Cool Designs for Landscapes

Katie was the consummate professional. After a couple of meetings she prepared a well designed layout of the project, then allowed us to review it and have some input before finalizing it. Most impressive was that when the contractor, Carlos, that she likes to use (and whom I highly recommend), came to our home to execute the plan, she was on site daily to inspect the work and to put her finishing touch in taking an abstract plan and turning it into reality. She was a pleasure to work with.

Katie has been the best hire we have made for any home project, hands down ! Good design makes all the difference in how a landscape turns out and we are so happy with the results. Katie's patience and creativity solved many issues with our yard that we would have never thought of ourselves. We love, love, love our yard now ! Thank you Katie !!!

Katie did a great job in listening to our needs and preferences, was patient with us, and put together a landscape design that we loved. During the quoting process with contractors, she guided us through the process, giving suggestions on tradeoffs with the design and our budget. She was great to work with.

Katie was awesome! She helped us completely renovate our backyard, starting with the design and planning and continuing through construction until completion. During the planning and design phase, she really helped us develop a vision for our backyard. We were pretty vague with what we wanted, and she was able to put together a beautiful plan that included everything we wanted. She was great in providing advice and ideas that we ended up loving and helped bring our backyard together. She is also extremely knowledgeable about the best plants to use which was really helpful. She also worked as the project manager through the construction process. She was very professional, always responsive, and she helped us work through any issues or changes that arose. We definitely recommend Katie!

From start to finish I was incredibly pleased with Cool Designs for Landscape. Friends who are Master Gardeners suggested I find a professional landscape designer through the APLD website. Talking with several members, Katie Cool’s professionalism stood out well above others for my project. I have a newly built home in Irvine. From dirt to fully installed garden Katie has been on the job. She has met all of my expectations, and more. Neighbors all came to view, and ooh and ah, doubly confirming my bias that the yard design is exceptionally creative and beautiful. Katie saw the project through approvals with HOA, City, and Fire Authority and was on the site daily with the construction crews supervising the work, inspections, and installation of all the different elements. Referring Cool Designs to others is my pleasure, I am a well-experienced stickler for useful design and well-managed construction. My new yard is truly marvelous for me to enjoy. I'm happy to tell others about my positive experience.

After meeting with several Landscape Designers, I chose Katie Cool to remove my front yard grass and replace it with drought tolerant landscaping. Katie is professional, knowledgeable about drought-tolerant plants, responsive to questions and very easy to work with. After an initial meeting, Katie drew up a wonderful plan, reviewed it with me and listened to ideas I had for slight modifications. She was patient as I had to get approval from my HOA and submit an application with the Municipal Water Board for their turf removal replacement program. Katie selected a landscape contractor, sourced the plants, laid them out upon delivery and supervised the installation of the plants and drip system. The landscape crew was very hard-working, knowledgeable about irrigation, and very pleasant to work with. Katie was always available via text or phone to answer any questions I had. I could not be more pleased with the end result and know I couldn't have done it without Katie's help! I highly recommend Katie Cool if you are in need of a landscape designer.

Katie came highly recommended to me by a neighbor, who loved how Cool Designs for Landscapes had transformed his backyard. And Katie did the same for mine, transforming what had been an unusable backyard and sideyard with overgrown plants and broken hardscape into a lovely, charming, welcoming yard. Now, I have two lovely patios with pavers and covers, lots of gorgeous new plants, enchanting lighting … and a bocce ball court that I will use often with my Italian-loving family and friends. Katie was so easy to work with. She listened to what I wanted and came up with a wonderful design. I had her manage the project and deal with the contractors, which I also recommend. Katie listened to me calmly and reacted helpfully when I suggested slight changes along the way. She very much lived up to her name. I would highly recommend Cool Designs for Landscapes. Katie is great.

Katie designed a beautiful new backyard for us. She asked about our style, budget & concerns & then designed the backyard that we've always dreamed about (including the plants & the hardscape). Katie has a great eye & she helped pick out the lights, tiles, etc. while keeping within our budget. She also helped us get the construction quotes & vet contractors so we were able to hire a great contractor to build/plant the landscape. We so appreciated that she communicated with us throughout the design & building portions of the project so we always knew how things were moving along. Thank you, Katie!

Katie was perfect match to help us bring a “drought friendly but colorful no turf “ new look to our 40 year old Irvine home at a reasonable price. Best: she REALLY listened to our unconventional vision and has the training, expertise and flexibility to bring it to life. She gently guided me away from some not so good ideas. She can do just design or has specific subcontractors she’ll bring in if your job needs it (we had her do it all and really liked the contractor team.. so much they’re now going to do our maintenance!) She’s a gem.. we hired her after interviewing and rejecting several others.

Katie was wonderful to work with: creative, knowledgeable, and professional. She was able to envision a whole new environment for our outdoor space, taking into consideration our desire for drought tolerant plants and budget. After the design process, she was able to manage the project and work with the landscape company to make the plan a reality. We now have a setting in which we can entertain, or simply enjoy a quiet evening. Thank you, Katie!

We hired Katie to transform our large but outmoded back yard into a well-integrated oasis. She prepared a hardscape and a planting plan on schedule and within budget. Her design incorporated all of the elements that we requested with many delightful creative touches that we would not have come up with on our own. She recommended the contractor (QS Landscape) and managed the project for us. The contractor did exceptional work, showed up every scheduled day, kept the job site immaculate and treated our neighbors and us with respect. Katie challenged project costs, caught small errors and omissions and made some sensible changes on the fly. She also diplomatically talked us out of a few ideas that would not have worked well. Our completed project is the envy of our neighborhood and exceeds our expectations in all respects (except perhaps cost, which is on us :->). We would hire Katie again without reservation.

Katie, the owner of Cool Designs for Landscape, is creative, professional, organized, knowledgeable, detailed, patient, and fun to work with. Hiring Katie to design our landscape was the best decision we made. Her outside-the-box thinking incorporated interesting plants and design elements that we would not have been able to achieve on our own. She cast an overall vision that melded a few existing plants and trees with her new fresh ideas for a beautiful front and back yard makeover. Katie is very knowledgeable about plants and trees, but also listened very carefully to our ideas. It was rewarding to work with someone whom we trusted to use our ideas when appropriate and then offer plenty of her own unique ideas to create a design that is exciting to look at and appropriate for our style home. We appreciated the detailed plans she drew because they gave us a clear picture of what we could expect as well as allowed for accurate plant counts. By directing the contractors well and being willing to get her hands dirty, Katie took a hands on approach from design to helping with plant placement to trimming bushes. We will definitely call her again for future landscape needs.