---
title: "Sage Outdoor Designs — Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers | Houzz"
canonical_html_url: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/landscape-architects-and-landscape-designers/sage-outdoor-designs-pfvwus-pf~1199589312
markdown_url: https://www.houzz.com/md/professionals/pf~1199589312.md
entity_type: LocalBusiness
business_name: "Sage Outdoor Designs"
category: ["Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers"]
image: https://st.hzcdn.com/fimgs/00d3f6e70f4d1921_2769-w400-h400-b0-p0--.jpg
address: "2911 Adams Ave Ste. 17, San Diego, California 92116, United States"
latitude: 32.7624
longitude: -117.1242
phone: "(619) 756-4890"
website: http://www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
rating: 4.7
review_count: 10
best_of_houzz_awards: 13
followers: 415
last_updated: 2026-08-23
---

# Sage Outdoor Designs

Original Houzz profile: [Sage Outdoor Designs](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/landscape-architects-and-landscape-designers/sage-outdoor-designs-pfvwus-pf~1199589312)

## Professional summary

- **Primary category:** Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers
- **Location:** San Diego, CA
- **Serves:** San Diego, University City, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Point Loma San Diego, La Jolla, Ocean Beach San Diego, Coronado, Casa de Oro-Mount Helix, Hill Crest San Diego, Mission Hills San Diego, Mission Valley San Diego
- **Houzz rating:** 4.7 out of 5 (10 reviews)
- **Best of Houzz:** 13 awards (2014–2025), for Design, Service.

## About

### Houzz Badges

- Star Houzzer
- Houzz Influencer
- Recommended on Houzz
- 50,000 Ideabook Saves

I am currently unable to take on any new work at this time. I apologize, and I do very much wish I could work with you, but the demand has been unprecedented. Sage is a small business, which means I can offer very personal service, but it also means that I can only take a small number of design projects. Thank you so much for your understanding.

At Sage Outdoor Designs, you will work directly with principal landscape designer Kate Wiseman, whether you chose to do a two-hour design consultation or a full landscape plan. Kate is known for her strong design background, creative problem-solving, and developed listening skills. 

She specializes in the design of comfortable outdoor living spaces, but is qualified to design anything outdoors, including pools and water features.  Her designs have been widely published both locally and nationally, including San Diego Home and Garden Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens: Outdoor Rooms.

### Services Provided

- Landscape Design
- Garden Design
- Landscape Plans
- Patio Design
- Site Planning
- Swimming Pool Design
- 3D Rendering

### Areas Served

- San Diego
- University City
- Chula Vista
- La Mesa
- Point Loma San Diego
- La Jolla
- Ocean Beach San Diego
- Coronado
- Casa de Oro-Mount Helix
- Hill Crest San Diego
- Mission Hills San Diego
- Mission Valley San Diego

### Typical Job Cost

$450 - 1 million

## Business Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Business Name | Sage Outdoor Designs |
| Address | 2911 Adams Ave Ste. 17, San Diego, California 92116, United States |
| Phone | (619) 756-4890 |
| Website | http://www.sageoutdoordesigns.com |
| Followers on Houzz | 415 |

**Social profiles:**
- Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sage-Outdoor-Designs/389148151155107
- LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-wiseman-133b538
- Blog — http://sageoutdoordesigns.com/blog/

## Contact

- **Houzz profile:** [Sage Outdoor Designs](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/landscape-architects-and-landscape-designers/sage-outdoor-designs-pfvwus-pf~1199589312)
- **Website:** http://www.sageoutdoordesigns.com
- **Phone:** (619) 756-4890

## Credentials

**Certifications & Awards**
- ‘Pool Perfect’, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles, August 2013
- ‘Meticulously Restored Tudor Craftsman’, San Diego Union Tribune Distinguished Digs, January 2012
- For all Sage Outdoor Design accolades, please visit our website!

- **Best of Houzz:** 13 awards (2014–2025), for Design, Service.

## Reviews

**Overall rating: 4.7 out of 5 — 10 reviews**

### All 10 reviews

**★★★★★ — ABI Investments, LLC, March 2020**

> If you are looking for a landscape designer in the San Diego County area look no further than Sage Outdoor Designs and Kate Wiseman.
> Kate is easy to work with and goes above and beyond.  She communicates regularly throughout the project (even if your project drags on for 2 years like ours did).
> She works with any budget and listens to your desires for a beautifully landscaped yard.
>
> Kate helped us on our personal home, but we also renovate houses for a living.  She is above and beyond one of the best vendors we have worked with.
>
> We would highly recommend her services.

**★★★★★ — dana cunnignham, Aug. 2018**

> Kate is AMAZING - she transformed my exterior (house and yard and pool) into an amazing place.  I love driving up to the house more than anything.  Every single thing Kate picked out I absolutely LOVE.  From the house color, to the tile through the driveway to the pool and bbq.  I wish I had another house to work with her on!!

**★★★★★ — Liz Pascale, March 2018**

> We can not say enough good things about working with Kate!  We hired her early on in our project when the house that we built was in the foundation stage.  Kate drew up a yard sketch for us after walking the property for an hour.  We have a small lot and she found a way to best utilize the space that we have providing us with an amazing vision for our yard!  We stuck to her original yard sketch while working with our landscaper and we recently hired her again to draw up a more detailed planting plan.  Kate is concise, creative, and has great overall vision.  All though our landscaping is still not complete we are beyond thrilled with the results so far and know that we will love our new space.  Kate even designed our pool which turned out beautifully!  Do not hesitate to hire Kate whether it is for a consultation or for a full blown start to finish project.  She is great to work with and we would hire her again!

**★★★★★ — Mike Farley Pool Designer, SWD, ASLA, Nov. 2015**

> I am a pool designer in Southlake Texas who was in an awesome class lead by Kate and Patrick at the International Pool Spa and Patio show. She was one of the best presentations of an upper design class which was extremely valuable to a design professional. Anyone client would be lucky to get to collaborate with them. They simply help you create what is best for you.

**★★★★★ — lgessin, June 2015**

> Hiring Kate to design our landscape was the best decision we made throughout our entire project! Our yard looks absolutely incredible and we owe it all to Kate. We decided to hire Kate for a landscape design for our front and back yard after much distress interviewing landscapers and receiving bids that had such great differences in price. We decided that creating a single design would allow for contractors to all bid against the same thing, so we could easily compare.  The best money we spent on our whole project was hiring Kate. She completed the entire design in one day with the expedited plan. The plan was detailed enough to complete our entire project with ease. In the morning we sat down and shared some pictures and discussed design ideas. She took our suggestions and returned later that night with the most spectacular design, that solved solutions to open up the space, improve elevation changes, while allowing for a beachy modern look. The plan details included all the hardscape, plants, and lighting. She also offered reputable landscapers for the job, who we eventually hired. We could not be happier with the way our yard turned out. Our outdoor space has become our most used portion of our home. Don’t hesitate to hire Kate. You will receive a top quality and artistic plan in a very timely manner, and at a great price. Thank you Kate for creating the most amazing outdoor living space.

**★★ — dsherod, Jan. 2015**

> Revised Review: I had originally given this company a 5 Star Review based on the 2 hour consultation with Kate. Review is still below. Since then I have contacted Kate and Karen for follow up work and after emails, phone calls, messages over the last 3 weeks, nobody is giving me the time of day. If they are too busy, great for them that business is booming, but a courtesy call to an existing client would be professional. Although the initial consultation was helpful, we need additional services and without that, my original cost is wasted since I'll have to start from scratch with another landscape architect.
>
> We had such a wonderful experience with Kate. We hired her for the 2 hour consultation not knowing if it would be enough time to go over all our outdoor ideas and we were pleasantly surprised with how complete the experience was. She is incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and down to earth. She was able to make sense of our scattered ideas by suggesting design options that were realistic and that would best fit our space. We left the meeting feeling a sense of relief that she was setting us up for success. I would highly recommend this service. Worth every penny and more.

**Comment from Sage Outdoor Designs:**

> Sage is intentionally a very small business (there are three of us here), and that has many benefits to our customers, but also a few things we ask our clients to be patient with. One is that during times of unusually high demand, it does sometimes take us a few days to return a phone call requesting new work.
> In this case, the first that we knew something was wrong was when my office manager received a phone call late on Friday. She was off that Monday and returned the call on Tuesday. She apologized profusely. I did as well, later in the day when I was able to reach out to the customer. At that point, though, she was quite upset and emotional and my apologies were not what she wanted. I don't feel that any of the experience was typical for a Sage/customer relationship.

**★★★★★ — Tara Heiser, Oct. 2014**

> Our tiny backyard is sad and dilapidated but we were paralyzed about what to do with it. Kate spent a few hours with us to understand what we liked (the lemon tree) and didn't like about our yard (everything else), and what was fair game to remove in the new design (water feature, hardscape, etc.). She sketched out a recommended plan with new hardscape and landscape that included types of plants, shrubs and trees that gave us a cohesive and interesting secret garden kind of feel. She showed us pictures of the items she chose, explained why they were chosen and swapped them out with alternatives if we weren't crazy about them. In two hours we had a plan in hand, recommended vendors/contractors, pictures of everything, and her commitment to answer questions should we get stuck. We are so excited about the beautiful design that we asked Kate to return so we could do the plan for the front yard, too. Now we have the confidence to move forward and we can't wait to get started!

**★★★★★ — wallhou, April 2014**

> My wife and I hired Sage Outdoor Designs to help us develop our landscape plan for our new home in Carmel Valley, San Diego. We purchased in a new development and we were starting with a blank slate. The thing that really drove us to select Kate & Sage was how integrated her designs were. The design aesthetic really flowed from element to element in all the photos of her work regardless of style. Working with Kate was such a pleasure, we really felt like she listened carefully to what we were trying to achieve, made great recommendations and provided so many ideas that we would never have thought of. Kate really pays attention to the details that bring it all together and provides a wealth of information on plants, surfaces, texture, color, light, soils, drainage, and materials. In the end we have a detailed and comprehensive plan that we are bidding out to some of the many landscape companies that Kate has worked with. My wife and I are very appreciative of all of Kate’s efforts and believe the whole experience was a great value.

**★★★★★ — Linda Lee, June 2013**

> I did a consultation with Kate.  She was awesome!  She listened to what I liked and worked it into a plan that worked great with my existing hardscape.  She came up with ideas that I had never thought of and I am looking forward to implementing her design

**★★★★★ — npoffenb, March 2013**

> I absolutely give Kate and Sage Outdoor Designs my highest recommendation.
>
> You should see my backyard!  I want to take credit for coming up with the really hodge-podge idea for what I wanted my pool and backyard to look like, but Kate deserves all of the credit for taking that crazy idea and making it into an amazing reality.
>
> I chose Kate because she seemed to be the only person I could find that could "decorate" my outdoor space.  Landscape architects can put plants places and interior designers can pick flooring and wall paint, but Kate did all of that for my backyard....and beautifully, might I add.
>
> There isn't a person that sees my pool and doesn't ooh and aahhh over it.  Prases like, "this is SO cool" and "how did you do this - make it so pretty AND cool looking?" are just a few of the accolades that I, or I guess Kate, gets.
>
> Can't go wrong with Sage!  Just ask anyone that's seen my pool!

## Selected projects

- [Modern Outdoor Living](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/modern-outdoor-living-pj-vj~2800927)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 8
- [Outdoor Design Project in San Diego](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/outdoor-design-project-in-san-diego-pj-vj~6815440)
  - Location: San Diego, CA
  - Photos: 18
- [Beach Modern Outdoor Living](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/beach-modern-outdoor-living-pj-vj~291301)
  - Location: La Jolla, CA
  - Photos: 13
- [Estate Mediterranean Garden](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/estate-mediterranean-garden-pj-vj~296542)
  - Location: Poway, CA
  - Photos: 11
- [Coastal Organic Modern](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/coastal-organic-modern-pj-vj~290520)
  - Location: Solana Beach, CA
  - Photos: 25
- [Family friendly outdoor living](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/family-friendly-outdoor-living-pj-vj~291319)
  - Location: La Jolla, CA
  - Photos: 12
- [Riley Project](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/riley-project-pj-vj~2549769)
  - Location: San Diego, CA
  - Photos: 26
- [Contemporary Tropical](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/contemporary-tropical-pj-vj~1747931)
  - Location: Chula Vista, CA
  - Photos: 8
- [Transitional small garden](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/transitional-small-garden-pj-vj~1747901)
  - Location: San Diego, CA
  - Photos: 17
- [Mission Hills Craftsman Outdoor Living](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/mission-hills-craftsman-outdoor-living-pj-vj~1148111)
  - Location: San Diego, CA
  - Photos: 16
- [Small space outdoor living](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/small-space-outdoor-living-pj-vj~85297)
  - Location: La Jolla, CA
  - Photos: 8
- [Industrial Barnwood Modern Garden](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/industrial-barnwood-modern-garden-pj-vj~291260)
  - Location: San Diego, CA
  - Photos: 7
- [Modern Outdoor Living in Torrey Highlands](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/modern-outdoor-living-in-torrey-highlands-pj-vj~907515)
  - Location: Not specified
  - Photos: 4
  - Description: This home was in need of a indoor outdoor entertaining space that would compliment the residents desire for clean lines and crisp architectural elements. By adding a lounging area with fire pit, water feature, outdoor kitchen and dinning spaces all atop modern pavers we were able to greatly increase the useable space while providing the polished look the client longed for.
- [Burgess Residence](https://www.houzz.com/hznb/projects/burgess-residence-pj-vj~2537881)
  - Location: San Diego, CA
  - Photos: 14

[See all 14 projects](https://www.houzz.com/professionals/landscape-architects-and-landscape-designers/sage-outdoor-designs-pfvwus-pf~1199589312)

## Ideabooks

- [Pretend](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/178751599/list/pretend) — 2 ideas
- [Kate Wiseman](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/15579350/list/kate-wiseman) — 138 ideas
- [Brikho Eddy and Noor](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/170380937/list/brikho-eddy-and-noor) — 2 ideas
- [Lemcke Style Change](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/170362675/list/lemcke-style-change) — 9 ideas
- [Lemcke](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/169981351/list/lemcke) — 17 ideas
- [Afra](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/90138269/list/afra) — 4 ideas
- [Lund](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/161623259/list/lund) — 5 ideas
- [Staff](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/148208617/list/staff) — 21 ideas
- [Clifford](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/138971083/list/clifford) — 1 idea
- [Brock](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/136210179/list/brock) — 16 ideas
- [Angela](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/127357365/list/angela) — 2 ideas
- [Jones](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/125016832/list/jones) — 21 ideas
- [Chen](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/118498517/list/chen) — 5 ideas
- [Pogorelov](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/117650368/list/pogorelov) — 13 ideas
- [Wayne](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/110925229/list/wayne) — 2 ideas
- [Menon](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/109703235/list/menon) — 33 ideas
- [Houston](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/109503100/list/houston) — 8 ideas
- [Rudolph](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/90841649/list/rudolph) — 33 ideas
- [Kosty](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/94622343/list/kosty) — 33 ideas
- [Martin](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/90819634/list/martin) — 22 ideas

[See all 33 ideabooks](https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/kate-l_wiseman)

## Community Q&A

**Q: Can you give me an idea of the actual lenght of the wall Thanks** *(in Photo Questions)*

A: The highest point in the wall is 42 inches and the lowest point is 18 inches, end it curves upward between the two of them with the highest point in the middle and the lowest point of the two ends.

**Q: What are the wall dimensions, approximately? Thank you.** *(in Photo Questions)*

A: The highest point of the wall is 42" tall and the two low points are 18".

**Q: Is the wall made of brick or wood ?** *(in Photo Questions)*

A: It is a masonry wall, stuccoed and painted.

**Q: beautiful deck and garden** *(in Photo Questions)*

Can you please tell me what kind of wood was used for the deck? Wood or composite? If composite, what brand and color?

A: The decking is Ipe, a tropical hardwood. The posts are Douglas fir with a semi-transparent stain. In this same project, the front gate is western red cedar, also with a stain.

**Q: pavers** *(in Photo Questions)*

how are the pavers installed?

A: The pavers are sand set and the grass around them is irrigated with Netafim techline CV.

**Q: I love the rock/gravel color. What color/brand did you use?** *(in Photo Questions)*

A: This is one of my favorite gravels! It is called Chamois Beige and is from Southwest Boulder and Stone. As far as I know, they are the only company that carries it in/near San Diego.

---

*Source: Houzz professional profile. Reflects the profile as of 2026-08-23.*