Outdoor Space Design

After my husband and I decided that we needed a long term vision for our landscaping and outdoor spaces, I did a bit of research into landscape companies in our area. I found Will at Outdoor Space Design using a google image search. His work and style is refreshing and modern which was just right for our personal style and taste. 

He quickly responded after reaching out to him about or project. He understood that while we were looking for a long term vision- we needed it to be something we could start working on ourselves immediately as well as hiring contractors to get it done over the next couple of years.  After the initial, comprehensive consultation, he provided us with a quote (which we accepted) and then crafted two concepts for our second meeting. After our second meeting, we landed on a solid plan that we could both use ourselves and share with the contractors that we would hire to do the work.  Although our work with Will was recent, the plan has been invaluable already. Here are a few of the things we most appreciated about working with Will:

1. He knows his stuff. He is knowledgeable about everything outdoor, from structures, to plants, to drainage etc. 

2. He did "undo" any of the work we had already done. He incorporated everything, making it all beautiful and cohesive in ways we never would have thought of.

3. He thinks big, but also about what is feasible/manageable. He took into consideration our budget and what we can do in phases.

4. His drawings are clear, easy to reference and he walks you through everything to make sure you understand it all.

5. He appreciates quality materials and craftsmanship and let us know where we should and should not compromise. 

6. He is timely with communication and delivery. 

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed working with Will and have and will continue to recommend him to our friends and family. We plan to keep him involved as our outdoor spaces develop. He has become a trusted advisor for our home!

Will is the man! We met a few times to discuss design ideas and a based on my very vague inputs, he put together two complete master plans for the entire lot. He also hired an excellent landscaping company to complete the work and checked in repeatedly during the process to ensure that everything was going according to plan. I am extremely pleased with the results -- a yard that was once an eyesore and a constant source of frustration is now quite beautiful and calming. Will's choices of plants and materials were perfect and they work together in the space exceptionally well. And the service he provided throughout the entire process was impeccable. Hugely recommended.

We hired Will to help us with a plan for our side yard. We wanted some privacy, but were finding the shade and roots from large trees to be a challenge. Will had no problem coming up with creative ways to solve our problems, however! He listened to our preferences, concerns and ideas about the space, then came up with a beautiful design that exceeded our expectations. Will pays attention to every little detail, which is reflected in his exceptional designs. We were impressed by how professional and communicative Will was throughout the entire process, and how well he listened to us and incorporated our preferences.

We used Will's design to get three quotes from three companies and selected one to do the landscaping. It worked out perfectly, as everything was laid out in detail that he and I had agreed upon and there was no ambiguity on what needed to be done. This was a large project, worked out very nicely, and we got exactly what we were looking for - a beautiful backyard. Will was available during the process to answer any questions that came up. I would highly recommend the Outdoor Space Design for anyone with a modest to large landscaping work.

We can't say enough good things about our experience with Will.
He met with us once just to go through our basic ideas, elements and plants we wanted to incorporate into the design and get a feel for the property.
He came back with a fantastic plan - it was obvious that he had not come in with any preconceived ideas, and actually listened to what we wanted.
In a complex plan involving dozens of different elements, he came up with a beautiful design with some very cool and creative touches which completely fit the feel we were looking for.
He made a couple minor changes that we asked for, measured all the elements of the property and got a final design for us which our contractor could work from.
He does a lot of his work in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus, but clearly has a great feel for more rural projects as well. He's a lot of fun to work with and is highly, highly recommended.

We could not be happier with the experience we had with Will. He is not only totally professional, responsive and on time, but his aesthetics are top notch. He really listened to what we wanted (a blend of rectilinear and Japanese styles) and absolutely nailed it! His pricing is extremely reasonable for the scope of work. We had an initial consult which entailed him visiting the property and doing  thorough walk-thru. He listened to all of our ideas and concerns. We have a 50 year old home that is all original and has not had any significant maintenance for ~15-20 years. He clearly loves what he does and has an enthusiasm for working with the customer and delivering a product that meets their wants and needs. A short time after the initial consult (less than a week, I think) he sent us a quote for the cost of his services and the details of what the contract covers. He followed up this email with a phone call to discuss any questions we may have and to let us know that he was interested in our project and working with us.
We decided to go with him and signed the contract. A short time after he received the document, he emailed to schedule the survey. This is one area where I am very impressed with Will's work. He does his own topographical surveying rather than  sub-ing it out. This made us feel that there will not be any mistakes or details left out that would be crucial to the design. He was here doing the survey for the better part of a whole day- clearly very thorough and concerned about making sure it was perfect. 
After the survey, he contacted us to let us know when the first concept drawings would be ready. This process took a couple of weeks, but was well worth waiting for. It also gave us some time to think about all of the details and ideas we had discussed with him and we exchanged emails several times while he was working on the concept drawings.
When he came to our house to present the concept drawings we were blown away. Not only were the drawings themselves right on the money, but he had also printed out all of the pictures I had sent him (of things I had seen on the internet) to exemplify the details of his drawings. He was extremely attentive to all of the details we discussed about the concept drawings and took notes for preparation of the final master plan.
The master plan was ready a couple of weeks after our discussions of the concept drawings and again, was well worth waiting for. Will continued to contact us during work on the master plan to firm up all of the details and ensure he was meeting all of our needs. Needless to say, the master plan was exceptional and we are extremely happy with the work Will did for us.
Will clearly cares very much about his work and his professionalism. He is a very good and open communicator and really listened to us to ensure all of our needs were met in the design. I would give him all A-pluses if it was an option. I absolutely recommend him and would use him again in future if I ever bought a new house. 

We were having an addition built and had Will come out for a day and redesigned the front landscaping to all flow together with the addition. Couldn't be happier with the product and happy with his choices as we're in the process of adding this recommended plants. Only problem was it took him a month to make it out as he was fully booked.

The work done by Outdoor Space Design was very good.

They were very thorough and did an excellent job. They gave me suggestions and ideas to get more shade in my back porch.

Will considers all aspects in the planning and design process i.e. exposure, topography, architecture, integration, and personal preferences.  His flare for design is natural.  He is easy going and a pleasure to work with.  He does design work only, that is no vested interest in sales or service. 

For my situation, his master plan serves as a guideline for renovation of mature landscaping over two or three years.  I am well pleased with results thus far, and looking forward to the growing season and the blossoms of spring.      

 Highly recommended, and well worth the effort.

We had met with several designers and really struggled to find a good fit for our urban landscape.  Everyone wanted to put in pavers and grass.  Blah!  We definitely wanted no grass and a unique space that fit our lifestyle.  Will fit he bill perfectly, he listened to how we use our yard and what our needs were.  He came up with a plan that ensures we use every inch of space and is unique without clashing with our neighbors.
Will has a great design sense but agree with previous reviews that the install budget and plan didn't exactly line up (even after we doubled our unrealistic budget).  However, we were able to make it work with most of Will's plan.  I would hire him again in a minute!

Will was very responsive and listened to all of our plans. He has great aesthetics and was quite in tune with the type of exterior we were looking for as well as what fit our home and neighbor hood.
He does not do install so perhaps he was somewhat out of touch with the cost of his design, but we were able to gently modify his design to fit our budget.

Overall a very good experience.

Will did an outstanding job designing our landscaping master plan. I highly recommend them!

Will gave us guidance on what to do with our back deck and porch area to make it feel more like a sanctuary. After years of minimal maintenance, our new home currently feels like it was just dropped into the middle of our yard. We walked around the property, and now we have a hand drawn sketch with dimensions and plant suggestions for the whole area. I would have loved to have him do a watercolor rendering and all the other services he provides, but the budget just didn't allow currently. He was great to work with and read our style right away. We now have a trajectory to budget with, and I will definitely seek him out as my plans grow over the next few years.

He was excellent. He really listened and heard  what we wanted done with our property. His ideas were very original. He took into consideration our budget. He gave us recommendations for contractors to use. Very professional. Would highly recommend Will to create a beautiful plan for your property.

Fantastic.  Will responded to my call the very same day.   He came to my house to meet with me a week or so later and asked me my preferences regarding plants, maintenance, etc.  He provided a written estimate after our meeting.   He returned approximately a month to 6 weeks later to do the actual design.  Yes, he he busy but it is WORTH THE WAIT.    He took measurements then sat in front of our house to do the design. 
I really can't say enough about Will.  He is truly gifted as an artist/designer and he listened to what I had to say and designed the landscape that incorporated my preferences (but was something I would have NEVER been able to realize on my own).   He also worked with/around my children and was kind to them (even when my 7 month old was squealing as we were going over the initial plans).

Will came out and met with us at our home.  He walked our property and listened to our wants and wishes. He had a good understanding of what we were capable to taking care of.  He then came back and took some measurements and came up with a design.  We discussed the plans and made a few adjustments which he was not opposed to.  He offered advice on materials and products to use.  We then collected bids from Landscaping companies he recommended.  He will do this process for you however it was more cost effected for us to do it on our own.  Once we decided on a landscaping company he worked with their project planner to create a timeline and checked to make sure the project was going to plan.  He did a final walk through and when the project was complete sent us pictures.  We were so happy with the outcome and have received many compliments.  We have high regards for Will and his talent as a designer.

We purchased our home last year from an elderly couple who were downsizing because they couldn't keep up with such a large house and lot anymore.  As such, the landscaping had some really good bones but several of the beds were a little messy and the entire back slope had been left to go natural, which has resulted in a mess of different ground covers, honeysuckle, small trees and an incredible amount of poison ivy.  We are lucky that the lot has a number of 80 year old oaks and evergreens, but that also meant that over 90% of the lot is in partial to full shade, which presented an additional challenge.  Finally, we were also lucky that the lot had some great existing hardscaping in the form of dozens of large limestone boulders that were original to the house, but it was all grown over and we wanted to clear it off and highlight it.  We had some ideas of what we wanted to do, but didn't have the time or the expertise to come up with a comprehensive plan for the whole property and didn't know where to start, so I started hunting on Angie's List for a landscape architect and contacted Will based on the great reviews he had received here and the examples of his work that I found on his web site.

Will came out and met with us for a little over 2 hours.  We showed him magazine clippings and pictures of the kind of landscape design we were looking for, as well as some specific plants that we wanted to include.  We walked around the entire property and explained the ideas we had for some of the beds and some of the challenges we are facing, including a herd of very cute but very hungry deer.  Will took detailed notes and got back to us within a day on a quote to do the entire property.  At first, I thought the price was a little high since another reviewer here at Angie's List had also had Will do a design for a half acre property and it was only $800.  I voiced my concerns to Will and he did an excellent job of explaining why ours would be more work and, therefore, more expensive. 

Will and his intern came out and spent several hours measuring the property, including the grade of the back slope.  He then came up with a detailed plan and, at our request, rendered it in color (about $120, which was included in the total $1,500 price).  We met again and spent about two hours going through the plan and asking questions.  It was exactly what we were looking for and there were several pleasant surprises -- you could tell he had listened to us and put a lot of thought into the plan.  He also kept a lot more of the existing landscape than we had expected and, when plants didn't work in their existing locations, he generally identified a place we could transplant them that would work with the overall design.  We are planning on executing a lot of the plan ourselves and Will provided some contractor recommendations to contact for quotes on the hardscaping. 

Throughout the process, Will was incredibly responsive and met all of his deadlines.  We spent some time up front clarifying expectations and, in the end, we got exactly what we expected.  It was also very helpful that I was able to communicate with him via email throughout the process.  We also received high-quality electronic copies of the design and supporting documentation, so we can print additional copies when we need them.

We would plan to use Will again in the future and have already recommended him to our neighbors.

Will was great to work with. He kept place with our time frame, which was not in a big hurry. We first had him come out in the late fall of 2010 to view our propety, take pictures, and talk over our ideas with us. We told him we weren't in a hurry, so he could take his time and get back to us in the late winter/early spring time. The thing that was really nice about working with him is that he wasn't trying to sell us any particular plants, trees, or other landscaping materials because he only does landscaping designs. We liked the fact that since he was independent of a landscaping company we wouldn't be led to buy things that wouldn't look good or do well in our area and design.

We couldn't have asked for more in working with Will! On a very basic level, Will epitomizes professionalism. He was always punctual, quick to respond to any questions, execellent at communicating the status of the project, and ensured that our yard was completed in a timely manner. Will listened intently to how we wanted our yard to both function and look. He had a wonderful esthestic vision of our yard and came up with some great ideas which had a big impact to the finished product. Will was also conscious of keeping our overal project in Will selected execellent contractors to carry out the work and was often onsite to ensure everything was going according to plan. Our project required a lot of coordination between the tree removal company and that of the one building the fence (the proper trees had to be identified to be removed to make room for the fence.) Will handled all of this coordination for us. We were extremely pleased with all of the professionals that Will brought in to do work on our yard. We highly recommend OS Design to anyone looking for landscape design and project management. He is top notch!

I was hesitant to approach this designer as my project seemed too small to ask professional advice. Will quickly put those fears to rest with his friendly and respectful demeanor. We set a consult date and Will was prompt and full of ideas. He was well versed in the "cottage" look I wanted and was very knowledgeable about perennials, shrubs, trees and vines. We spent almost 2 hours talking ideas and I could tell he was really listening to what I wanted included. One week later he came back with a detailed concept plan that contained all my ideas and many more of his that were outstanding. The pages included detailed drawings of porch steps, archways, flower beds etc. so that my husband could do the work. His attention to detail was amazing and he is truly a talented artist. The plan also included in color pictures of the plants he recommended. I look forward to thinking of more projects for him to do! As a footnote, he called back 3 days later to see if my husband had any questions and if he needed to change anything. I feel that he really cares that his customers are very satisfied.