Calafia Design

We had the pleasure of working with Calafia Design on 2 projects in 2020 - front and back yard. We bought a mid-century modern home (Harry Weese architect) last summer and wanted the landscape to reflect and enhance the unique design of the home. Katy was wonderful to work from start to finish. She really listened to what we wanted from the modern/Asian feel we wanted, our favorite plants, and desire for privacy in the front. The property also has drainage issues that she was able to address and incorporate into the design of the back yard. Countless neighbors have stopped and said how much they love it. But most importantly, with the open feel of our home and huge windows, we feel we extended our living space by having gorgeous landscaping to see from every room of the house. Katy is incredibly creative, professional, hardworking, fair priced, and has a team that lives up to her high expectations. I highly recommend you choose Calafia Design for your project!

We moved into a new construction home last year with a yard that provided a blank slate for landscaping. My husband and I are not very knowledgeable when it comes to plants and landscaping architecture, so we were looking for someone to provide us with a plan for our entire yard that included details about planting recommendations as well as shape and balance to the yard. The first day we met with Katy it was apparent that she is extremely knowledgeable about design, plants, trees, climates, and growth requirements. Katy provided us with very specific plans and pricing for our entire yard, and we were able to choose what we would complete this year and what would be put on hold until next year. She worked with us on ways to meet our price by reworking the plan as necessary. Her crew did an excellent job at planting the new trees, flowers and shrubs. We have received many compliments from neighbors and passer-bys. We look forward to completing the rest of the plan next year.

Katy was a fantastic partner in creating a landscape that works for our lifestyle (2 small kids and little time for maintenance). She listened to our preferences (plants, colors, style) and came back with a design influenced and inspired by her style and also her expertise the climate and plants. She was very willing to work with us, and also has provided guidance since our installation whenever we’ve had questions. Katy is definitely a premier landscape designer, who brings in and recommends working with her top partners for hardscape, irrigation, etc. We love our yard, enjoy it immensely and are very thankful we chose Katy to work with!

Working with Katy was an excellent experience. She listened to our wants and needs and quickly picked up on our style. She was creative in her design and budget conscious; she provided several alternatives to the design that helped keep costs down while keeping in mind maintenance and long term look of the landscape. Katy visited our home recently to check on the progress of the plantings after the cold weather passed and provided tips for care. She replaced a planting that did not work out and ensured we were happy with the final product. I recommend Katy and Calafia Design.

Katy was a pleasure to work with from the beginning. She listened to our concerns and answered every question we had in a timely and thoughtful manner. She understood that we wanted a low maintenance backyard and she came up with some great ideas which made our exterior space warm and inviting while also achieving our goal. Her crew was very experienced and trustworthy. We are thrilled with our new landscaping and would be happy to work with her again in the future.

I can't say enough about Katy and Calafia Design! She came up with a beautiful and easy to manage design for my non-green thumb; was so respectful of our budget while telling us what we should not skimp on; was quickly responsive to texts and emails throughout the process; her crew was amazing; she was a pleasure to collaborate with; the work was done more quickly than anticipated and we are enjoying watching everything grow this summer! You will be in excellent hands working with Katy.

We have lived in our newly built house for nearly four years and had done some halting, small phases of landscaping, working with a couple of designers who got the job done but left us less than thrilled. Until we found Katy Sheppard of Calafia Design. Katy’s sunny disposition and keen sense of humor made her a delight to work with. She is a total pro: creative, knowledgeable, responsive, practical, kind and friendly. Katy took to heart the look we wanted to achieve and the specific trees and plantings we wanted to incorporate as we sought to complete our landscaping. Then she came up with a plan that covered it all and offered us even more. We did our project in two phases, starting in late summer/early fall (tree plantings and an amazing dry creek) and then finishing up this spring with the perennials and shrubs. Katy worked seamlessly with her crew and adjacent contractors, and she stayed on top of our project from start to finish with texts and emails, ensuring that we could fully enjoy our stunning yard before summer even gets close. And as we bask in our beautiful backyard, we can sit and read the personalized and incredibly helpful month-by-month instructional care sheet that Katy put together for us. Her clear and specific guide will absolutely be followed – especially in the summer months, when she cheekily advises us to “Drink wine in the garden.” Ah, yes, we certainly will!

Katy is easy to work with and responsive from start to finish. Great design/vision, plant sensibility, and relationships with other contractors to get job done well and on time.

Working with Katy was a great experience, and we highly recommend her. Our project involves new landscape and hardscape on all sides of our house. Last fall and this spring we finished the major phases of the work, and love the results. We started off largely undecided on precisely what we wanted to do, and Katy was fantastic in drawing out our preferences, taking into account the look of our house, sightlines, problem spots, and lots of other details to come up with creative options for us to consider. On a more practical level, Katy worked with us to come up with a phased plan to fit our budget. She is a true professional, as were the hardscape and lighting folks she recommended.

I called Katy because I thought i wanted her to help us redo our jungle of a back yard. After sitting down with us though and talking through our budget, we decided that the front yard was the project we could 1) afford and 2) get a big bang for our buck. And Katy was right! There really is nothing like coming home and pulling up to your house and going... "i love my house!". Katy did the design soup to nuts and also held our hand with the hardscaping contractor. She stuck to her her timeline, our budget and kept to her word of giving us something low maintenance but beautiful. We will definitely be using her for the backyard project.

Calafia Design relandscaped my front and back yards. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Katy who is artistic, thoughtful, and extremely knowledgeable. Throughout the process she sought a great balance between seeking my vision and bringing her own. The crew that she works with is fantastic! They did a beautiful and meticulous job. I am thrilled with the results!

Calafia Design was the perfect fit for my family. Katy understood exactly what I wanted - even though I don't speak plants. I knew I wanted a dry creek bed, a no mow lawn, and natural plantings and she amazed me with how that translated into beautiful spaces front and back. Further, Calafia Design helped me connect with other excellent professionals in stone and decking to bring the project to life. My family is quirky, with two young boys with ASD, odd schedules, and a constant need for a Plan B, and she was completely understanding of our crazy family and worked right with us. Communication was excellent and Katy kept checking on us, even when the project was finished to make sure all was thriving with clear, easy to follow directives as to how to keep everything beautiful. For weeks, we have been enjoying the birds and butterflies that now come visit our yard. My littlest is mostly nonverbal, but "backyard" is now one of his few words, and I can't think of higher praise