Exterra Designs, Inc

29 Reviews

Landscape Contractors

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About Us

7x Best of Houzz winner

21 years in business

Free consultation

Chicagoland's Finest Outdoor Living Space Design Specialist

Exterra Designs has 23 years of experience providing Landscape Architectural and Construction Services in the Chicagoland metro area. Our responsiveness, creativity and quality are our focus as we do what we do best…Creating Exterior Environments. We specialize in creating outdoor rooms that incorporate stone or brick patios, Kitchenettes, fireplaces /fire pits, seatwalls, pergolas and gardens for residential properties. Our designs reflect our client’s needs and desired style while integrating the architecture of the home to blend with the newly designed landscape features. Our key focus with this process is to balance the client’s intention with real value options that are in line with their anticipated budgets. Working with you, committed to your project, we will help you make good decisions about the investment you are making in your property and your leisure time. Contact us today and let us help you transform your outdoor space into a place of natural beauty.

Services Provided

Arbor Design and Construction, Brick Masonry, Brick Repair, Custom Fire Pits, Custom Water Features, Deck Building, Deck Repair, Fence Installation, Garden Design, Gate Installation, Hardscaping, Land Leveling & Grading, Landscape Construction, Landscape Drainage System Installation, Landscape Lighting Installation, Masonry, Outdoor Fireplace Construction, Outdoor Kitchen Construction, Outdoor Lighting Installation, Patio Construction, Paver Installation, Pergola Construction, Planting, Retaining Wall Construction, Rototilling, Shed Design & Construction, Site Preparation, Sod Installation, Tree Planting, Trellis Construction, Wood Fence Installation, Wood Fence Repair, Construction Drawings, Swimming Pool Design, Landscape design

Areas Served

Arlington Heights, Bannockburn, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Evanston, Fort Sheridan, Glencoe, Glenview, Glenview Nas, Golf, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Lincolnwood, Long Grove, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Palatine, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Riverwoods, Rolling Meadows, Rosemont, Skokie, Vernon Hills, Wilmette, Winnetka

27 Projects

Business Details

Business Name

Exterra Designs, Inc

Phone Number

(847) 744-8769

Website

www.ExterraDesigns.com

Address

P.O. Box 415
Glenview, IL 60025

Typical Job Cost

$3,000 - 150,000

Followers

143 Followers

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Write a Review

29 Reviews for Exterra Designs, Inc

Newest first

4.9|29 reviews

Work Quality

5.0

Communication

5.0

Value

5.0

Nancy and David Hook

Phase 2 So we were finally able to begin phase 2 and change our front yard. All of the old landscaping (mostly overgrown and dead bushes) was removed. We then had our house painted. Pete developed the plan for a new stoop, sidewalk, driveway and landscaping. It changed the look completely! Pete and his entire crew did another fabulous job! They always do quality work. Exterra designs also did our backyard in 2017. In the winter of 2020 we lost some old arborvitaes in the backyard. Pete put in a great fence, that has become a wonderful addition to the backyard. The first photo is the before, you can see it really needed to be updated. A big thank you to Pete and the whole crew, we will enjoy this for many years. They are the best! We look forward to phase 3. David and Nancy Hook

June 1, 2022

Harish Sunkari

My wife and I contacted Pete for a remodel of our backyard patio and we couldn’t be happier with the result. When we purchased our home, our patio was old and dilapidated and our yard was in terrible shape and prone to constant flooding. After meeting with a few landscape architects, most of them wanted to put in a simple design, without care to the drainage issue…most of the prices were outrageous with one even quoting us at the 6 figure range. Pete came to our property (in a socially distant way of course) and immediately began to visualize a design that not only would be aesthetically pleasing, but would solve our drainage issues. He was cognizant if our budget and kept us on track throughout the process...even accommodating a last minute add on! After all the permit red tape was sorted out with the city, Pete’s crew immediately began work doing demo, excavation, and laying down new stone as well as putting in a new drainage system. Our expectations were completely surpassed

September 8, 2020Last modified:September 8, 2020

Comment from Exterra Designs, Inc:

Harish, It was a pleasure to work with you and your wife on your new back yard oasis. Thank you for the opportunity, we appreciate your nice comments of our work!

Morgan Ruey

After an 18 month process remodeling our home, we were definitely fatigued when it was time to hire a landscape designer. Thank goodness we chose Pete. Of all the contractors we've worked with, our partnership with Pete at Exterra Designs was by far the most pleasant experience. He was helpful in planning our vision, both for our current needs and our long-term needs. He managed the schedule and was upfront about what we needed to do to keep our project on-time and on-budget. He was very accessible. The finished project is beautiful and we've received many compliments from friends and family. We highly recommend Pete and Exterra Designs.

October 4, 2018

Comment from Exterra Designs, Inc:

Thanks Morgan! It was a pleasure working with you on your project and appreciate the work very much. We look forward to helping out with any future renovations when the time comes.

Alan Loewy

From the initial conversation, through the design phase and beyond the construction, working with Exterra was a great experience. At each decision point in the process, Pete was informative, creative and flexible. We will use Exterra again the future and highly recommend them.

June 25, 2018Last modified:February 11, 2019

chelsie22

We hired Exterra Designs to revamp our outdoor space from a run of the mill patio to an outdoor oasis. Pete and his crew make up a highly professional and trustworthy company. We called several other outdoor designers and architects, but Exterra was the only one that truly saw our vision and made sure to explain all possible options and limitations that could lie ahead all while staying within our stated budget. Amazing attention to detail and very responsive! They exceeded our expectations and we wouldn’t hesitate to hire them again if we were to want any other projects done. Thanks for making us so happy and proud of our new space!

June 22, 2018

Tracy Mayer

Words cannot express how happy we are with the transformation of our yard by Pete and his team at Exterra Designs. He is very creative, yet practical and worked within our budget to create an amazing space. We reached out to Pete in September for a consultation and we were thrilled to learn that he could get the work done by December, so we can enjoy our patio this spring. Pete’s team is polite, punctual, tidy, considerate, and professional - they are experts in their craft. We were impressed with Pete’s attention to detail from the beginning of the process to helping us select furniture (not pictured). We highly recommended Exterra Designs.

January 17, 2018

Comment from Exterra Designs, Inc:

We appreciate the opportunity to work with you and Matt on your back yard transformation. It was a pleasure to work with you both. I look forward to coming by this spring to see the new furniture in place and the garden come to life.

Lisa Landsman

After interviewing 5 companies, Pete and his team were a no brainer. He was the only one who listened, truly understood our needs and came back with a clear vision and competitive price. I appreciated how thoughtful and detail oriented he was with the designs and check ins along the way. In addition to the incredible quality of the work and professional nature of Pete and his team, having someone who feels personally invested in your project and acts as your thought partner during the process, puts him a level above the rest. We are already planning our next project this spring!

January 17, 2018

Caryn P

We chose Exterra from 5 different contractors to complete an in-ground spa and landscape re-design in our backyard. His pricing was fair; he was very responsive to all questions and concerns; his design was well-though out; he stayed on budget. Worksite was cleaned each day. Finished product is magnificent and better than we could've imagined! Thank you Pete! We even contracted for a second project with Exterra after the initial project was completed.

December 30, 2017

David Dewey

Exterra Design did an exceptional job designing, removing an old patio and installing a new patio, fence and front walk. Pete, the design professional, walked us through all of materials for the patio and managed the installation on a daily basis. Exterra's installation price was the best in the marketplace. The quality of the workmanship and no-haggle attitude was truly welcomed. The on-site crew was professional and did a great job. The attention to detail was fantastic. The extra touches they added for outdoor lighting made the patio a wonderful retreat in the evening. I would highly recommend asking Exterra to help design or bid on any landscaping project you might have.

December 14, 2017

Nancy and David Hook

We purchased an older home that was in desperate need of a lot of updating. Not only on the inside but the outside as well. We contacted Pete, who came out and planned the best backyard patio, fireplace and grill area anyone would want! From our very first meeting with Pete, we knew he understood what we were looking for. Pete and his crew are so detailed and creative. They were so fantastic to work with. I have put in with photos, the before and after photo. When they were done we came out , looked at each other and said "Is this really our yard". We love it ! We can't wait till we get to do our front yard. They were the absolute best!

November 8, 2017

C B

We have now hired Externa Designs for three phases of our landscape update and redesign. 2014 we had Pete and crew design a new front landscape and replace a crumbling drive. We were very pleased with how lovely the landscaped looked. 2015 we decided to work with Pete to design an outdoor terrace patio, pergola, fire pit area, and outdoor kitchen. Again Pete delivered an outstanding design and completed the project ahead of the promised date. The outdoor lighting is spectacular and we enjoy year round fun with the new space. 2016 we again worked with Pete and crew to extend the design to our large rear yard with refreshed design ideas. The result is fantastic and we now love entertaining all summer in our new outdoor spaces. Pete and team are easy to work with and professional on site. We are now planning phase four.

April 8, 2017

Comment from Exterra Designs, Inc:

Thanks Chris, We have enjoyed working with you as well. Your passion to create a beautiful outdoor living space with integrated gardens gave us the motivation to bring this to life for you. We appreciate your continued support over the years and look forward to the next phase again this year.

jendbruns

HIGHLY recommend working with Pete and his company! Listened to everything we wanted in our design and was the only company to actually incorporate our wish list into the proposal. Pete consistently went above and beyond our expectations in delivering professional, excellent service and design. And his guys are, quite frankly, the best in the business! Punctual, courteous, hard-working and professional. Can not say enough good things about them.

February 14, 2017

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8 Comments

Commented: Flagstone QuestionHello, The stone is irregular shaped bluestone. The grass is hand cut with weed edger and is watered every other day with irrigation spay heads in garden. If its not watered properly during the seas...

March 12, 2018

Commented: By any chance, do you have a photo featuring the entire front?This is the only photo I took of this project in front.

August 13, 2016

Commented: what is the pinkish/red ground cover by the rocks (center)? Sedum?Dragon's blood sedum.

July 11, 2015

Commented: Reddish toppingThe side path and between flagstone is crushed granite. It comes in either terracotta or bluestone color.

June 7, 2015

Commented: I need help on redoing a lanai off my kitchen.wood or other?Thanks for your inquiry. We would be happy to help you in any way possible. Are you in the Chicagoland area?

March 23, 2014

Commented: what are the plants used ?The fence is natural western red cedar, no stain.

March 26, 2013

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Exterra Designs, Inc rated?

Exterra Designs, Inc is currently rated 4.9 overall out of 5

What services does Exterra Designs, Inc provide?

Exterra Designs, Inc provides the following services: Arbor Design and Construction, Brick Masonry, Brick Repair, Custom Fire Pits, Custom Water Features, Deck Building, Deck Repair, Fence Installation, Garden Design, Gate Installation, Hardscaping, Land Leveling & Grading, Landscape Construction, Landscape Drainage System Installation, Landscape Lighting Installation, Masonry, Outdoor Fireplace Construction, Outdoor Kitchen Construction, Outdoor Lighting Installation, Patio Construction, Paver Installation, Pergola Construction, Planting, Retaining Wall Construction, Rototilling, Shed Design & Construction, Site Preparation, Sod Installation, Tree Planting, Trellis Construction, Wood Fence Installation, Wood Fence Repair, Construction Drawings, Swimming Pool Design, Landscape design

Where does Exterra Designs, Inc provide services?

Exterra Designs, Inc provides services in the following areas: Arlington Heights, Bannockburn, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Evanston, Fort Sheridan, Glencoe, Glenview, Glenview Nas, Golf, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Lincolnwood, Long Grove, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Palatine, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Riverwoods, Rolling Meadows, Rosemont, Skokie, Vernon Hills, Wilmette, Winnetka

Exterra Designs, Inc