The Landscape Process
When choosing a landscape designer/contractor there are many factors you should consider to protect your investment and ensure the finished product compliments your home and lifestyle for years to come.
For these reasons you should only contract a qualified, professional landscape company that has industry recognition such as the LIAV.
Step 1 – Consultation
By contacting Creative Outdoor Solutions you have already made the right choice. The first meeting with Steve is a two hour professional consultation service. During the consultation many items are thoroughly discussed and workshopped including:
- Obtaining a full understanding of your design brief including aesthetic and functional requirements of your landscape.
- A snapshot design concept of the high impact spaces is created and sketched on site (not to scale). This process displays the potential of the most important areas of you property.
- An informative discussion regarding the complete landscape process from concept design to working drawings, tendering and construction practices.
- Create an understanding of your expectations of the end result in relation to initial budgets and create an optimum balance.
- Potential costs of the entire landscape process.
- How to best maximise your investment along with recommended guidelines of investment levels to achieve the best possible returns.
- What landscape items require permits and/or engineering.
- Where to look for garden artwork and associated landscape products.
- What needs to be done next by the client and/or designer to continue the landscape process.
From this consultation Steve will prepare a detailed quotation for the concept plan stage of design. The initial consultation fees are deducted from the concept plan price if you choose to continue with our multi award winning services.
Step 2 – Design
Our design services include – consultations, concept plans, part and full working drawings, design documentation tender preparation and documentation, tender management and project management. You may choose to do one or all of the above assuming the order of services is maintained. The level of design services commissioned is determined on a project to project basis.
Upon acceptance of the design quotation Steve will create a base plan from existing site and floor plans of the property. Two or three different rough concepts are created and a workshop meeting is arranged. During this workshop meeting all the different concepts are discussed in detail. Different elements of the designs are cut, pasted and re-worked to achieve a desirable outcome for the proposed landscape. Once the rough concepts are confirmed the final plans are drawn up. Final plans are presented during the third and final design meeting. All plans, and their details, are comprehensively discussed to ensure all elements are to your requirements. Each concept plan includes an isometric or perspective artistic view of the main entertaining area or focal point to give a three dimensional aspect to the design.
Creative Outdoor Solutions has now introduced the latest design technology as an optional extra in the design process. Computer based virtual tours of your new landscape are now available and they are already proving themselves as a valuable tool to our current design clients by allowing them to gain a full visual understanding of the exterior spaces before the first spade hits the soil.
Gardens can be viewed from all internal vistas. You can swim in your pool, relax in your spa and take in the surrounding features, walk into your property from off the street and admire your inviting entry features. We are also able to make decor, plant, structural, colour based, design layout changes on the spot if there are areas you would like to tweak in any way.
Your garden can be viewed at dusk to understand shadowing in relation to your site aspect, garden lighting can be included and you can even view your garden at night and appreciate the value of garden lighting for your project. Still images from any angle of the virtual tour can be saved, printed and emailed for your records making our virtual tour presentations extremely popular with our existing client base.
Some initial images of current virtual tours are displayed below so take some time to view and enjoy the latest in design technology now available with the design team at Creative Outdoor Solutions.
Our design philosophy is simply based around the building of a partnership between the designer and the client to create a successful integration of indoor and outdoor spaces that complement and enhance the specific lifestyle needs and existing architecture of your home.
Structural and textural elements, decor, flora and individual lifestyle needs all combine to create visually striking, functional, innovative, well managed outdoor spaces which focus on the main capital investments to the high impact zones whilst minimising expenses in the utility zones of the property.
When the aesthetics and functionality are successfully combined the investment in your landscape is sure to yield returns financially and more importantly, personally.
Step 3 – Pricing
Once the design is complete Steve will provide an obligation free, itemized quotation for the construction process. All elements of the garden are included in the quotation and legal "works" contracts can be provided upon request. As you have made the wise investment at the planning stage, once the pricing is complete, Creative Outdoor Solutions can also offer, and recommend where necessary, staged construction services to meet budget requirements.
In essence professional landscape services can be a significant investment so our works can be staged over several years if necessary to meet your current cash flow levels. This ensures your concept plan is brought to life without sacrificing on construction practices or material selections and your investment will yield returns in lifestyle and financial measures for years to come.
Step 4 – Construction
Once the plans are complete tendering of the project can be commissioned through our in house, multi award winning, construction team. Alternatively, due to high demands on our construction services, your landscape design can be built by one of our highly recommended associated independent landscape construction companies who have successfully been bringing our concepts to reality over recent years with outstanding results. The associated construction companies are 100% committed to the construction process and successfully fulfilling our design intent with the highest level of pride, care and professionalism.
Once the pricing and timing has been approved the award winning team at Creative Outdoor Solutions will build your garden from the concept plan with quality, pride and professionalism in all we do.
The team is constantly proactive with our communication to each and every client throughout the construction process and as with all building projects progress payments are made along the way to eliminate any large transactions.
Being highly skilled in all areas of landscape construction it is rare that we use subcontractors to complete any works on our projects. This ensures consistency in construction practices, quality and professionalism while eliminating communication breakdowns often encountered when using external contractors. When all these elements are combined you can be assured the works are completed on time and on budget and with out the stress that is often related to the building industry.
Once the garden is complete an official handover is arranged and a comprehensive maintenance program is discussed. Plant/turf care, irrigation computer programming and maintenance, paving/decking care, water feature management, lighting care and all other items are thoroughly discussed to ensure the garden is maintained and cared for with knowledge and confidence.
We are also contactable and happy to deal with any items or questions that need discussion post our construction services.
A number of qualified landscape maintenance companies can be recommended for long term professional after care.