Our project was a complete renovation of a California ranch-style home built in the early 1950s, located in the Rose Garden area of San Jose, CA. We went with a contemporary style for the interior and wanted to do all-new landscaping that was style-consistent with that for both the front and back yards, so we decided to hire a full-service landscape designer. We researched, contacted, and met with several candidates, then reviewed their proposals. In the end we chose Chiara. One of the primary reasons we chose Chiara was because she does her designs in full 3D, and can quickly generate 3D renders to help the client visualize what the design would actually look like. She can even take into account shadows from trees and the location of the sun at different times of day, which depends on the orientation of the house. The 3D visualization is very useful when trying to decide between different design options. There were several times where we had trouble deciding between options for a particular design element, and Chiara quickly created 3D renders for the different options that were immensely helpful in making a decision. Many landscape designers only do their designs in 2D, and it can often be quite difficult to visualize what a design will look like in reality from only an overhead 2D plan, so Chiara’s skillset definitely reduces anxiety and uncertainty, making the process easier for the client.
Chiara’s fees were very reasonable, and we found that she offered a greater skillset and a fuller scope of service than many other so-called “high-end” landscape designers, who often charged more while offering less (such as no 3D visualization). Chiara was also consistently friendly, professional, punctual, and very responsive throughout the project. She was always very flexible in meeting with us, whether over Skype or in-person, and she was great with e-mail communications (responsive and detail-oriented).
A lot of the how good an initial client-designer match is depends on taste, and is subjective. Part of why we chose Chiara was because we liked the style of designs she had done for previous clients, many of which are available to see on her website. They struck us as clean-looking, functional, and tasteful without being pretentious, with a modern or contemporary aesthetic. For our project, we were always very pleased with her initial design concepts, even if they ended up being modified or tweaked in some way later. We also appreciated that she offered clear opinions on design choices when we asked, but she was never pushy or dismissive of our personal preferences. Whenever we had concerns about something, whether it had to do with functionality or aesthetics, she always listened and took them to heart. In our opinion, a good designer needs to balance utilizing their own design experience and expertise about what works well and looks good vs. taking into account clients’ personal preferences, tastes, and typical usage scenarios for their lifestyle. At least for us, Chiara struck the perfect balance, and we are very happy with both the final product and how the design process went.
Additionally, we decided during the design process to replace all of the front lawn with drought-tolerant plants, and Chiara was very helpful with guiding us through the process to apply for the rebate from the Santa Clara County Valley Water District. The rebate we will end up receiving should pretty much pay for Chiara’s services, and that is in no small part thanks to her hard work.
Overall, Chiara exceeded our expectations and we would not hesitate to recommend to her to anyone in need of a landscape designer’s services.
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