To add to my previous review, Grace designs restored our entire garden . It was destroyed by the debris flow; every single plant except the trees. It was all about working with our insurance company. She did an excellent job with our insurance company, as well as working with all the other contractors who were involved. Within 8 months our garden looked like nothing had happened. She is a dream to work with, and exceeded our expectations! read more

Sent her an email about a complete house design and pool project and never even got a response. I checked with my architect and said he didn't have a favorable experience with her on another project. I really like her designs but if you can't get it in the ground it does not matter. read more

This will be the third house in Santa Barbara during the past 15 years we have been fortunate enough to secure Grace Design Associates services. Their popularity and reputation of excellence are well deserved from numerous awards and accolades from clients as well as peers. Just look at their website to see for yourself the stunning gardens gracing so many Santa Barbara and Montecito properties. Margie Grace created a brand new lovely garden for us in 2003 in our large Storke Ranch back yard and then followed us to a home we moved to on Micheltorena Street in 2010 to do an excellent revisioning of an existing garden implementing some wonderful, creative changes to make the art of outdoor living come alive for us. We now are in a new home in the Ontare Hills high on a hill and requiring some solid design skills and use of extraordinary creativity to make the most of the breathtaking views. Once again, Margie's genius is shining through and we look forward to the completion of our project soon so we can once again spend more time in the gardens than the house. From initial talks to design review and final budget meetings, Margie and her team have been sensitive, professional, and accommodating to our input and needs. I cannot give anyone in the landscape design and build field a higher recommendation than Grace Design Associates. read more

We used Grace Designs to landscape our garden. The property came with several major challenges: 1. It is a new construction tract home. 2. The soil is solid clay with abysmal drainage. 3. It is next to a protected preserve and therefore has strict guidelines and landscape review committee limitations. 4. Between our narrow backyard and the beautiful preserve is an unappealing black metal fence with jailhouse slats that stop the eye. So understandably, I expected that a designer of Grace Design's calibre would quickly turn and run from such a project, but Margie and her team embraced the challenge. The result is a breathtaking and seamless meld of the preserve with our dreamy garden. Everyone who sees it, asks who did it. I love our garden. I love everything about it. It is peaceful, dramatic, extremely drought tolerant and native plant friendly. I wouldn't change a thing. While some of my neighbors have seen their expensive plantings die in the poor drainage, every plant Margie chose has thrived. Yes, I could have hired a less expensive designer, but my investment has paid for itself many times over in the joy it has brought our friends and family and the value it has added to our home. And when I look out at my back yard, I don't even see the jailhouse fence. That is magic. read more

I used the services of Grace Design Associated to design my landscape including a Bocce Ball Court. The design services where well preformed and creative, though I felt the company was a bit short on experienced staff especially so to oversea and execute the instillation/Bocce Ball Court construction, something they require you to use them for when they do the design work. The Bocce Ball court partially flooded in January (~8 months after installation) with the first rains in Santa Barbara. The water pooled at one end of the court just past the last drain and at that end of the court that is clearly lower than the rest and obviously not level as it should be. Grace Design refused to correct this under their warranty stating the drain was clogged by dried leaves. Since the water pooled up to but not beyond the first drain this was a silly excuse - the drain worked once the water reached it. The problem was the court was not level and the water flowed to one end and only reached the drain when it pooled significantly and deeply enough to reach the drain above, thereby limit the size of the flooding to about 80 square feet. read more

Grace Design Associates - the Bocce Ball court wet! - Landscape Architects or Designers Near Me

If I could have given a 0 I would have, hiring this firm was the biggest mistake we've made to date. Margie grace ( Principal ) is a foul mouthed unprofessional ,Temperamental bully. Stroking her enormous ego grows Wearisome and waiting for her to show up even more so. Her threats, rants, pulling off the job, missing deadline after deadline and " creative bookkeeping" are just the beginning. Don't hire this company. We had to have the police come to remove her from our property today. Job unfinished as we predicted & all her promises unkept. read more

My wife and I contacted Grace Design Associates to interview for our landscape design needs. Based on our research, Grace Design is the premier landscape design company in Santa Barbara. After discussing our budget constraints, we were informed that our budget did not meet their design and landscape minimum. This was somewhat expected given our small budget. At that point, it would have been perfectly acceptable for them to thank us for contacting them and wish us well. However, they referred us to another landscape design company who would fit our needs. I was very impressed that they would take the time to refer us to another reputable company rather than dismiss us, which would have been completely understandable. Thank you, Grace Design. read more

Margie and Dawn and associates just finished our awesome backyard project in July 2019. They took it from concept to completion and always had great ideas, drawings and practical suggestions to keep everything in budget. In the end we ended up with what we wanted and it looks terrific. Her crew worked diligently and professionally during the dirt and hardscape phase and Margie did a great job with the trees and plantings. Definitely recommend considering if you are looking to create an awesome landscape. read more

Ms. Grace did a project for me several years ago. I had a budget but as time went on during the project it was obvious my budget did not matter. Not only did not all the work get done that was promised, my project was double the cost. I had a structural patio cover put up which was not painted and I had to pay someone else to paint the structure. I had the impression the structure would be complete. In addition, the structure was not approved by the city which came up to bite me in the butt more recently when I had a Tuff Shed put in my back yard that, for some reason, upset my back yard neighbor who reported construction to the city. The Tuff Shed was 120 square feet so I did not need a permit, but the city visited my property and noted that the patio structure was not permitted. I contacted Grace Designs 3 times to help get the permit, but I never got a return call. With my project there were no "home runs" as Margie constantly referred to when designing my property. read more

Margie Grace is brilliant at landscape design. We purchased our property for its spectacular views, but it had very little in the way of landscape design, and that which it did have had been neglected over the years. We were introduced to Margie, and she transformed our property into a beautiful and tranquil spot. Her ideas were thoughtful, incorporating drought-resistant and fire retardant plantings, capitalizing on views from every angle. Her style is exactly what we were seeking, and she gave us intimate seating areas, quiet places to sit and relax, beautiful flowering plants and trees, a water feature, and redesigned our barn to incorporate it into the hacienda environment. We are now working with her on landscape design for a casita we are building on the property and she has once again created designs that naturally connect the main house to the guest house and are perfect for the environment without feeling overdone for our rural setting. We would highly recommend her for any project as she's one of the very best landscape designers we've ever worked with. read more

Grace Designs did an outstanding job on our unusual yard. It is very small and the backyard is triangular-shaped. Although we have beautiful ocean views, there was no covered terrace. Margie and Chantal turned a flat, uninteresting space with no place to sit into a splendid, multi-level, garden with very low water usage. There is a butterfly garden on one side of the house, a lovely fountain made from a large rock, a sculpture, and a large covered flagstone terrace overlooking the ocean view. We have a dog and needed a fence, but didn't want to obstruct the view. Grace did a great job of figuring out how to build a reasonably priced fence that can be seen through--not an easy task. Margie and Chantal are an absolute delight to work with: creative, brilliant and simply delightful people. The crew, led by Armando, could not have been better. The drawbacks: Margie Grace is the best designer in the Santa Barbara area. You will have to wait. It will be more than worth it. Grace Designs is not the least expensive, either. But they were very innovative about figuring out ways to give us the garden we wanted and more, while still staying within our budget. read more