Skyline design studio

Talented, personable, creative—Diane pays attention and creates better versions of everything we imagine. She is both artistic and realistic, with a sense of color, proportion, and interplay of esthetics with growing conditions. She completely redesigned the front of our property (both hardscape and plants) and we have neighbors and complete strangers asking us for her contact information nearly every week. Diane has a rare flexibility in her work: she does not impose her tastes, just seamlessly improves ours.

I would recommend Diane. I did a complete redesign of my small back yard, removing all the grass while adding a hot tub, outdoor kitchen and fire pit, and re-landscaping. Diane did all the design and incorporated exactly what I was looking for, and I love how it came out. Throughout the process, I had lots of questions and she was very responsive. Diane also has a very extensive knowledge of plants and I really like what she picked out. Lastly, she is very interested in making sure the project met my expectations and was available throughout the installation to make sure things were going well with the contractors. Again, I would recommend Diane for hardscape and softscape design.

Diane was a true pleasure to work with for my wife and I. We wanted to explore options for redesigning our backyard - inclusive of a pool and hardscape - and Diane's unique blend of both interior and exterior design helped us to develop and realize a vision that we (and all our friends and neighbors) absolutely love! Diane's working style is to understand what you have in mind, interject her years of experience and natural taste, and work toward the ideal combination that takes your ideas to the next level. Can't recommend her enough.

Diane was a pleasure to work with and has very good design and problem-solving skills. She understood our design goals and embraced them. She is a good listener and factors our preferences into her suggestions. She also has good knowledge of and experience with local contractors, so was able to make valuable recommendations. I would not hesitate to work with her again, and I enthusiastically recommend her.

Diane remained fully engaged with us throughout the design process, and was able to translate and integrate our ideas and preferences into a cohesive and comprehensive landscaping plan. Based on our discussions, she created (on paper) Plans A, B, and C - and we distilled the project from there into its final form. She is extremely knowledgeable, creative, and artistic. Our project was pretty big, and involved removal of a pool, and we love the results! It's like having a resort in our backyard - a daily joy! Plus wanted drought tolerant plants, year-round color, low maintenance, and great drainage - all accomplished!

For background, I was looking to do a massive remodel in the backyard of my San Francisco home when I first found Diane. Specifically I told Diane I wanted a new deck / staircase with gorgeous rod iron details leading down to my newly transformed garden that would consist of a full outdoor kitchen, large fountain with mosaic tiles, comprehensive lighting plan and an AWESOME fire-pit. Like most projects, mine quickly evolved and Diane was there to address all my new needs every step of the way. She was always sensitive to my budget, while not sacrificing quality. She even helped me source my beautiful new carriage garage doors for the front of my home as well as barn doors accessing my backyard from the garage area. Again, every detail was perfect. She helped select every plant species that would surround my new outdoor hardscape and created an oasis that is not only inviting, but is the hallmark area of my home. All of my neighbors are envious of Diane’s creation and 2 years later I’m happier than ever. I would highly recommend Diane for any backyard project, but I would also let you know that if you choose to go bigger as your project evolves, Diane can scale with you and help you every step of the way. Diane’s expertise extends all the way from basic landscape planning to detailed architectural and structural considerations.

Diane Hayford of Skyline Design Studio designed our landscape, and it looks beautiful. We wanted a plush and flowering garden (think English garden) that was low maintenance, California drought resistant, and has low water need. Hard right? Well she delivered. Our hardscape compliments our contemporary house design, and our plantings reflect our country house, garden esthetic. Diane truly designs the outside space. As with any project, we would recommend communicating your expectations of oversight of hiring of the landscaper, oversight during the plantings, and follow-up reviews of the landscape. Diane can be involved with all these phases. Our garden has now gone through 3 seasons, and we love it and so do our neighbors.

Diane designed a re-do of our entire yard--back, front, sides--even the driveway. (We kept one small tree and the shape of the original pool.) I'm very detail-oriented and had hundreds (literally) of specific plant requests. Diane was incredibly patient working with me (and tolerating my delays), and came up with lovely planting plans, beautiful paving, a custom wood-and-steel gazebo and trellises, BBQ, fences, rock wall, irrigation systems--the works. The irrigation is all drip except for the small lawn areas, which use high-efficiency sprinklers; this approach has minimized our water use despite the lush look of the yard. The yard looks beautiful year-round, with a minimum of new planting each spring (relying on mostly perennials). We love the way everything turned out--and all of our visitors do, too! Diane was a complete pleasure to work with. I recommend her without reservation.

We came to Diane in an unusual way and we are so glad that we found her. We had started with another designer for a remodel and addition to our home. The designer did exactly what we said we wanted and when we saw the plans we were shocked by the amount of added space with lots of it unusable and no thought to function. We contacted Diane to get input on the landscape and hardscape to go with this remodel. Interestingly her reaction to the remodel design was similar to ours. After she left we were at a loss since we knew that we did not want to go ahead with this design. Lucky for us Diane called a few days saying that she had some ideas for the remodel. We met again and discussed our needs and desires. Her approach was to understand our design tastes and needs and to create a functional and pleasing design without adding unnecessary square feet. She came back with a design that exceeded our expectations. With her drawings I was able to get the structural engineering done and then submit to the building department for approval. Diane also did all of the landscape and hardscape design for us, which came out extremely well. One thing that is critical to the successful execution of a job is the details being very specific and clear so that if you have multiple contractors bid they are bidding the same thing. What I am talking about here are things that aren’t visible like the details for drainage and base preparation below concrete or walks. Her drawings included all of this detail and more. The only negative, and I think that this is true with all landscape professionals, is that they tend to over plant. We still have the same basic design 7 years later but have removed and moved a few of the plants. Most people are not going to have as all encompassing a project as ours but it is hard to express how well every thing works together from the outside spaces to the interior and this is all because of Diane. The other thing that I haven’t touched on was all of the interior design aspects that Diane helped us with. In particular the tile designs for the two bathrooms and kitchen. I had 2 very experienced tile guys whom were blown away with her designs. Even though it was a little more work they loved laying it because the end result was so nice. As an anecdote, they were getting ready to lay one of the bathroom floors and one came to me and said he had a concern about the design because of the swing of the door and its influence on the design. We discussed it decided to leave it as Diane designed it. When it was done we all agreed that the design was right on. During the course of the remodel, over 12 months, she helped us on numerous things. She did a design for our front door and 2 gates. We also wanted to redo the fence and she came up with a unique design that was easy to construct and doesn’t look like ever other fence out there. She also did the design for our arbor again with some very simple details that make it stand out in a good way. The bottom line is that we have used here since on the remodel of our cabin and will in the future if the need arises.

Diane was a delight to work with and I would highly recommend her design services. She is flexible, personable professional, listens well and was timely in follow-up on all the action items from our discussions. I loved that she was available by phone, text, or email and that she came by the job site regularly to check on progress as well as liaised between the contractors. She was also a great sounding board for validation of our concerns when something needed to be redone or when we changed or added to the design on the fly. I highly recommend her services.

I have an acre lot that I'd landscaped myself 20+ years ago. I wanted to do a complete redesign, going with a drought tolerant Asian theme. I'd given a lot of thought to the project, but knew that I needed some professional input to do it right. I was browsing through Houzz when I found pictures of Diane's work. I loved what saw, but since this was going to be a long term project, I needed to know that Diane would listen to my ideas while incorporating her own expertise. I couldn't be happier! Meeting Diane for the first time was like meeting an old friend; we just hit it off. I was impressed with her knowledge of plants and the thoughtfulness with which she listened to my ideas. The plans she came back with were well beyond my expectations! We are about a third of the way through the project, since I am doing part of the work myself, and I continue to be impressed with the direction that she is taking. Diane gets my highest rating and I would gladly recommend her for any landscape design needs!

I hired Diane from Skyline Design Studio to design a pool and hot tub for my father's home. The home was rebuilt in 1998 and is Tuscan / Mediterranean style. The home was my late mother's passion and she worked with designers and architects to craft her dream home. My father wanted a pool and hot tub and I wanted to make sure we preserved the integrity of the home and it would not end up looking like the pool was an after thought. Diane exceeded all expectations. The pool design is incredible - the pool looks like it was built with house, the special touches of custom handrails, unique tile, and roman spouts make the entire project look like it was part of the original home design. Diane's knowledge, patience and attention to detail are un-paralleled. She is a delight to work with and can handle any obstacle. I am impressed with her design skills, the vast array of vendors and craftsmen that provide excellent work at reasonable prices, and her ability to seamlessly integrate into the project with several subcontractors and "pool guys". I used Lifetime Pools and they know Diane and have nothing but praise for her work also, I would work with Skyline Design Studio again without hesitation and would gladly recommend them for any job. I am beyond thrilled with the finished project! Lastly, the family and friends that have seen the finished project are all amazed at how beautiful the pool is and love the design.