KL Designs Residential Landscape Planning LLC

We had a great experience working with Kim on the soft-scape design for our front and backyard. We really liked the fact that she was flexible in accommodating our specific needs. We had a scaled plan of the landscape on hard paper and decent amount of planting done in the backyard in the prior season; we wanted to use the existing plan in the CAD design and start the new design with what we already had. Kim was able to take what we had and build from there on. Kim surveyed our property, prepared the plan scaffold and collaboratively worked with us virtually to prepare the final vegetation plan all in the course of the same day. I cannot say how useful it was to provide input on plant choices while she was preparing the design for us. Though Kim set the direction, she made sure we were happy with the plant choices or made changes as needed. She is pretty knowledgeable will all kinds of plants and planting styles. Her pace of work was also quite fast. In the end, we had a solid plan for the plantings at a cost that we could justify. Can't wait to bring the plan to reality!

We needed to completely plan our backyard from scratch. We built an ADU in 2021 and it took up a lot of space. Since we wanted to spend more time in the space and wanted it to be beautiful but uncluttered, we knew we needed help. We were referred to Kim and it was the perfect referral! She took our limited space and mapped out a plan that was perfect and incorporated everything we needed and wanted. Her process is pretty amazing; she spent a few hours with us in the backyard, asking questions and taking notes. When we were unsure about something, she'd make suggestions and help us reach a decision. She contacted us when she got to her office and we had a Zoom meeting where we reviewed a lot of details of the plan. That was a few hour process and we were exhausted when we got done but that same day we received from her a complete plan incorporating all the hardscape, landscaping, and plants, as well as a materials list. We were amazed! Her pricing is very reasonable and we felt we got much more value than what she charged. What's more, some of our design needed to change over the next few months as we were implementing the plan and Kim quickly responded to all of our questions and challenges with great suggestions. Kim is definitely someone we will recommend without hesitation to anyone looking for interesting, beautiful landscape design quickly and at a reasonable price.

We were thoroughly pleased with the landscape design Kim created for us. (We've worked with a landscape designer in the past -- relandscaping 2 different properties -- but they have since retired.) We decided to go with KL Designs after reading reviews and viewing photos of her work online. Kim was excellent in gathering information about our needs for the yard and replacing our very old deck, and reflecting them in the initial design. We loved the way she went about choosing plants. After our initial meeting, she assembled a document of various lower-water plants/shrubs/trees with pictures in various seasons, including notes about sizing or other attributes of interest. From that, we chose or nixed plants (sometimes noting what it was we liked/disliked). With that information and feedback about the initial design, she came up with a "final" design that we still tweaked. Even after we had the "final" design, she incorporated changes for us and regenerated the design and plant lists. We found the resource list she provided as very helpful. It listed landscape contractors, nurseries, material suppliers, and more. After we hired our landscape contractor, we found that two of our existing trees had to be removed. We emailed Kim with our thoughts on what to replace them with, and she was quick to review our changes and respond. (There were a few times we've needed to email her about minor things, and she always got back to us quickly -- even when she was out of town.) Summarizing, we found Kim to be: •very professional •easy to work with •good at listening to our wants/needs •helpful in her method of choosing plants •sensitive to how the landscape changes through the seasons •knowledgeable about low-water and drought tolerant landscaping •flexible and prompt with design changes •reasonably priced

Exceptional knowledge, customer service and, in a time in the Bay Area when everyone is out for themselves, Kim displays selflessness and compassion beyond any expectations I had. I could not have been more impressed with our conversation and her extensive recommendations. Kim works from the heart with doing the right thing for you and the environment at the forefront of her approach. I am ever thankful for her advice and recommend her without hesitation to anyone looking for an honest, wise, and personable professional with which to work.

We are very happy with the design that Kim created for our backyard. Her design included installing a drip system, removing existing sod and replacing it with drought tolerant plants. We also removed dying trees and replaced them with Beautiful low maintenance drought tolerant trees. Because of Covid her design was created using zoom. She is very professional, she listened to our wishes and expectations for the project. Her design was reasonably priced. She followed up by recommending a list of contractors who we could hire to complete the job. We are very happy with our project and The work that Kim did for us. Suzanne and Peter

Kim got us started on a water wise, modern, and very functional backyard. Over two years we implemented all of it and it is a delight to behold and use. I did change many plants from the plan - nonetheless without Kim’s blueprint we wouldn’t have had the wonderful baseline to start with.

Kim is truly amazing. She started our project with a great consultation and she heard our needs and preferences. Then she presented a beautiful and thoughtful plan. She responded to my questions after installation and after everything was done, she came out and did a walk through with me and let me know what I need to do to keep my yard live. She has deep knowledge about plants and their irrigation needs. She is very professional and would be a great designer for you if she is available!

We hired Kim Leichner to execute the outdoor landscape design for our home. Kim did an excellent job throughout the entire project lifecycle - far exceeding our expectations! At the outset - she patiently took the time to really understand our higher level goals of (1) Creating something lush and colorful while still keeping water utilization low (2) Establishing a setting where we could truly enjoy “outdoor living” (3) Keeping in mind an accurate budget forecast. Above and beyond the thoughtful and highly detailed design - she was instrumental in helping us to find the right contractor for our needs. Additionally - she was always available to answer questions and provide more detailed level help as the project progressed. At the end of project - she provided key insights as we fine tuned the look and feel of our front and backyards. We would absolutely enthusiastically recommend Kim as a designer for a landscaping project large or small!

I hired Kim to design a plan to convert my front yard grass to low- draught, low- maintenance plants. I paid for a 4 hour consultation at my house that resulted in a plan that I can implement using my own contractor. Kim is efficient, professional, knowledgable and a pleasure to work with. She is organized and full of useful information. A few weeks after our consultation, I decided i needed a few revisions of the original plans. She did these in a timely manner without an addition charge. I am very pleased with my plan and I highly recommend Kim!

Kim was very courteous & professional. Excellence service, fair pricing, She is truly an expert - she walked through our yard and told us something about nearly every tree and plant in the yard - which ones produced allergens, which ones the birds loved, etc. We gave her very general specifications like "we want this to be a place guests are drawn out to, we want that place to be a place we can hide out and decompress, we want very low maintenance, drought resistant, color throughout the year..." and she came up with an outstanding plan that met all of those requirements within our budget. Amazing. Her plan was detailed down to the placement of every plant and light, and she included an extensive color plant palette of everything in our 13K sq ft yard, grouped by location. Quick turnaround as well - she set our expectation that it would take 6-8 weeks, and we were done in less than 5. Communication was responsive, prompt, friendly and frequent. She even gave us a list of recommended local landscape contractors based on their strengths as compared to our particular needs, one of which we ended up hiring to do our job. No hidden charges, no surprises, and completely customer focused. I can't recommend Kim enough.

Kim of KL Designs was a pleasure to work with. She was very professional and a good listener. My job was a redesign of my backyard landscaping. It included some new hard-scaping (a second patio), new plantings, irrigation, and a partial demolition. Kim's expertise with plants, knowing what would work with my light and soil conditions was most appreciated. She generated complete blueprints which reflected the old yard layout, yard after demo, and new layout. Detailed plant lists and planting instructions were also included. This made it very simple to get estimates. The end result is a seamless blending of old and new backyard elements. It is just what I hoped for.

Although this review is delayed by more than a year, I wanted to make sure that Kim's outstanding quality of work is recognized. We picked Kim after reading many reviews of landscape designers. She did not disappoint. We wanted to tear out or lawn and wanted a drought tolerant and low maintenance yard. She came out to meet us, listened to our needs and came back with some initial designs. We were very pleased with the initial designs and she worked with us on make some changes. Kim is extremely knowledgeable on which plants thrive in this environment giving us a list with photos so that we could choose what we wanted. Whenever, we had questions, she was very responsive throughout the project. We have received many compliments on our yard from people in our neighborhood. Several have asked for her contact information. Considering all the work and effort she put in, it was at a very reasonable price. Kim is a pro all around and I highly recommend her!