James Hughes is fantastic!…read more
When we bought our home, we realized that the backyard was not going to work for us and that what we really wanted was to create a much more functional outdoor living space. Our space was not huge, nor was our budget, so we wanted to be sure to find someone who would be creative with the space and also be affordable. That's James.
If I had one word to describe his work: Transformational.
James was impressive at our first meeting. He listened. Patiently. Having built three prior homes, I can tell you that many contractors pretend to listen. Not James. He took the time to really understand our goals. In addition to walking around outside with us, he took the time to experience the outdoors from all of the adjacent indoor spaces where we would see the yard. He said the goal was not only to create an outdoor "destination" but to create an outdoor space that would be harmonious with the adjacent indoor spaces.
In a million years we would never have come up with the concept James developed, yet it met every one of our needs: Slat walls for visual privacy, a unique water feature to focus our ears on the water rather than the outside noise, landscaping to draw the eye towards interesting areas of the landscape, a pergola for shade, a fire pit to allow us to enjoy the space year-round, and an area to accommodate my two grills. This in addition to a complete landscape plan and lighting plan. It was amazing, and completely reflected our goals and James' sense of aesthetics.
Once excavation began James noticed a problem with the soil: it kept allowing his equipment to sink into the dirt. Long story short: pipe clay. That makes it impossible to build on. So we were faced with a dilemma: haul out a lot of bad soil, at significant cost, or rethink the design. James' told us that he felt that remediation of the soil would not be cost effective and that he thought he could redesign the project. To our surprise and amazement, James called later that same night and said he had a new plan and wondered if it was too late to come and show it to us. To be candid: the new design was simply fantastic. We gave him the immediate go-ahead.
When the work was complete, we were simply stunned. A complete transformation of our yard that immediately felt comfortable to us as it reflected how we want to live. We still stare in amazement that this is our yard and not something that you only see in a magazine. You can see pictures on his Houzz site as well as on his web site and Facebook page.
Would we recommend James to others? Absolutely.
Thank you, James, for exceeding our expectations.