Landscape design services in Menomonee Falls, WI are usually judged on the drawing, which is the easy half. The harder question is what happens in the weeks afterward, when a plan has to turn into quantities, a schedule and a crew standing on the property in the right order.
Villani Landshapers is a family-owned design and build company that has served Southeastern Wisconsin for more than two decades and now employs over 200 people.
Because the design team and the crews that build the work sit inside the same company, the distance between what was drawn and what gets built stays short.
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What Does an Approved Landscape Design Contain?
An approved landscape design contains the layout, levels, materials, planting and the position of anything that needs power, gas or water.
At Villani, an on-staff designer and estimator prepare the design and the proposal together, and that work is generally completed within two weeks.
Pairing the two is deliberate. A drawing produced without an estimator attached tends to describe a project that costs more than the conversation that started it, and a proposal built alongside the design keeps both grounded in the same scope.
Why Does Sequencing Get Settled Before the Landscape Build?
Sequencing gets settled before the landscape build because outdoor work only goes in one direction.
Excavation and grading come before base and structure, structure comes before utilities are closed up, and planting follows once heavy equipment has finished crossing the property.
Getting that order wrong is expensive rather than merely untidy. New turf laid before a machine still needs access is turf that gets laid twice.
The same applies to lighting conduit, which goes in while the trench is still open rather than after the patio is set.
How Does a 3D Landscape Rendering Change the Conversation?
A 3D landscape rendering moves the decisions forward. Standing inside a rendered version of the space shows proportion, sightlines and how a structure sits against the house in a way a flat plan does not.
Changes made at that point cost a revision. The same changes made once footings are in cost considerably more, which is the practical argument for spending time at this stage.
Our outdoor design and build work includes 3D renderings for exactly that reason.
Related: What To Expect at First On-site Meeting With Your Landscape Designer
What Should a Menomonee Falls Household Decide Early?
A Menomonee Falls household should decide early how the space will be used, how many people it needs to hold, and which parts of the property are being kept. Those answers set the footprint, and the footprint sets most of the cost.
Material preferences are easier to adjust later. Footprint and grade are not, because they govern drainage and the structure under everything else.
Who Is on the Property Once Landscape Work Starts?
Once landscape work starts, the property is in the hands of a crew working from the approved design and a single project schedule. Keeping the design, estimating and construction teams inside one company means questions get answered by people who already know the plan.
It also means the person answering a question in week six was part of the project in week one. On a build of any size, that continuity is what a household notices.
Expect the property to look worse before it looks better, and expect it to be kept clean and organized while the work happens.
When Should a Landscape Design Conversation Start?
A landscape design conversation should start in autumn or winter for a build the following season. Designing while the ground is frozen uses the months that cannot be built in, and it puts a project nearer the front of the spring schedule rather than at the back.
Projects that begin their design in spring are often scheduled into late summer, which shortens the first season of actually using the space.
Starting the conversation now keeps the build window inside the season the household wanted.
Use the Winter to Draw Your Menomonee Falls Landscape
A design conversation in the coming weeks produces a drawing, a proposal and a realistic build window before the spring rush. Our outdoor design and build work covers Menomonee Falls, WI and the surrounding Southeastern Wisconsin communities.
Villani Landshapers keeps the designer, the estimator and the crew on the same side of the job, from the first phone consultation through the final walk of the finished space.
Schedule your landscape design consultation with Villani Landshapers
In Summary
How long does the landscape design stage take?
The landscape design stage generally takes about two weeks after the on-site visit, when an on-staff designer and estimator prepare the design and proposal together. Revisions add time, and most projects go through at least one round before approval.
Can a landscape design be built in stages across two seasons?
A landscape design can be built in stages across two seasons, and the plan is drawn with that in mind so the phases connect. Splitting the work usually means building the structural and drainage elements first, because those pieces are the hardest to retrofit.
Does a landscape design fee carry into the build?
The proposal states if a landscape design fee carries into the build, so it is never left to assumption. It is a fair question to ask any firm before the drawing starts, and the proposal issued with the design spells out what is included.
How does Villani Landshapers present the landscape design?
Villani Landshapers presents the finished design and proposal either in person or by email after the on-site visit. Once the homeowner decides to move forward, the project moves into scheduling and construction.
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