We spent around $13k net (after a partial refund) and 3 months on landscape designs with Keith Willig and his project manager Carmen, before they checked with the county and realized that the central pergola / entertaining area we had designed was not allowed, so we terminated the project. Background: We wanted to redesign/refresh our entire existing yard, augmenting our outdoor kitchen with a permanent shade structure / entertaining area. Given the considerable expected cost for refreshing our landscape, we wanted to create a new outdoor living area with all the bells and whistles. We considered a number of landscape designers, contractors, and architects, and signed our contract with KWLA in early January 2023 based on their strong portfolio and references, although they were on the high end cost-wise. How it progressed: January: We had a kick off meeting, followed up with some emails, and they presented 3 initial sketch proposals of some yard layouts. One only included an umbrella for the outdoor area, so we reiterated we wanted a permanent structure for entertaining. Billed charges just over $8k. February: We had a follow up meeting to discuss what we liked from the proposals, and more detailed discussion about materials / aesthetics. A few weeks later, they provided an updated sketch proposal incorporating what we discussed. Billed charges just over $5k for the month, including 6 hours ($870) for "Permit Submittal/City Codes". March: They prepared CAD layouts of our design, with a couple pages of mulch/stone and plant options. We provided some feedback, and they returned a couple weeks later with initial cost estimates using 2 material options - both were six figures higher than the original budget in our contract. We pushed back, and they provided a revised down that was still higher than the original, but not by six figures. We then had a meeting where they brought some material samples and we finalized layout. The next week, Carmen notified us that she met with the county planner, and that they had not been aware of an accessory structure setback that would rule out any permanent shade / outdoor living structure by the outdoor kitchen. We expressed our frustration to find this out so late, and Keith offered to redesign that yard free of charge. Billed charges just under $5k. April: They provided an estimate for just doing the other area, but we decided it was not worth the remaining costs to proceed without the new area, so we terminated our contract and abandoned the project. When we checked a couple weeks later to confirm our account was cleared, Keith offered to refund us for the payment we had made for March, so we ended up ultimately paying for January and February (~$13k). read more

We worked with Keith this last winter to redo essentially all of the yard space for our suburban home. This included front (yard, walkways, driveway), back (yard, patio), sides (planter boxes, walkways). We're very happy with not just the results, but the experience of working with Keith. Our house is an Eichler, so we were looking for a modern aesthetic in the design phase. Both Keith and designer Charlie Loy worked on preliminary design iterations. We worked with Keith directly as the design finalized, through the inevitable tradeoffs between features & budget. Through the build process, Keith was creative, flexible, and unflappable in making design and build adjustments due to complications (tree overhang required fire put to move, which meant the layout of some key benches and walls had to move, Keith worked out a new design immediately) and opportunities (turning some reclaimed boulders and river rocks into a water-less water feature). Budget and schedule: We were able to stick pretty close to our budget, by changing some design elements so that the final design was at budget. Once we were in the build phase, both budget and schedule went without a hitch. Of course there were delays, but Keith and Cesar, his foreman, kept us informed, and worked around delays (inspections, parts not showing up) as much as they could. The whole crew was professional and thoughtful throughout the process -remember when we had those big storms in Nov /Dec - they made sure that even tho the yard was a muddy mess, we had clear access to the house. In the end, we're very very happy, and I would whole-heartedly recommend Keith Willig. Our new landscaping is not only beautiful, its 10X more usable! Keith & co were able to unlock parts of the property that we didn't even think about, and make them great. read more

Based on all the 5 star reviews, I had reached out to Keith regarding our landscaping needs. 1. I had filled out their website online form. No answer after two days. 2. I called the office and left a message. No one called me back. 3. I finally get an email response requesting more information about our project. I immediately respond. After two weeks, Keith finally replied saying our project is too small. After going through a renovation, I have learned that there is nothing worse than a contractor that is working on your house and they are unresponsive. With that said, even if our project was a good fit I would not have booked Keith based on the poor response time. read more

I must have interviewed a dozen landscape architects before hiring Keith. For once, I chose well. Keith is reasonable, sane, funny, and *really* good at what he does. He designed and built an enclosed front patio for us, which replaced a small, useless lawn on a busy street. We use it almost every day (like a second living room) and get compliments constantly. It's practical, beautiful, and imaginative. Construction was fast and easy too. Twice people have pulled over out of the blue and knocked on our door to ask who designed our yard. True story. read more

Keith Willig and his company were very hard to reach and were not responsive to questions. I reached out to Keith on the phone expressing an interest in hiring his company for our landscape design and was told to email him instead. I sent him an email as requested and was asked a few question about our project. After answering his questions, I still have not heard back from him. Not a professional way to treat your prospective clients ! read more

From the moment we met Keith Willig, it was a pleasure to work with him on the project for our Menlo Park home. He was very friendly and attentive to our needs for this home project. Keith provided us with an end-to-end service from creation to implementation. It was amazing to only have to work with one person throughout the whole project. We were very impressed with the concept and design that Keith created for us based on our initial discussion. Even more exciting was watching it become a reality before our eyes. Also, he was there to select the beautiful trees, flowers, granite, lighting, and our outdoor kitchen appliances. We were very pleased with his crew who were neat and clean throughout the execution phase. They too were friendly and were mindful of the security of our home and pets. Keith and his team treat customer satisfaction as a very high priority and it was evident throughout the whole process. My wife and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a beautiful outdoor living space. read more

First issue (minor) is that you cannot call in the voice mail says emails only for potential jobs. Sent email describing the request which was " I live in Menlo Park and would like to redo my backyard patio and add perhaps a small wall border and perhaps a new awning. Please email or call me on my cell so we can set up an appointment. ". Response I received was "Thanks, but this is not a good fit for us." What does that mean?? Very curt response with no explanation why it wasn't a good fit. Would have expected a phone call or an email requesting more detail before arriving to that conclusion. read more

The architect of our house had heard some good things about Keith. I asked Keith for references and one of the references happened to be an acquaintance who gave a glowing review. Keith is almost done with our job and we're very happy with him. He listened carefully to all of our requests early on. His early designs were great and he was happy to accommodate our requests for changes. He drops by regularly to check in on things. He's met the budget he laid out ahead of time. He even threw in free maintenance until we find a regular gardener. Keith's pricing is reasonable, he's very responsible, and his work is great. I highly recommend him. read more

Keith Willig designed and then built a beautiful landscape for our family, completely in line with our home's mid-century modern style and architecture. After removing a swimming pool, we did a sweeping renovation with Keith that touched on nearly every part of our property. Our work included new concrete patios, stone walkways, modern vegetable boxes, gas fire pit, tree swing with play area platforms, fountain, and modern plantings with succulents and grasses. We are thrilled with our new yard! Keith has an excellent design aesthetic and expertise in construction. He also listens well, is intelligent, easy and fun to work with, and professional. We really felt he understood our needs and what we were after. We were happy to hire someone that communicated so well throughout the project by email and in person. Keith was responsive to questions and comments along the way. He was willing to make changes as needed, and to incorporate our ideas (like designing a front gate, switching material for a pathway, and tweaking the plantings). We were also impressed with his construction crew. Keith's crew is hardworking, polite, and took nice care of our property throughout the job. Our yard was kept clean and tidy, and safe for our kids to play while work was being done. We just hired someone from the crew to do maintenance now that the yard is finished. Keith also employs top-notch subcontractors for work such as concrete, fence building, and electrical. I'm keeping these folks in my rolodex should we need them down the road for a future project. Keith Willig is trustworthy and wanted to "make it right" and to make us happy with the final outcome. With his talent and expertise, we were able to create a great outdoor space for our family -- one we love that's sophisticated, functional and beautiful. Super happy. Highly recommend. read more

After interviewing several landscape architects in our area we chose Keith to do our landscape design. We had a fairly firm budget and a lot to cover. He was able to creatively and thoughtfully, help us decide how best to spend those dollars for the most impact. We are now at the finish line and our outdoor space has been completely transformed. Our favorite feature is a solution surrounding our heritage Magnolia tree. He found an inspired (from one of his museum visits) solution that has incredible impact and has become a focal point for us to enjoy. I highly recommend him for your landscape design. read more

We just finished a major and I mean MAJOR project with Keith. We redid front and back garden, put in new deck, moved trees etc etc. Keith was fantastic. He balanced creativity and practical sense to perfection. Above all, he owned the project and was responsible for the result - never was there a time where he punted to a sub-contractor which seems to be pretty common on any sort of renovation job. He helped us on overall design, selection of approp trees and vegetation, setting up proper watering system to minimize water bills, getting vegetable patch and fruit trees in the right places, lighting system, dealing with pesky squirrels etc etc etc. he really is fantastic and a pleasure to deal with. I'm a tough customer but he definitely gets five stars. read more

Keith Willig and his amazing team created a truly fabulous landscape design and then executed it to perfection. The whole process has been exceptional (and we all know that it can be very trying when dealing with any type of construction and design with our homes). Keith and Helen worked with our family to come up with a landscape plan that fit our budget and fulfilled our dreams. They did a really great job of taking our input yet elevating our ideas into something spectacular. He really gets functional design--what's beautiful and works. He maximized our budget rather than skimping or cutting corners. Finally, his construction, landscape team is great. They work extremely hard and are very kind and thoughtful to their clients (my family). This has been as good an experience as you can imagine...and then better. I am grateful to them. read more

We could not have been happier with Keith. He is easy to work with, timely and REALLY good at what he does. He completely transformed our back and front yards from drab 80's concrete paradise to exactly what we wanted, a safe place for our kids to play while still serving as an adult oasis. The patios, pool, hot tub, fire pit and BBQ area are impeccable. The play area and trampoline were so tastefully worked in on the sidelines you barely even know they are there. If you want your yard done tastefully and right, hire Keith! read more

My wife and I just finished a sizeable re-landscaping project with Keith Willig and we had a terrific experience. We highly recommend Keith for both landscape design and for contract management. Here are some of the things that worked well for us: Keith is both designer and contractor so he was with the project from start-to-finish. He started in the very beginning in the concept and design phase, and then we hired him to manage the construction of the entire project. He is an excellent communicator and was easy to get a hold of by email and cell phone. Throughout the entire project Keith was very responsive to our various project objectives and goals. For example we wanted plants that provided seasonal color, but also were low in fragrance due to allergies. Keith did a wonderful job in making that daunting request easy for us, and even took us to the garden nurseries to help make final decisions. Keith is very flexible with how much involvement we desired. If we wanted no involvement in the shrubs and smaller plants he was perfectly happy picking those for us, but when we wanted to be very involved in the tree selection and pathway stone selection he was welcoming of our participation. Because of this flexibility he was always enjoyable to work with. Last but not least, Keith completed our 10 week construction project on-time (a little early actually) and was on budget. We really appreciated that his work crew was always friendly and had a good attitude working day-after-day. If you're considering doing a landscaping project and need to hire a designer and contractor I would highly recommend Keith Willig. If we ever need to do another landscape project, we will call him first. read more

Our old backyard (which came with the house when we bought it a decade ago) was a jungle and looked relatively small. But Keith transformed the space beautifully! Now, it consists of four seemingly separate areas (dining, lounging, play, and entry) that make our backyard appear to be much bigger than it really is. Everyone who has stopped by (guests, neighbors, UPS and FEDEX delivery men) have noted how beautiful our yard is! And it is beautiful - it is contemporary and is an extension of our interior but it is also very family-friendly. I am so glad that we chose Keith to design and create our new backyard. He was very professional (and funny) all throughout. He was very honest and trustworthy. He reminded me of our budget constantly and offered us options so that we would stay within our budget. He completed the project in the time frame he said he would. He made sure that everything was done up to par, asking his subcontractors to correct mistakes (even if it meant redoing a job all over again). His main construction crew was very friendly, respectful, and thorough. I have recommended Keith to friends and family and will continue to recommend him to others. read more

We used Keith to helps us completely redo our corner lot in West Menlo. Keith transformed our front, back, and side gardens areas into lovely and functional outdoor living spaces. We did fencing, pavers, lighting, a tree house (!), game court, plantings, and irrigation with Keith and we are so pleased with the end result. Highlights of using Keith as our landscaper: worked within our budget, good at addressing our wish list, work crew was polite and tidy, and they were nice to my dog :-) plus Keith had some creative solutions to some of our tricky requests. We liked Keith so much that he is now going to help us incorporate a lap pool into our garden design. read more

Keith Willig is a landscape artist with a vision. He does what others cannot, transforming the ordinary into something unique, special and memorable. While all in his field have the same plant and shrub palette choices, Keith knows how to use them to best advantage. We spent months walking around Menlo Park and Palo Alto looking at yards, as well as cruising websites, on a quest for the perfect landscape architect for our mid-century modern house. We wanted the outside to enhance the openness and light inside that had been central to the architect's original concept. That is exactly what Keith accomplished. Months after his crew finished the job, I still go out to the front of our house and contemplate his work with respectful awe. The thrill is not gone with his design, and never will be. That is what a classic look is all about. On a personal level, Keith is delightful to work with, listened to our ideas, and came up with a landscape plan that was exceeded all expectations. Yet, he is no more expensive than the competition. If you care about having an exterior space that makes your house truly special, this is the guy for you. read more

We just completed our landscape project and it has turned out beautifully! We chose Keith over other contractors because of the quality of his work and his relaxed attitude. He was very collaborative during the design phase and created multiple iterations of the design until it was just right. He integrated our ideas into the design and was flexible as things changed during construction. He found a manufacturer and contractor to build and install an arbor over the front porch. Throughout the project, Keith showed up very regularly and was very flexible when it came to meeting us. His crew is fantastic - extremely neat, polite, and kind. We enjoyed getting to know the team over the course of the project. Thanks for a job well done! read more

We are finishing up a major project with Keith and are just thrilled with the results. We bought an Eichler last year that had not seen new landscaping in probably 30 years (quite literally). It was an overgrown mess. Keith listened to us talk about what we liked and didn't like and then came up with two plans to transform our lot into a mid-century paradise. We continued to work with Keith for several weeks to fine-tune and develop a single plan. He was conscious of costs and had many suggestions on how to keep costs down without losing the overall feel. Keith oversaw the demolition of hardscape and softscape, and his crew was just great. Nothing got damaged - nothing! They created custom forms for all of the new hardscape and we got just what we wanted. The plants look great and people keep stopping to look -- it's such a transformation. I would wholeheartedly recommend Keith and his company. read more