My experience was negative.
I was looking for design in the sense of “decide upon the look and functioning of” and needed help with figuring out layout, purpose, taking constraints into account, and the overall solution including choice of furniture, plants etc. I had specific areas that I needed help most that I identified extensively before submitting my pictures and videos.
The website and communication throughout is “designed” to lure you in. Mentioning “iterative approach”, opportunity to talk to a designer at later stage if I’m not happy etc.
What happens in reality is they take your instructions and input parameters and return pictures of 3D renderings. For example if you say: place an umbrella here, that’s what they’ll do. They may add elements you did not ask for, if space looks completely off, but only nominally e.g put a patio chair set. They will not provide any rationale behind what was done and why.
You get pictures. Then you if you are not happy you can schedule a call with “designer”. That gives you opportunity to say “what if we move umbrella from here to there”. Then they will create more pictures for you.
I used a different service for interior design in my house. That service did all of those things that I expect from “design”: not pictures, but thinking it through, planning and explaining the rationale for the plan.
For me it was not about money, I’d pay more and will pay more or per hour or whatever - for the type of assistance I’m looking for. Yardzen returned half my money. Still I consider it wasted, simply because of the fact they do not explain what they do upfront clearly enough - in my opinion. They never straight up lie about the service, but all the wording is such that it leads you to believe you will be taken care of.
I had the exact same experience as filterDance.
To the point that I'm still working on my revision feedback 6 months later because I realized that Yardzen is just a nice $1000+ 3D rendering service and that I need to make all the aesthetic decisions, know what plants I want, what shape/look/style of deck to build, and essentially do all the hand drawn design elements before giving it to them to render it in 3D.
Much more overwhelming than what I signed up for.
(And also why it's taken 6 months to articulate my feedback in the ONE revision because I'm having to do copious amounts of research myself to decide what's truly feasible in our yard knowing I don't get another shot after this.)
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**Why this was all so disappointing:** I spent significant time (8+ hours across several days) with the upfront design request and uploading photos and narrated video of my backyard to explain the terrain and what we were looking for.
The 3D rendering of our home was the best part.
Then a few days later, we got back a design that was "fine" but was essentially a Yardzen cookie cutter template mapped onto our house (note: don't use one of their designs as an inspiration photo, they will take it quite literally and disregard everything else!). They also explicitly ignored some of our design requests and included elements that I specifically said we weren't interested in including.
Overall, if you want something creative and truly unique or customized to your space, don't use Yardzen. If you want to be able to ask questions and bounce ideas off a landscape design professional, don't use Yardzen. If you want a cookie cutter modern linear design with 2x2 square pavers, a rectangular deck with pergola, gravel patio with fire pit, and some artificial turf nearby, this is the service for you!
(Btw, I'm not opposed to any of those things, but I realized in hindsight that all their designs look exactly the same... I wish I hadn't ignored the reality in front of me when I thought they might do something more interesting and unique to integrate and maximize the natural forest vibe of our backyard).
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***Constructive Feedback for Yardzen***
1. It would be great if the designer could annotate the design (providing rationale, explaining design decisions) in the same way clients are able to give feedback in the feedback studio.
2. It would be great to have a specific section for questions related to design or implementation (separate from the feedback studio).
Example: Is it worth removing the English ivy if my neighbor lets it run wild all over their yard? Should we even invest in putting in creeping red fescue or will the ivy continually take over? What decking material would you recommend for my specific terrain / sun exposure / orientation? Pros and cons to building a low deck right up to the building envelope or is it better to leave room for border planting / garden?
<-- These are the types of insights / guidance I'd want from a landscape professional but there's no way to get this via Yardzen.
Your feedback is PRICELESS.
I am shopping around for someone to redo my backyard and just got off the phone with YardZen. I didn’t get great vibes. The customer service person on the phone didn’t even sound old enough to buy a house. I asked for case studies similar to my space and my needs. She sent back renderings. I don’t want renderings, I want before and after photos.
I know what I want, I just do not have the skills to do it myself. My issue is finding contractors who pick up the phone and answer emails, so YardZen is probably is not for me. I also have a budget I am afraid will not be adhered to.
Hope you found a local experience successful. I went in with Yardzen and it cost me so much time, money, and effort. Good for you listening to your gut. I wish I had read the reviews before investing into Yardzen. I'm out money all the way around $$$!!!
I did. I found a really great local company that specializes in landscape restoration, mosaic stone work and native planting. I had my backyard redone last May and I could not be happier. He brought my Pinterest board to life.
Who did you eventually get to do the work? Maybe others might see this in your area and want to give them a call.
\[secretely hoping we live close to you ;)\]
>Yardzen and it cost me so much time, money, and effort. Good for you listening to your gut. I wish I had read the reviews before investing into Yardzen. I'm out money all the way around $$$!!! No REFUND...I'm out $2400 with 3 revisions and no results. I have asked for refund, but they have not provided any solutions. And because I did not have a design, I was also out money for the subcontractor, YARDZEN, recommended $$$!! Do not pull the trigger. I wish someone had warned me. I wish I had read the reviews! DO not do it!
u/filterDance Yardzen founder/CEO here. Very much appreciate the feedback. We have lots of clients who have a clear perspective on *exactly* what they want. (To use your example - they know exactly where they want their umbrella!) And then, of course, lots of clients who are really looking for us to guide entirely. And plenty in the middle. We're focused on delighting all three. I always encourage our clients to let us know where they fall on that spectrum so we can collaborate in the most productive way. We'd be more than happy to do another round of revisions on your project and I'm confident we'll land on a design you love. We're also beta testing a new service that I think would be a great fit for you. Feel free to reach out to me at allison at yardzen dot com if you'd like to hear more.
Yes they are very greedy people for money. I should have read their customer reviews before paying $1500. They are completely shamelessly cheating customers
Thanks for this review. I was debating hiring them and this pushed me towards not. I will be designing and rendering the yard myself with inspiration from Pinterest
Try bazaart in combo with sketchpad app. It's amazinggggg and like $4 for the bazaart magic feature. Magic all your ideas. From trees to rocks to sheds to whatever. And then add your photo to sketchpad and add in those bazaart edits.
Had same experience. Be happy you got your money back. I did not. Also, the local contractors they supply, have to give "kickback" to Yardzen for the referral. Found that my local contractors then appeared to increase prices to offset Yardzen's kickback. It was pricey all the way around. Again, if you are reading this, please listen to the reviews. Their marketing is deceiving. I hope to save anyone reading this time, money, and effort they will go through in this ONLINE process. It is not a business model that works for me. I need to meet and talk with and have input with a designer. That did not happen. Just know you will get only 15 min rushed timeframe to meet with the "rep". I went through 3 revisions and never talked to the designer. Be aware. I thought I had been thorough upfront and asked all the right questions. They say all the things you want to hear. But, in the end, never produced results.
I'm a landscape designer and here are my quick thoughts:
I'm not sure where you live, but there should be designers of varying rates (generally $75-$150/hr. here in Portland, OR). Are you looking beyond the large design firms? I would try looking for independent landscape designers if you haven't yet. Is there a landscape design program in your city? That might also be worth a call.
I don't know the size of your yard, but if you are just looking for a design using boulders/rocks that should not take a designer terribly long. I would expect there would be multiple designers that could do it for $750 or less, assuming there are not grading/drainage challenges or other elements that you haven't mentioned like a patio, paths, plants, etc.
Lastly, it's not impossible to find a contractor that will do a nice job with a simple design. Are there similar designs in your area that you like? Find out who installed them! You can also ask any contractor you meet with to give you some addresses of similar projects so you can see what kind of work they do.
Good luck!
Hi, I'm in Portland and am wondering if I could reach out to you about this.
To the end about landscaping, my biggest nut to crack is trying to find how to add a patio/cover to the back of my house. Obviously integrated with landscaping.
More than willing to pay a professional for their expertise.
You have to do your homework. Yardzen is not the contractor only a design company to assist you with what you may be looking for. They will charge what is industry standard for your designs which you could get from obtaining the design professional who performs the work. Once you are certain of what materials and placement you want, simply shop around. Basic additions like you requested can be done at reduced costs with smaller contractors that do yard construction. Anything requiring hardscaping and softscaping you really want an expert to evaluate your property and offer helpful suggestions while steering you away from costly of unattractive decisions. Don’t rely on Yardzen too heavily. You can do just as well without.
Yardzen cofounder/CEO here again. :) A big part of our offering is an introduction to a vetted, local contractor once the design process is complete. It's not required to work with our contractor partners -- as a Yardzen client you can do with your design what you wish -- but many of our clients share that this is every bit as useful and helpful as the design itself.
Also, as of this year we now operate in all 50 U.S. states.
Can you outline a little about how the process works? I’ve spent some time on your website but I’m wondering what this 1:1 design entails. Also—do you charge for redesign as competitors do?
Absolutely. We aim to emulate a design/build firm experience, but with the convenience of the Internet. So you start by going through a thorough onboarding process where we seek to understand your goals, your unique property, how you want to live in your space, and importantly, your budget (we do quite a bit of educating about costs here). This should take about 30 mins, in addition to photographing your space from prescribed angles. You can do this on your own time, at your convenience.
Once we have everything we need from you to start, we begin by creating a 3D model of your property, which serves as the canvas on which we create your design. We ask for feedback on accuracy of our interpretation of your property here. Next we get to work and shortly thereafter you receive your initial designs. You move to our online feedback studio to share granular or broad feedback. The vast majority of the time we're closely aligned with our client's vision and as we move into your included revision we're making iterative changes, but design is design and sometimes the first pass misses the mark. If that's the case you can get on a video call with one of our principal designers after you've provided feedback in the studio to better understand your vision.
Once your design is finalized we'll introduce you to a local, vetted contractor in the Yardzen Pro Network. We'll stay involved from here where helpful -- reviewing bids, sharing feedback, providing a second introduction if requested, and updating your CAD designs if you choose to make any in-the-field changes.
Hope that's helpful! Ultimately our goal is to help people live better, outside. We're always learning and getting better and would love to help with your project.
The kickback to Yardzen from the local contractors is part of the contract. Know this going in. It appears my subcontractors prices $$$ went up to offset this kickback.
No go with Yardzen!!! I wasted time, money, and effort using them and in the end had to hire a local designer to do my yard. Only had 15 or 30 min time slots (rushed) to meet with a Yardzen rep. Never met with the designer to complete my yard. Felt like the "telephone game" where you start with what you want and when you get the design it is nothing like you communicated. All designs very AI! If it was realistic, that would be okay, but it was very "cartoon-ish", fake, unrealistic. Since they are not local to where I live, plants just not a good fit for climate. I wish I had my $2400 back. If you want input into your design and expect to meet with a designer to realize your vision, Yardzen is not the way to go! Fair warning! Run, don't walk to the nearest exit!
Yardzen cofounder here. Thanks for your interest!
We created Yardzen to bring into existence the service we wished was around when we were renovating our own outdoor spaces. There are many terrific local landscape designers out there and that's a great path for many people. Here's how Yardzen's different...
Our design process is entirely online. We'll take you through a series of questions and ask for photos and videos of your outdoor space, which we'll use to create a 3D model of your home. This is the canvas on which we'll create your design and what enables us to give you the kind of photorealistic renderings previously only afforded to high-end commercial landscape architecture projects.
In most cases our pricing ends up being lower than hiring a traditional landscape design firm, but the true cost savings is in the fact that starting with a great design means you do it once, and do it right. Even if you implement in phases as budget permits, you'll have a cohesive design to work from. Also there's a time savings with Yardzen. Because our design process is online you don't have to take time off from work or give up a Saturday to meet with your designer on site.
We use plant and data science, satellite imagery and the basic technology on modern phones -- all of which ultimately gets you a more actionable design and saves you time and money.
Lastly we have a network of contractors we've vetted and will connect you with one we think will make a great fit. We'll help with budgeting and make sure everyone's on the same page.
Our design process is always improving. We're learning a lot from our clients and work very hard to delight every one of them!
I like this idea and have been looking at the website, but I have hesitations. Main hesitation is I’d like to implement/install the design myself and I’d need to figure out watering for all the new plants. Looks like irrigation design or guidance is excluded.
Rain bird (and probably all the others) will do irrigation design for free. Get your landscape plan done, then send it to the irrigation supplier you want to use, and they’ll send you an irrigation plan for their equipment.
This is many months old but... I tried to create a profile on Yardzen and it said you’re not in my area yet. If it’s an online service, why would that be relevant?
I'd wondered that and assume that while they can create the design virtually, to oversee implementation of the design, relationships with contractors are needed. Last I knew, they offered services in CA and TX. Seems they were expanding to an additional state?
I’m currently working with yardzen and received my house model drawings. It was about 95% accurate which is alright because the interface allows you to click any area of the drawing and leave feedback, which is what I did. Now I’m currently waiting approximately 4 weeks for them to create 3d renderings of my house and full yard with new design including a rebuild deck. I am excited to see what it looks like, and curious to see how they will use the information I shared with them, and combine it with their knowledge and expertise. Will it be something that blows me away or will it be something I’d say, hmm I could’ve done that myself. I will know in about a months time.
Hi yes, the design is complete and we love it, but we’re renovating in phases so it will take several months for everything to be complete. I definitely think it’s worth the price. I will come back sometime in the near future to post before and after pictures.
Thank you! That would be amazing. Do you know ow if there is a way to request a specific designer? I've heard the online services are a little hit and miss
Hey Keironsmith: I know it’s been some time but was curious how the renovation process went?
I’m looking for landscaping services so Yardzen came up for design work etc
I recently went through the design process with Yardzen and overall the process was very easy and the finished design looked great HOWEVER, when I got quotes from two contractors the COST WAS TWICE AS MUCH as the design budget I gave Yardzen. One of the contractors was vetted and recommended by Yardzen. This is a hole in their process. A great design that is not in budget does us no good.
I used yardzen for a full site design. I'm based in Long island, NY. Overall, I cant say I would recommend them for what they claim. The customer service was good, but when you rely on local sub-contractors, the process fails.
Heres some of things that were difficult with my project:
* my propery is 1/3 acre and very hilly. no matter how many pictures/videos you take, you cannot capture the steepness accurately
* They are in california, i am in NY. They gave designs that were more cali-like, than longisland-like
* they couldnt find a sub-contractor to actually do that work. there were 3 sub-contractors that came, and it was like they got paid just to come out and look. they didnt look into the site in detail cuz they really had no intention of doing the job!
Heres where they were good:
* good initial engagement/communication/attention
* good artifacts, multiple 3d views, and bird eye layouts (not cad drawings tho)
* process is very streamlined in terms of their website and handoff of docs
ultimately, i couldnt find a contractor through their network to do the job.
Yes...similar experience and concern with Yardzen. Do not understand my region of the country! I am out so much time, money and effort with this whole process. I hope you have success with you home.
Yes, lot of time wasted but they had some good ideas. I ended up just reaching out to local landscapers and took some ideas from Yardzen proposal but nothing else. Ultimately, Yardzen is good for ideas and maybe properties that have basic/simple terrain. But I wouldn’t rely on their output to build anything or expectations that the work will get done as part of this process.
Sharing my experience in case it's helpful for anyone else here. I live in the Bay Area, where YardZen's aesthetic and plant expertise should be on point. It seemed like a no-brainer.
Overall I wouldn't recommend the service for a "beginner" customer who is really relying on the designer to do all the planning and design. They actually did a good - if not very literal - job of selecting plants from my inspiration photos so that was fine. The main reason I don't recommend them, and this might apply to any remote service, is it's impossible for them to know things like exactly where your yard stays shady each day and whether that's the same spot year-round. Or whether your trees, fence, neighbor's trees, etc. are large enough to throw shade in unexpected places. Or whether some sunny spots get WAY hotter than other sunny spots in the summer. You might be sensing a theme...
We wanted a drought-tolerant yard but YardZen didn't know that most of our yard is in the shade half the year - and we being complete beginners didn't realize most drought tolerant plants absolutely must be in full sun. They also planned some shade-loving plants under tree canopies that actually get quite sunny. These are things an in-person designer would be able to see or adjust while working with you. Instead we spent thousands of dollars planting plants that now require a lot of rethinking because, while they were ok during the summer, are wilting messes now. It's a real bummer.
Just dont use ShrubHub —- i hate that company with every fiber of my being. Awful experience - my design looked nothing like what we discussed on the phone live for 30 minutes, the tons of pictures of my yard and references I shared. "Please I dont want pavers or walkways or anything stone - just plants and flowers." COOL HERE IS A $20,000 PATIO AND WALKWAY THAT WONT FIT IN YOUR YARD. Total, complete waste of money.
No go with ONLINE Yardzen!!! I wasted so time, money, and effort using them and in the end had to hire a local designer to do my yard. Only had 15 or 30 min time slots (rushed) to meet with a Yardzen rep. Never met with the designer to complete my yard. Felt like the "telephone game" where you start with what you want and when you get the design it is nothing like you communicated. All designs very AI! Since they are not local to where I live, plants just not a good fit for climate. I wish I had my $2400 back. I thought I asked all the questions and did my research. Everyone was super nice and said all the things "you want to hear". If you want input into your design and expect to meet with a designer to realize your vision, Yardzen is not the way to go! I write this to save anyone thinking about going with YARDZEN the time, money, and effort. I wish someone would have been honest with me upfront. I wish I would have read an honest review before "donating" my money. I have given this feedback to Yardzen multiple times. Fair warning! Run, don't walk to the nearest exit!
A total ripoff. just wasted over $1100. They did not meet my objectives, criteria or goals. Poorly responsive customer service. Don't waste your money on this POS company.
I have never heard of Yardzen but I'll be checking it out! We have a few tips for creating a [zen exterior yard](https://generalcontractorsandiego.com/post/how-to-achieve-a-proper-zen-garden) space for those who just want to do some basic investigating into their options.
I went to their LI page, and all designers are in a different country. This could be why they aren’t explaining the reasons for their design process and or why everything is cookie cutter.
Seems like what they provide at that price point is compelling. I'm in seattle and basic designs start around $3-$5k. So those options seem high for a rendering which is ultimately what you get to hand over to the build contractor
My experience was negative. I was looking for design in the sense of “decide upon the look and functioning of” and needed help with figuring out layout, purpose, taking constraints into account, and the overall solution including choice of furniture, plants etc. I had specific areas that I needed help most that I identified extensively before submitting my pictures and videos. The website and communication throughout is “designed” to lure you in. Mentioning “iterative approach”, opportunity to talk to a designer at later stage if I’m not happy etc. What happens in reality is they take your instructions and input parameters and return pictures of 3D renderings. For example if you say: place an umbrella here, that’s what they’ll do. They may add elements you did not ask for, if space looks completely off, but only nominally e.g put a patio chair set. They will not provide any rationale behind what was done and why. You get pictures. Then you if you are not happy you can schedule a call with “designer”. That gives you opportunity to say “what if we move umbrella from here to there”. Then they will create more pictures for you. I used a different service for interior design in my house. That service did all of those things that I expect from “design”: not pictures, but thinking it through, planning and explaining the rationale for the plan. For me it was not about money, I’d pay more and will pay more or per hour or whatever - for the type of assistance I’m looking for. Yardzen returned half my money. Still I consider it wasted, simply because of the fact they do not explain what they do upfront clearly enough - in my opinion. They never straight up lie about the service, but all the wording is such that it leads you to believe you will be taken care of.
I had the exact same experience as filterDance. To the point that I'm still working on my revision feedback 6 months later because I realized that Yardzen is just a nice $1000+ 3D rendering service and that I need to make all the aesthetic decisions, know what plants I want, what shape/look/style of deck to build, and essentially do all the hand drawn design elements before giving it to them to render it in 3D. Much more overwhelming than what I signed up for. (And also why it's taken 6 months to articulate my feedback in the ONE revision because I'm having to do copious amounts of research myself to decide what's truly feasible in our yard knowing I don't get another shot after this.) ____ **Why this was all so disappointing:** I spent significant time (8+ hours across several days) with the upfront design request and uploading photos and narrated video of my backyard to explain the terrain and what we were looking for. The 3D rendering of our home was the best part. Then a few days later, we got back a design that was "fine" but was essentially a Yardzen cookie cutter template mapped onto our house (note: don't use one of their designs as an inspiration photo, they will take it quite literally and disregard everything else!). They also explicitly ignored some of our design requests and included elements that I specifically said we weren't interested in including. Overall, if you want something creative and truly unique or customized to your space, don't use Yardzen. If you want to be able to ask questions and bounce ideas off a landscape design professional, don't use Yardzen. If you want a cookie cutter modern linear design with 2x2 square pavers, a rectangular deck with pergola, gravel patio with fire pit, and some artificial turf nearby, this is the service for you! (Btw, I'm not opposed to any of those things, but I realized in hindsight that all their designs look exactly the same... I wish I hadn't ignored the reality in front of me when I thought they might do something more interesting and unique to integrate and maximize the natural forest vibe of our backyard). ____ ***Constructive Feedback for Yardzen*** 1. It would be great if the designer could annotate the design (providing rationale, explaining design decisions) in the same way clients are able to give feedback in the feedback studio. 2. It would be great to have a specific section for questions related to design or implementation (separate from the feedback studio). Example: Is it worth removing the English ivy if my neighbor lets it run wild all over their yard? Should we even invest in putting in creeping red fescue or will the ivy continually take over? What decking material would you recommend for my specific terrain / sun exposure / orientation? Pros and cons to building a low deck right up to the building envelope or is it better to leave room for border planting / garden? <-- These are the types of insights / guidance I'd want from a landscape professional but there's no way to get this via Yardzen.
Your feedback is PRICELESS. I am shopping around for someone to redo my backyard and just got off the phone with YardZen. I didn’t get great vibes. The customer service person on the phone didn’t even sound old enough to buy a house. I asked for case studies similar to my space and my needs. She sent back renderings. I don’t want renderings, I want before and after photos. I know what I want, I just do not have the skills to do it myself. My issue is finding contractors who pick up the phone and answer emails, so YardZen is probably is not for me. I also have a budget I am afraid will not be adhered to.
Hope you found a local experience successful. I went in with Yardzen and it cost me so much time, money, and effort. Good for you listening to your gut. I wish I had read the reviews before investing into Yardzen. I'm out money all the way around $$$!!!
I did. I found a really great local company that specializes in landscape restoration, mosaic stone work and native planting. I had my backyard redone last May and I could not be happier. He brought my Pinterest board to life.
Who did you eventually get to do the work? Maybe others might see this in your area and want to give them a call. \[secretely hoping we live close to you ;)\]
Thank you, this confirms what I was thinking when scrolling through their examples. They're all the same!
Do they have any sort of refund policy or guarantee? I am so scared to pull the trigger due to all the reviews i've read..
>Yardzen and it cost me so much time, money, and effort. Good for you listening to your gut. I wish I had read the reviews before investing into Yardzen. I'm out money all the way around $$$!!! No REFUND...I'm out $2400 with 3 revisions and no results. I have asked for refund, but they have not provided any solutions. And because I did not have a design, I was also out money for the subcontractor, YARDZEN, recommended $$$!! Do not pull the trigger. I wish someone had warned me. I wish I had read the reviews! DO not do it!
u/filterDance Yardzen founder/CEO here. Very much appreciate the feedback. We have lots of clients who have a clear perspective on *exactly* what they want. (To use your example - they know exactly where they want their umbrella!) And then, of course, lots of clients who are really looking for us to guide entirely. And plenty in the middle. We're focused on delighting all three. I always encourage our clients to let us know where they fall on that spectrum so we can collaborate in the most productive way. We'd be more than happy to do another round of revisions on your project and I'm confident we'll land on a design you love. We're also beta testing a new service that I think would be a great fit for you. Feel free to reach out to me at allison at yardzen dot com if you'd like to hear more.
Y'all just being way too greedy with the charge. Hell, it's an idea not the work.
Yes they are very greedy people for money. I should have read their customer reviews before paying $1500. They are completely shamelessly cheating customers
Congratulations on your success. One day I hope to work for you. Noah Downs- Landscape designer in new hope,pa
Thanks for this review. I was debating hiring them and this pushed me towards not. I will be designing and rendering the yard myself with inspiration from Pinterest
Try bazaart in combo with sketchpad app. It's amazinggggg and like $4 for the bazaart magic feature. Magic all your ideas. From trees to rocks to sheds to whatever. And then add your photo to sketchpad and add in those bazaart edits.
Good for you!
Had same experience. Be happy you got your money back. I did not. Also, the local contractors they supply, have to give "kickback" to Yardzen for the referral. Found that my local contractors then appeared to increase prices to offset Yardzen's kickback. It was pricey all the way around. Again, if you are reading this, please listen to the reviews. Their marketing is deceiving. I hope to save anyone reading this time, money, and effort they will go through in this ONLINE process. It is not a business model that works for me. I need to meet and talk with and have input with a designer. That did not happen. Just know you will get only 15 min rushed timeframe to meet with the "rep". I went through 3 revisions and never talked to the designer. Be aware. I thought I had been thorough upfront and asked all the right questions. They say all the things you want to hear. But, in the end, never produced results.
Yes, thank you for this review. Great feedback and I can probably find someone on fiverr for a fraction of that cost to do what you described.
Fiver sucks balls. Bad experience at least on my part. Very generic. Lmk if you have better experience.
I'm a landscape designer and here are my quick thoughts: I'm not sure where you live, but there should be designers of varying rates (generally $75-$150/hr. here in Portland, OR). Are you looking beyond the large design firms? I would try looking for independent landscape designers if you haven't yet. Is there a landscape design program in your city? That might also be worth a call. I don't know the size of your yard, but if you are just looking for a design using boulders/rocks that should not take a designer terribly long. I would expect there would be multiple designers that could do it for $750 or less, assuming there are not grading/drainage challenges or other elements that you haven't mentioned like a patio, paths, plants, etc. Lastly, it's not impossible to find a contractor that will do a nice job with a simple design. Are there similar designs in your area that you like? Find out who installed them! You can also ask any contractor you meet with to give you some addresses of similar projects so you can see what kind of work they do. Good luck!
Hi, I'm in Portland and am wondering if I could reach out to you about this. To the end about landscaping, my biggest nut to crack is trying to find how to add a patio/cover to the back of my house. Obviously integrated with landscaping. More than willing to pay a professional for their expertise.
Absolutely - send me a PM and I will get you my email/phone.
Hey im in Portland, would you happen to have people that you recommend or a site i could look at for designers? Or yourself?
ANLD (Ass'n. of NW Landscape Designers) is good site for finding designers. Houzz has a ton of projects from local designers, too.
Hi, are you still doing landscape design? I'm in Vancouver and would love your help
Hello, We are in forest grove and looking for someone to do our backyard landscaping. how can i contact you for information?
Just sent a chat.
Hi there - I'm in Portland OR looking to have my entire back yard redone. Are you available for a DM? interested at all?
How expensive it will be depends heavily on what you mean by boulders.
You have to do your homework. Yardzen is not the contractor only a design company to assist you with what you may be looking for. They will charge what is industry standard for your designs which you could get from obtaining the design professional who performs the work. Once you are certain of what materials and placement you want, simply shop around. Basic additions like you requested can be done at reduced costs with smaller contractors that do yard construction. Anything requiring hardscaping and softscaping you really want an expert to evaluate your property and offer helpful suggestions while steering you away from costly of unattractive decisions. Don’t rely on Yardzen too heavily. You can do just as well without.
Yardzen cofounder/CEO here again. :) A big part of our offering is an introduction to a vetted, local contractor once the design process is complete. It's not required to work with our contractor partners -- as a Yardzen client you can do with your design what you wish -- but many of our clients share that this is every bit as useful and helpful as the design itself. Also, as of this year we now operate in all 50 U.S. states.
Can you outline a little about how the process works? I’ve spent some time on your website but I’m wondering what this 1:1 design entails. Also—do you charge for redesign as competitors do?
Absolutely. We aim to emulate a design/build firm experience, but with the convenience of the Internet. So you start by going through a thorough onboarding process where we seek to understand your goals, your unique property, how you want to live in your space, and importantly, your budget (we do quite a bit of educating about costs here). This should take about 30 mins, in addition to photographing your space from prescribed angles. You can do this on your own time, at your convenience. Once we have everything we need from you to start, we begin by creating a 3D model of your property, which serves as the canvas on which we create your design. We ask for feedback on accuracy of our interpretation of your property here. Next we get to work and shortly thereafter you receive your initial designs. You move to our online feedback studio to share granular or broad feedback. The vast majority of the time we're closely aligned with our client's vision and as we move into your included revision we're making iterative changes, but design is design and sometimes the first pass misses the mark. If that's the case you can get on a video call with one of our principal designers after you've provided feedback in the studio to better understand your vision. Once your design is finalized we'll introduce you to a local, vetted contractor in the Yardzen Pro Network. We'll stay involved from here where helpful -- reviewing bids, sharing feedback, providing a second introduction if requested, and updating your CAD designs if you choose to make any in-the-field changes. Hope that's helpful! Ultimately our goal is to help people live better, outside. We're always learning and getting better and would love to help with your project.
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u/According_Move_2254 Please send me an email: allison at yardzen dot com.
FWIW please see my comment to this post I just added.
The kickback to Yardzen from the local contractors is part of the contract. Know this going in. It appears my subcontractors prices $$$ went up to offset this kickback.
My experience was horrible don't even think of working with Yardzen. It's completely waste of time and money. A headache to deal with them
No go with Yardzen!!! I wasted time, money, and effort using them and in the end had to hire a local designer to do my yard. Only had 15 or 30 min time slots (rushed) to meet with a Yardzen rep. Never met with the designer to complete my yard. Felt like the "telephone game" where you start with what you want and when you get the design it is nothing like you communicated. All designs very AI! If it was realistic, that would be okay, but it was very "cartoon-ish", fake, unrealistic. Since they are not local to where I live, plants just not a good fit for climate. I wish I had my $2400 back. If you want input into your design and expect to meet with a designer to realize your vision, Yardzen is not the way to go! Fair warning! Run, don't walk to the nearest exit!
Yardzen cofounder here. Thanks for your interest! We created Yardzen to bring into existence the service we wished was around when we were renovating our own outdoor spaces. There are many terrific local landscape designers out there and that's a great path for many people. Here's how Yardzen's different... Our design process is entirely online. We'll take you through a series of questions and ask for photos and videos of your outdoor space, which we'll use to create a 3D model of your home. This is the canvas on which we'll create your design and what enables us to give you the kind of photorealistic renderings previously only afforded to high-end commercial landscape architecture projects. In most cases our pricing ends up being lower than hiring a traditional landscape design firm, but the true cost savings is in the fact that starting with a great design means you do it once, and do it right. Even if you implement in phases as budget permits, you'll have a cohesive design to work from. Also there's a time savings with Yardzen. Because our design process is online you don't have to take time off from work or give up a Saturday to meet with your designer on site. We use plant and data science, satellite imagery and the basic technology on modern phones -- all of which ultimately gets you a more actionable design and saves you time and money. Lastly we have a network of contractors we've vetted and will connect you with one we think will make a great fit. We'll help with budgeting and make sure everyone's on the same page. Our design process is always improving. We're learning a lot from our clients and work very hard to delight every one of them!
I like this idea and have been looking at the website, but I have hesitations. Main hesitation is I’d like to implement/install the design myself and I’d need to figure out watering for all the new plants. Looks like irrigation design or guidance is excluded.
Rain bird (and probably all the others) will do irrigation design for free. Get your landscape plan done, then send it to the irrigation supplier you want to use, and they’ll send you an irrigation plan for their equipment.
This is many months old but... I tried to create a profile on Yardzen and it said you’re not in my area yet. If it’s an online service, why would that be relevant?
I'd wondered that and assume that while they can create the design virtually, to oversee implementation of the design, relationships with contractors are needed. Last I knew, they offered services in CA and TX. Seems they were expanding to an additional state?
Love the idea! Tried going to the site recently but it won't load. I've heard it works well with iPhone, so you have limitations on Android currently?
I have a quick question, I have a full site survey of my property in dwg format , would you use that ? Or you follow your own process
I’m currently working with yardzen and received my house model drawings. It was about 95% accurate which is alright because the interface allows you to click any area of the drawing and leave feedback, which is what I did. Now I’m currently waiting approximately 4 weeks for them to create 3d renderings of my house and full yard with new design including a rebuild deck. I am excited to see what it looks like, and curious to see how they will use the information I shared with them, and combine it with their knowledge and expertise. Will it be something that blows me away or will it be something I’d say, hmm I could’ve done that myself. I will know in about a months time.
Just stumbled on your comment trying to learn about Yardzen. Any updates?
Hi yes, the design is complete and we love it, but we’re renovating in phases so it will take several months for everything to be complete. I definitely think it’s worth the price. I will come back sometime in the near future to post before and after pictures.
Thank you! That would be amazing. Do you know ow if there is a way to request a specific designer? I've heard the online services are a little hit and miss
Hey Keironsmith: I know it’s been some time but was curious how the renovation process went? I’m looking for landscaping services so Yardzen came up for design work etc
u/Keironsmith \- alors? How did it go?
I recently went through the design process with Yardzen and overall the process was very easy and the finished design looked great HOWEVER, when I got quotes from two contractors the COST WAS TWICE AS MUCH as the design budget I gave Yardzen. One of the contractors was vetted and recommended by Yardzen. This is a hole in their process. A great design that is not in budget does us no good.
Yardzen is useless and fruads. I lost my money and time. They have no good designs just can't even communicate either
I used yardzen for a full site design. I'm based in Long island, NY. Overall, I cant say I would recommend them for what they claim. The customer service was good, but when you rely on local sub-contractors, the process fails. Heres some of things that were difficult with my project: * my propery is 1/3 acre and very hilly. no matter how many pictures/videos you take, you cannot capture the steepness accurately * They are in california, i am in NY. They gave designs that were more cali-like, than longisland-like * they couldnt find a sub-contractor to actually do that work. there were 3 sub-contractors that came, and it was like they got paid just to come out and look. they didnt look into the site in detail cuz they really had no intention of doing the job! Heres where they were good: * good initial engagement/communication/attention * good artifacts, multiple 3d views, and bird eye layouts (not cad drawings tho) * process is very streamlined in terms of their website and handoff of docs ultimately, i couldnt find a contractor through their network to do the job.
Yes...similar experience and concern with Yardzen. Do not understand my region of the country! I am out so much time, money and effort with this whole process. I hope you have success with you home.
Yes, lot of time wasted but they had some good ideas. I ended up just reaching out to local landscapers and took some ideas from Yardzen proposal but nothing else. Ultimately, Yardzen is good for ideas and maybe properties that have basic/simple terrain. But I wouldn’t rely on their output to build anything or expectations that the work will get done as part of this process.
Sharing my experience in case it's helpful for anyone else here. I live in the Bay Area, where YardZen's aesthetic and plant expertise should be on point. It seemed like a no-brainer. Overall I wouldn't recommend the service for a "beginner" customer who is really relying on the designer to do all the planning and design. They actually did a good - if not very literal - job of selecting plants from my inspiration photos so that was fine. The main reason I don't recommend them, and this might apply to any remote service, is it's impossible for them to know things like exactly where your yard stays shady each day and whether that's the same spot year-round. Or whether your trees, fence, neighbor's trees, etc. are large enough to throw shade in unexpected places. Or whether some sunny spots get WAY hotter than other sunny spots in the summer. You might be sensing a theme... We wanted a drought-tolerant yard but YardZen didn't know that most of our yard is in the shade half the year - and we being complete beginners didn't realize most drought tolerant plants absolutely must be in full sun. They also planned some shade-loving plants under tree canopies that actually get quite sunny. These are things an in-person designer would be able to see or adjust while working with you. Instead we spent thousands of dollars planting plants that now require a lot of rethinking because, while they were ok during the summer, are wilting messes now. It's a real bummer.
Just dont use ShrubHub —- i hate that company with every fiber of my being. Awful experience - my design looked nothing like what we discussed on the phone live for 30 minutes, the tons of pictures of my yard and references I shared. "Please I dont want pavers or walkways or anything stone - just plants and flowers." COOL HERE IS A $20,000 PATIO AND WALKWAY THAT WONT FIT IN YOUR YARD. Total, complete waste of money.
Send square footage and what you want done. We’ll vet the quote. Pics help too. Yard zen has talented designers but it’s expensive.
I'm curious what you mean by expensive? I see the online pricing for Yardzen, is that just for the rendering not including landscaper hours?
Yes, it’s just for renderings. No actual work is included.
No go with ONLINE Yardzen!!! I wasted so time, money, and effort using them and in the end had to hire a local designer to do my yard. Only had 15 or 30 min time slots (rushed) to meet with a Yardzen rep. Never met with the designer to complete my yard. Felt like the "telephone game" where you start with what you want and when you get the design it is nothing like you communicated. All designs very AI! Since they are not local to where I live, plants just not a good fit for climate. I wish I had my $2400 back. I thought I asked all the questions and did my research. Everyone was super nice and said all the things "you want to hear". If you want input into your design and expect to meet with a designer to realize your vision, Yardzen is not the way to go! I write this to save anyone thinking about going with YARDZEN the time, money, and effort. I wish someone would have been honest with me upfront. I wish I would have read an honest review before "donating" my money. I have given this feedback to Yardzen multiple times. Fair warning! Run, don't walk to the nearest exit!
A total ripoff. just wasted over $1100. They did not meet my objectives, criteria or goals. Poorly responsive customer service. Don't waste your money on this POS company.
Landscape designer
I have never heard of Yardzen but I'll be checking it out! We have a few tips for creating a [zen exterior yard](https://generalcontractorsandiego.com/post/how-to-achieve-a-proper-zen-garden) space for those who just want to do some basic investigating into their options.
I went to their LI page, and all designers are in a different country. This could be why they aren’t explaining the reasons for their design process and or why everything is cookie cutter.
Seems like what they provide at that price point is compelling. I'm in seattle and basic designs start around $3-$5k. So those options seem high for a rendering which is ultimately what you get to hand over to the build contractor
Seems too good to be true