants that would meet my needs of low maintenance and very little water usage. He was able to develop a plan that would provide color throughout the year. He provided very good detailed plans that the construction contractor was able to follow easily and prevented any misunderstanding between myself and the contractor. I have just finished having the yard landscaped (February) and I am very pleased. Of course all the plants are small at this time but I am able to see how the whole project will look. He made a great suggestion for some iron trellises that looked so good when installed that I had the contractor install one more.

We have waited some time prior to posting this review to provide fair and accurate assessment. 'We purchased a package deal from Angies list for landscaping and quickly learned that it did not cover the scope of the project we had in mind. Ben was very charismatic and engaging. We were encouraged and therefore agreed to expand the scope beyond the original Angies' list deal. Unfortunately, during the process, Ben cancelled several visits and all subsequent scheduling revolved around when he would be 'back in the area'. Overall it was a rather drawn out process that evolved over several months. In the end, his plans were of high quality but unfortunately far exceeded the budget we had discussed in terms of feasibility after reviewing with several contractors. In addition, the contractors we have met with have also pointed out a number of features that are simply not practical from a functionality standpoint. Overall we were disappointed with the experience.

The service was great. They had a lot of good ideas. They did a nice job. I was happy with the design.

I purchased a big deal from Angie's List and their services did not turnout very well. He said that he was going to get back to me with what we planned, which he did. He took some time to draft and the way out. We discussed the draft and the way out, and he was then to go back and sort of make some adjustments as well as sort of reference the sketch with as to what the various plants would look like and he never got back to me with that. I called the office a couple of times and I could never get through to anyone and things just sort of dropped off. So, I never got the full service and that is pretty much where he stands. I did not pay anything other than the big deal purchase. I think that I was not sort of a technical customer that he was used to dealing with. I am a guy and I am busy, and I was not very clear in terms of what I wanted, so I think he just felt like he could just sort of not respect my service and not deal with me on a timely basis. I never really called and bugged them to come out and do anything, so he just figured if I was not calling and being proactive he would not do what he should have done on a timely basis. He was not probably the right person for me. I think his price was great.

The service turned out very well. It took a while for the to do it, but we did it together. I thought he was great, and I have already referred him to somebody.

AlthoughtI think that he was very qualified, I found it odd that I had to pay for everything up front before things were delivered. I also found that service quality dropped off at the end.

It went fine. Overall I was happy with the service the product was worth the price.

The service was great and the design met met my expectations. They followed through on everything they promised. They were very courteous and great people to work with.

I purchased an Angie's List Big Deal for this service and it went really well. I met with him, he gave me lots of information and it was great. He is going to put together a plan for landscaping around my house. I personally wanted a lot of organic farming in a little area of my house and I wanted organic flowers. He is very knowledgeable about how to care for the plants and that we can do organic farming or planting effectively. We are still in the process of putting together a plan, but that is because my husband and I are still trying to decide exactly what we want in that area knowing that we have a lot of things to choose from.

Ben canceled the first meeting because he had a cold. A second meeting was scheduled for a week later. That meeting was canceled as well. He indicate several times at the initial meeting that his assistant would call for an appointment to come to my home to verify the measurements on the landscape plans done 15 years earlier by another landscaper. That never happened. When I asked about that, Ben stated that that step was not needed since you had the original plans, even though at the initial meeting you indicated several times after reviewing the plans that that step would happen. He stated that he would send an email link to his dropbox so that we could download a copy of the contract. I did ask about it in an email but that link was never sent. After the second meeting was canceled on the day of the appointment, I send Ben an email stating that we decided we did not want to proceed because he was not reliable. I request that he return our original landscape plans designed by another landscaper and that the one meeting we had with him be a consultation. He received a check for $285 which was the first installment toward the landscape plans. His cost for a consultation was stated to be $125. I asked for the difference between $285 and $125 to be returned to me. Ben stated in an email that "I will put your plans in the mail today and have my CPA send you a refund of the difference. I will have him also deduct the shipping costs from the refund. Expect payment within 8 to 10 business days." The plans were returned 4-5 weeks later; the refund was never sent. I waited months to give Ben a chance to make good on his statement. Unfortunately my experience with Ben is that he does not stand behind his statements, is not reliable or is not the professional I would expect.

Drawings included overall Site Plan, Hardscape, Spa Layout, Plant Types and Locations, Lighting types and locations and Drainage and Irrigation Plans. Very pleased with the entire process and the end product. Meetings with Simple Elegance were very productive, both online and face to face. Highly recommend there service.

He was very personable. Did not get the design for awhile and the price was way out of my range.

I wasn’t too happy and things didn’t work out. The original designer did good. He got me in touch with what he said was reliable people that would do the work. It was obvious that the guy didn’t want the job. He kept dragging his feet and I found someone else that wanted to do the job. I feel he should have taken more responsibility for what he calls his people. The designer however was very receptive. He made any changes that I wanted and I also wanted a waterfall.

No Doubt Ben is nice on the surface and a good landscape consultant, only if he thinks you're worthy of a call/text/e-mail back. Some of the plants selected are not good for the region I live in and I never got contacted by his "trusted" contractor...

Ben at Simple Elegance provided us with a plan and design for our backyard landscaping project. He also recommended contractors who fit our budget. He was very attentive and provided a design that respected our style and was realistic as an ongoing project. We would recommend him highly to others.

Ben is very pleasant to talk to. have great ideas presented for the backyard and listens to the clients needs.

VERY PROFESSIONAL & NICE! PROPOSAL WAS EVERYTHING WE HAD TALK ABOUT ONLY BETTER THE PLANS WERE GREAT

Ben and I met in-person then online to review landscaping plans for the backyard and side yard areas of my home. Ben was very professional, but he was sometimes hard to get hold of. Ben's plans, however, are excellent, and I'm looking forward to hiring a landscaping company to carry out our vision. Overall, I'm very happy with Simple Elegance and would definitely use their services again.

We had a very good experience with this deal. Ben (owner) was courteous, prompt, and knowledgeable about the process. We are happy with the drawings he proposed and are looking forward to starting the actual construction process early next year.

I contacted Simple Elegance in February 2013 to ask for an expiry extension, because my 10 year old son was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. Via email, they kindly granted the extension beyond coupon expiry for as long as I needed. I contacted them by email in October 2013 to schedule the appointment. I emailed them again last week, still with no response. In between, I phoned and left messages at their Northern California office. After I received no response to any of my communications, I tried to contact their Southern California office a few days ago, to no avail. I was only able to leave yet another voice mail message as with their Northern California office. I'm requesting a refund for this deal, because I no longer have confidence in them as a provider, if they could not even send me an email response. In my email to them I even indicated that since they had extended the deal for me that I would work within their schedule and timeline to get this project completed. I still heard nothing back. I would prefer to watch Angie's Deals for a different provider.

Fine, but have yet to see suggested plans. But Angie's List insists that you write a review before most of the work has been performed

Been's very good at what he does and he is very responsive. We have blueprints of the designs and Ben put us in contact with a couple of landscape contractors for estimate. We are currently waiting for estimates, but that is not on the designer. It's going be interesting how it turns out.

Complete landscape design front and back. Plans were incomplete. Arbor was not detailed. Existing fence not shown in correct location even thought City site plan was provided to designer. Client's name and phone number were incorrect. Discussion had previously were not noted on subsequent plans until reminded of discussion. | |Meetings were scheduled and then rescheduled. Meetings scheculed were forgotten. Never arrived on time for meetings when they were in fact scheduled. | |When finally done, not happy with work and had to make several changes to get proper bids. Would not use them again and not sure why Angie's list has them rated as high as they are.