Stout Design Build

Unprofessional. Not worth your time. Go elsewhere. There’s plenty of options. Absolutely no customer service with this place.

As a landscape professional, who works with many designers and has an opportunity to see dozens of gardens a months, I can tell you that Stout Design Build is undoubtedly among the very best out there. They do it all: the garden, hardscape, bbq’s, water features, irrigation, lighting you name it.
They are very professional and extremely knowledgable about sustainability, drought tolerance and, best of all, beautiful and healthy landscapes. I’ve seen them transform sad, tired looking landscapes into virtual paradises for both low budget and high budget clients. Sustainability is the name of the game with them and all of their landscapes are eco-​friendly and habitat building. They have a broad knowledge of California native and drought tolerant plants, but their landscapes never look dry or sparse, like so many «sustainable» landscapes do. They create spaces are lush and colorful and make you want to spend time there.
If you are looking to create a stunning landscape that is as environmentally friendly as it is beautiful, this is the team who can make it happen. Highest recommendation I can give.

Gabrielle Fladd was exactly what I was looking for in a designer. I believe she shares my taste for no-​nonsense, beautiful, and sustainable design. Choosing Stout Design-​Build was not the cheapest option, but it was the most affordable option for all the deal-​breaker needs I had. We had inherited a lawn and needed to overhaul this to create a front and back yard with drought tolerant planting, intuitive hardscaping, and a generally more inviting outdoor space for us, for our visitors, and for our neighborhood wildlife. No way was I going to do any less than an environmentally responsible design that would be low-​maintenance, and I know Gabrielle felt the same. Furthermore, Gabrielle listened to and understood any concerns that came up for me along the way. She made problem-​solving alterations to her original design that suited me perfectly. The landscaping team who did the labor were friendly, respectful, and had a sense of duty and responsibility. Details and the clean-​up at the end were tended to. I think Jacinto, the foreman, set a good tone from the beginning. We were, unfortunately, under a time constraint to finish the job, and the team pulled through for us with no complaints. I can’t wait to continue on with the second phase of our design!

My family and I moved into a home in Sherman Oaks that stands on a double lot, a rarity these days in Los Angeles. This home was built in the early 1940’s and has never had children reside in it. The outdoor space is all flat and with no less than 20 mature trees on it, not to mention shrubbery, roses and tons of lawn space. Absolutely magical, but not at all designed with children in mind or water conservation. This is where Tom came in with fantastic ideas. He took out the rose garden and created a beautiful platform for a jungle gym, covering the area with rubber mulch, so that kids have a soft landing. He reclaimed much of the grass lawn for a succulents garden and drought tolerant plants. And most importantly, he designed a drip system that weaves around the property, so that we do not waste any water. He started us on composting, which we have managed successfully. Tom also created a vegetable garden that my children adore and work on all the time. He also built inconspicuous enclosures for our trash cans and the pool equipment. AND he installed a basketball hoop and extended our driveway, so that the kids had more space to play. Basically, our huge yard was redesigned to fit our family’s values of conservation, ecology, and play. People LOVE coming to our home to play. We host lots of family friendly parties, knowing that our space was designed as a family park. Thank you, Tom and team.

After interviewing 3 different landscape design companies, we chose Stout Design Build to do a complete makeover of our entire front and backyard. We are extremely thrilled with the results and our space has been transformed. Our designer Gabrielle Fladd, Tom Stout and his entire crew did an amazing job.
Our project was quite extensive and included the removal of plants and grass in the front and back, concrete and wood deck removal, pouring a new concrete patio, installation of a gas line for a fire table and bbq, a custom concrete counter and built-​in bench, a natural sandbox built with boulders and logs, and installation of all plants. It took almost 3 months to complete our project, but now our yard is an oasis that we enjoy with our friends, family, and 2 children.
I have read some comments about the design consultation fee, but we felt it was worth the cost. We didn’t see it as a fee just to get an estimate. It was an actual design session where our designer gave us useful tips and design advice specifically for our space. We could have taken those tips and implemented them ourselves, but we liked her ideas so much we hired them to create our landscape design and implement it.
Like any construction project there were a few bumps along the way, but they resolved them quickly and made it right. They care about the quality of their work and want to make their customers happy. We still have more work to do on our front yard (phase 2 of our project) and won’t hesitate to hire them again.

Basically: the proposal process was so slow, unorganized and off (including items I didn’t ask for, excluding significant items I did), I just had no idea how to trust that they would be able to get a project done at all, let alone on time and on budget.
To get a bid you have to pay $ 125, so this is not a free proposal process. Now I’m more than happy to pay that as it’s a big project and I want the pros to advise me. Bring it on. But *especially* if you’re making me pay for it, I do expect your proposal process to be tight and accurate, and frankly it was simply awful compared with 3 other companies we had bid out the same project and whose bids were free (not to mention considerably better priced).
I contacted Stout based on the highly rated reviews, extensive research on Houzz and online, as well as their own site: they’re eco-​oriented, do everything in-​house (permitting, construction, landscaping), and deliver great-​looking stuff. All the Unilocal reviews were great, too, and in particular about Tom himself.
Unfortunately it seems the team he’s hired and is letting do most of his site visits/​quoting/​bidding is not doing his firm or his name justice. Based on my experience with 2 senior designers in the firm for significant interior and exterior work, I cannot relate to those other Unilocal reviews at all.
I was very clear on the phone that this concerned a full remodel of front and back yard and that we had a big budget. This was not a small project that wouldn’t be worth their while.
So what did the $ 125 ‘consultation fee’ buy me?
A price quote, possibly for my yard (possibly someone else’s), that took a month to receive.
Another reviewer wrote they they could have implemented the beautiful vision presented to them during the ‘consultation fee’ phase. All I can say is ‘Lucky her/​him’. We got: no design ideas. No vision conveyed. No drawing. No specifics. Just an Excel sheet with line items and a big price tag. That’s all. And again, that took a month:
It took a 1 week to get a person to even call me back to set up an appointment. It took 1 more week to get a person to come out and see the site/​listen to our hopes and wishes. It took 2 weeks from that to get a proposal with initial pricing. At that point we’re a month in and the proposal we received is almost like it’s for another site; it includes things I didn’t ask for and we never discussed, and excludes several major, key components that we did discuss and are crucial to our plans.
They readily accept the error, but it takes another week to get a revised bid back. And by then I’m just so concerned about the lack of attention, lack of urgency, lack of quality and planning, that I decided I really can’t put a full project and budget in their hands. That is not going to go well.
I’ll always love the pictures of their finished work, but the process to get there was just not one I was willing to spend, and risk, any (more) time and money on.

Can I just say Tom does amazing work. Visited my friends house in Culver City and it was breathtaking. I can’t begin to explain… it was just… wow. Check out his website for visuals.

One word: SPECTACULAR.
Tom did everything, top to bottom, front to back, including design, demo, trenching, running gas lines to BBQ and fire bowl, installing a satellite-​based auto watering system, low voltage led lighting, revamping our pond, ripping out the front yard and installing rain water catch basins, cool low water plantings and even a vegetable garden in front. Everything is ringed by the most amazing young trees.
OK. Yes the job did take longer than anticipated, and yes it went over budget… But that is outweighed by the fact that now we have an amazing, low water habitat for ourselves, birds and fish that never fails to stun our visitors. Tom listened to us and found out what was important to our vegan lifestyle and delivered. Plus we’ll never have to pay a gardener again, so in the long-​run it’ll save us money.
5 stars Tom. Thank you!

I just did a major re-​landscape of my front yard, and Stout Landscape did the entire design and supervision of the project. When I was interviewing various candidates, I was impressed by Tom’s vision of my front yard and the various elements we could employ to enhance it’s design, while incorporating elements of environmental conservation. He offered several interesting, and creative, proposals for my consideration, while still emphasizing the practical aspects, such as water conservation, the position of my home vs. my neighbors’, and local soil and weather conditions.
I ended up doing quite a bit of work myself, preparing the site (mainly «demo» and trench digging), using Stout’s design as a guide. Then Tom and his staff recommended and brought in «the pro’s» to do the major work of selecting the plants (with my input), doing the earth moving, planting and irrigation. He even assisted with a redesign of my driveway to complement the new landscaping. Tom personally came out several times to supervise the subcontractors, to make helpful suggestions and modifications to their work, that really made a difference to the final look.
I can’t say enough how pleased I am with the result. And we collaborated all along the way to make sure the cost was within the budget I had set for the project. I’ve done a lot of projects at my home using a lot of different contractors — Tom was among the best I’ve worked with. I give him my highest recommendation.

We had a great experience working with Stout Landscape. Tom is creative, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. He listened to what we wanted, saw what we had, and came up with great ideas to enhance our yard. We need to redesign a few areas as well make the whole yard less thirsty. Between adding a drip system throughout most of the yard and mulch in all of the beds, we have greatly reduce our water usage/​bills. He added more edible plants/​trees throughout the yard, and he had great ideas for more kid-​friendly spaces– hidden spots, paths, and a water/​sand play area. He used existing plantings either where they were, and transplanted some to areas they were better suited for based on size and water/​sun requirements. We have been thrilled with the results!

Tom is passionate about his business and it shows. I recently viewed his work in Venice and I was amazed with the space. He uses all green products such as bamboo flooring. Many of the rooms have a place to plug in an ipods and hidden speakers. Amazing roof top deck… great space! I’d love to organize your clients closets :)

I have a private rooftop terrace which requires a climb of four flights of stairs in my place. I had always wanted to have taller plants and trees up there but saw no way that was possible. I had heard about Tom through a friend of mine and gave him a call. He came, checked out my place and assured me he could make it work.
Not only did he make it work, but it came out better then I could have imagined.
Thanks again for turning the impossible into possible.
Highly Recommended!

My parents were having trouble finding a landscaper that could provide them with the right solutions for a reasonable price. Tom was recommended to me and I put him in touch with my dad. After a 30 minute conversation Tom was able to provide my dad with simple, inexpensive solutions for no cost. He gave his expertise to help my dad without asking for anything in return. I know that soon I will hire Tom bc of his expertise and his ability to see the big picture.
I highly recommend his advice and services!

Overall very solid and professional and highly educated. I did shop around a lot and finalized on Stout Landscaping. I was able to see his work in Culver city and at a residential place in Venice. 818 crestmore pl. I highly recommend this– before you sign anything with anyone go visit a couple of there customers.
I dealt with Tom Stout personally. He was quick to respond to any of my many many questions.
Mark