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Landscape Design

Hiring a landscape design company

16 years ago

Is it worth the investment to hire a professional landscape design company or can you do it yourself? If I do hire a landscaping company will they increase the value of my home? If so how much on average. What should I look for in particular when interviewing a company?

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Comments (2)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
16 years ago
The answer to both parts of your first question is "yes" :-) It IS possible to generate your own landscape design but if not accustomed to the process or a less than experienced gardener or handyperson, the learning curve is high and may involve more time and trial and error than you are prepared to expend. It also makes a great deal of difference how elaborate the vision is you have for your property - a complicated landscape with changes in terrain and significant hardscaping may well be beyond the comfort level of most DIY'ers. An association with a professional designer or a design/build firm tends to streamline the process and for many busy families, is a far more efficient approach. But rarely a budget saver - you are hiring expertise and experience and there is a significant cost associated with that.

As to the value added to your home, there are mixed opinions with this issue and it's difficult to assign a specific dollar value to a professionally-designed landscape. It is generally considered one of the few home improvement that has a direct, dollar-for-dollar value but with some conditions. An overly complicated, high maintenance or elaborate landscape or one that is out of context with the neighborhood can be counterproductive.

There are many threads on this forum that deal with what to look for when hiring a design professional and I suggest you research them. But as is the case with hiring any professional, you want to review suitability for your needs, examine past work, check references and most important, make sure it is someone with whom you have a good rapport and sense of free, open and very clear communication.
marcinde
16 years ago
What she said. I'll just add that there is no magic formula that says you recoup 80% of your money on a bathroom, 110% on a fireplace, etc. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something. When you go to sell your home, if someone who loves grilling walks into your yard and sees a built-in 48" Wolf grill- you've added value to your home. Otherwise, you haven't. Something only has value if someone else desires it.

What are your plans? Staying in the house long term, or looking to clean it up and make a couple more bucks on a sale? My personal opinion is that if you're planning on staying in a house long enough to enjoy something, it's never a bad investment.

Nice website, by the way. Thanks for the link.

Dave
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