Outer Space Landscape Architecture

Outer Space does great work. They provided me with great plans and I love the result. During the process, they listened well, showed new ideas based on my input and also politely recommended alternative suggestions when mine showed my inexperience in the area of landscaping. They selected a beautiful set of drought tolerant plants that look great. They are real pros.
Their design and work included measuring the site (very accurate) hardscape, carpentry, lighting, planting and full set of drawings with build out details. I would say their pricing is fair, not lowest or highest from bids I received. If you like their work in their portfolio, they would be a great bet to provide a design for you and I’ve already recommended them to neighbors that have inquired.

Jude and Laura designed our dream garden. We did not make it happen for budgetary reasons, so they came back, trimmed the plan, and gave us a dream garden we could afford!
They are a pleasure to work with !

Jude and Laura were the best. A fussy friend who had worked with a number of landscape designers before going with Jude and Laura recommended them to me and I’m so grateful.
The backyard was a typical San Francisco challenge — small space with a slope requiring three retaining walls. I had a small budget but they didn’t make me feel bad for sticking to it and they created something really beautiful. I’m an Aussie married to a Mexican and upon request their design incorporated both the most gorgeous Australian and Mexican flora. Now we have family meals outside and it gives me so much pleasure having breakfast out there by myself or just potting around in my own little vege patch.
Jude and Laura really helped make that happen. They got the plans to us quickly, recommended a great company to do the labor and they were very trustworthy and responsive. Thanks ladies!

I love Jude and Laura and Outer Space LA! I waited 10 years to landscape our front and back yards and it was worth the wait to find them. The initial consult is fabulous; they LISTEN to all of your needs and wants and ask the right questions to make sure they design according to your needs and wants. They also provide honest feedback in your quest for the ideal landscape. I searched high and low and looked at many landscape designers/​architects and their work was the most unique. Once I had visited their website and had seen their designs I could not dream of using anyone else. Their design was perfect and their follow through and responsiveness is fantastic. Our house has now doubled in size since Laura and Jude made our outdoor space functional and inviting.
5 stars!
Laura
Oakland, CA

Jude and Laura are amazing. We gave them a wish list of things we definitely wanted, things that would be nice to have, and pipe dreams. When they came back to us with the plans, they encompassed everything we listed, save for one of the pipe dreams:). I honestly couldn’t believe how much their first draft of plans looked like «us.»
They have an amazing ability to listen to the client and turn their wishes into reality. The design they did for us is simply gorgeous, and everyone we know who has seen our yard and roof deck is blown away by the design. We love our outdoor space now, and it has truly changed our lives as we spend so much more time out there now.
Jude and Laura are really professional and communicated with us really well. We loved working with them.

We also immediately fell in love with Outer Space Landscape Architecture’s designs. But unlike the previous poster, we also immediately fell in love with Jude and Laura.
From our first meeting Laura and Jude were unbelievably easy and absolutely wonderful to work with. We contacted them about redesigning our backyard and within a few days they came down for a site visit and to hear our thoughts. What impressed me the most was how they quickly understood our likes and dislikes — they were masterful at reading us and translating that into a cohesive plan. They also respected our budget, and did not push us out of our comfort zone in the slightest.
One good example of this was how I was dead set on having a big wooden deck. As Laura explained that would eat up a considerable part of out budget, she also said to me, «Do you think you might be attracted to the feeling of the wood, and perhaps it’s not an actual deck you’re looking for?» She was spot on. They suggested custom wood storage as well as a wood bench and in the end I have the exact feeling I wanted and it is far better than any deck would have been.
We gave Laura and Jude a pretty extensive wish list — we have 3 kids ranging from age 4 to 16 and while we wanted places for them to be kids we wanted it to feel «adult» as well. We wanted storage. We wanted seating. We wanted a custom playhouse. Oh and we have a fairly small yard. The got it all, and more, Jude and Laura created the perfect «zoned» backyard without feeling like our yard was cut up into sections. It has an incredible flow to go along with an absolutely incredible design.
We didn’t know much about plants and couldn’t really explain what we liked or didn’t like so we all went to a nursery and walked around while my husband and I pointed to what we liked and didn’t like and we talked about where things might go. It was invaluable — they absolutely nailed the soft-​scape part of our yard as well.
We took Jude and Laura’s suggestion of a fire pit, and they were right — since our yard was completed last summer we are out there — almost regardless of the weather — sitting on our custom bench, in front of the fire pit, roasting marshmallows with the kids or sharing a glass of wine just my husband and I.
Our backyard is stunning. We love it. Our friends and family are so impressed. But the real magic is how It has transformed how we as a family live– we spend more time outside, and much more time together now. And we owe that all to Jude and Laura.

Five stars for design, Zero Stars for professionalism. I contacted Outer Space because I ran across their website and the style of work is very consistent with the goal for our property and our personal style. The designs on their site are A+. They are by far the nicest I have seen.
I sent an initial email asking if they had worked in our area (if you live here you know our City is a pain!) I then asked for a returned phone call since we were looking at an engineered wall and some pretty complicated landscaping issues. Unfortunately, my inquiry was not worthy of a phone call, but we did go back and forth via email for a few days. (All of which could have been eliminated with a phone call. That would have saved quite a bit of time on both ends.) I was quoted 30 – 40 hours for the project… however, Jude had never SEEN our property and had no idea what level of research I had done independently. That was a huge turn off. How can you quote hours when you have not seen the property?
That tells me the hourly rate is not indicative of true hours worked, but what his time is worth. If you know your software, you are familiar with your climate zones and are a hard worker with integrity, the rate should be based on actual hours worked. I have researched landscaping for over 3 years, have a diagram of my yard already drawn, have my plant list ready and basically needed someone to draw it up so my hubby could build, we could hardscape then plant over a 2 year period. I cannot see that taking 30 – 40 hours for Phase 1 and Phase 2 plans and Jude never bothered to call me so we could talk about it.
That being said, they do have gorgeous work, but I personally feel I can find an equivalent elsewhere.