Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group

It took one meeting to determine K+K was the Design Group for our project! The entire process from meeting to discuss ideas to the completed project was a great experience. Along with refining the designs with great ideas and listening to what we really wanted to get out of the new yard, we utilized their ability to do contract administration which was such a key factor in the successful result. Their professionalism, construction and product knowledge, style and communication skills were impressive and made the final product exactly what we wanted----even better than what we anticipated. They were very conscientious about budget and clarity and extremely fair---to all parties involved ----throughout. Steve Kikuchi and his team also were open and able to working with the General Contractor performing interior work, really enabling the overall affect to flow through seamlessly. I would highly recommend them for any type of landscape design.

Steve Kikuchi helped us to remodel some old horse stables and a riding arena into a guesthouse and a tennis court. Coming from Japan and not knowing how the system works here, he listened to our needs/ideas carefully and helped us in each step starting from getting planning approvals and building permits from the town, finding/bidding a good contractor, overseeing the construction process and so on. We are 100% satisfied with his creative design. In addition to a guest house, a tennis hut and landscaping around the tennis court, we also asked him to redesign our property entrance with a new mail post, street number and landscaping. They all look great! His fees were fair and accountable, and he responded to various questions/problems quickly and with good faith. I can highly recommend Kikuchi+Kankel Design Group to anyone looking for a trustable, professional designer.

Kikuchi + Kankel were wonderful to work with. After reviewing three different design options with them, we couldn't be happier with the design we chose. Steve was great to work with. He had great attention to detail, he was always very thoughtful in his responses, and was very good at helping us stay on budget. He also was very helpful in keeping our contractor in line. We really felt like he had our back through the whole process.

A major arboriculture contractor (S.P. McClenahan) of the town of Los Altos Hills enthusiastically recommended KKDG (Steve Kikuchi) as one of two very best landscape architects/designers for what we were looking for. This project’s goal was to design a landscape and patio that would complement and enhance a newly built Mediterranean-style house on a one-acre hillside property. The design’s goals were to maximize utility of the house for our lifestyle, efficiently use the hillside, and require low maintenance. Steve put together a design team that not only understood our needs, but were also open to collaborating with us to bring our vision to life. Steve, Tom Conroy and the design team came back with proposals of three distinctive design concepts. By discussing each of the proposals, the team was able to capture our preferences. During the design process, we were impressed by the team’s creativity, experience, and suggestions that we would not have thought of ourselves. These back-and-forth discussions led the design team to come up with a final version that surpassed our expectations. At first, we were skeptical of its simplicity, but overtime, we started to appreciate and embrace its elegance, to the credit of Steve’s and Tom’s design wisdom. Our impression of KKDG’s approach to their work is methodical, efficient and organized. Tom, along with his team, worked up the plans’ details and helped us obtain the necessary permits for the project. Tom and Steve were very helpful and handheld us with the bidding and contractor selection process. They reviewed the bids with us and provided references of the contractor we chose. Tom’s involvement in supervising the execution of the project was critical for the excellent outcome. His depth of knowledge and prior installation/construction experience were undeniable. He was firm, direct and fair with the contractor, and his extensive interactions ensured that everything was executed according to plan. He guided us through the process with minimal stress on us, solving problems along the way and be sure that payments reflected the work done. He was always available for questions or concerns, and very responsive to any form of communication. Every morning, as we look out the front and back yards, we are delighted. We are amazed how this project has transformed our feelings on the house and its surroundings. Grandma is in love with all the fruit trees outside the windows. We are fortunate to have engaged KKDG. Our encounter with everyone at KKDG has been professional and delightful. This was one of few positive experiences we have had on projects like this.

We've worked closely with Steve Kikuchi and Tom Conroy of Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group for more than a year and have been extremely pleased with their work. From the first consultation to go over our wish list to choosing the final plan, they were very attentive and were able to fine tune the design to meet our needs and lifestyle. Because they were very specific on the materials used and equipment installed, we were assured that our outdoor dining-living room, kitchen, and raised vegetable garden would flow seamlessly with our home as well as last a lifetime as there was no room for shortchanging with sub-standard materials. Wisely we retained Tom to help oversee the project to get regular field reports on the progress of the construction, go over the contractor's billing, and to help troubleshoot any major issues. Their highly specific design and structural plans helped us to avoid some serious construction errors that would have led to huge expensive repairs in the future when the contractors were long gone.

We worked with Steve Kikuchi on a major landscaping project at our home. It was a pleasure working with him and the outcome of the project was wonderful. Steve is easy going but very professional; we liked how he handled our questions and suggestions and incorporated our thoughts into the final plan. He met all deadlines and budgets. Our landscaping gets many compliments!

Chris Kankel did the landscape plan for an outdoor patio and an enclosed atrium in our condominium. The plan was very attractive and Chris was particularly attentive to our wishes and finances. He was easy to work with, always available for any questions, and responsible after the planting to review the results.

Steve Kikuchi transformed our backyard into an oasis. He completely redesigned our patio and garden adding an outdoor bbq complete with 2 beer taps. Working with him made the entire design and construction process easy. In addition to creating a design that maximized functionality and beauty, he provided us with multiple bids for the construction. Throughout the whole design and construction process he provided invaluable guidance. Mark Gardner of Gardner Landscaping was our contractor whom Steve helped us select. Mark and Steve have worked together on other projects which made it easy to keep the lines of communication open. Mark was a great choice. He visited our home nearly every day overseeing subcontractors to ensure high quality. We chose Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group after seeing the firm's work on Houzz. We could not be more delighted with our fabulous, new backyard.

Our family hired Chris Kankel of Kikuchi + Kankel to design a plan for our front yard that had not been dealt with in 25 years - since before the 1989 earthquake. There were many parts that were in bad shape and we wanted a water conserving plan that would also allow us to use the hardscape as we do our back yard. Chris met with us multiple times to get specifics of what we wanted and then came up with plans and revisions that answered our specifications. If there was part of a desire that would ultimately not work, he took the time to let us know why and what would work in its place. We are very pleased with the final design and Chris found the landscape contractor to do the work as well. The final product is better than we had hoped and rarely does a day go by in which some neighbor or passer-by comments on how lovely our yard now looks and how user friendly it has turned out to be. We hear these comments since we can often be found sitting on our new deck in the front yard. I recommend this firm highly.

We absolutely love Kikuchi and Kankel Design Group! Steve is very approachable and easy to work with. He helps you see things in the space you are looking to change that you could never see yourself. His team created several drawings and designs and worked with us to refine and change them until we were thrilled with what would soon be our amazing patio and backyard! He was there to help and answer questions from start to finish. We would also like to give a shout out to Douglas Landscape Construction of San Jose who did the build out of our project. They too, are an A+ group to work with. We would highly recommend both without blinking an eye!

In my structural engineering career my typical point of contact for projects is the architect. Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group is consistently my most enjoyable client. They bring fresh ideas to projects and consistently design creative and beautiful finished products. They are open to discussing ideas on how to implement various materials or structural connections, for example. All of the staff at Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group are extremely easy to work and communicate with, resulting in smooth projects. It is a pleasure to interact with the firm. Without doubt, Kikuchi + Kankel Design Group is an asset to your project and a privilege to work with.

Kikuchi and Kankel Design Group are absolutely the best Landscape Architects that I have ever worked with. They are highly skilled, professional and make every project that we work on together so much better! We have consulted on numerous projects for well over 20 years.