Kim Rooney Landscape Architecture

Cost of Kim’s services for planting a ~1500 sq ft hillside: 20-25k Cost of construction: 40k For professionals who are providing a long-term service, any negative reviews are red flags because it indicates that they were not professional in resolving issues privately with their client. In our case, Kim was defensive, made many costly mistakes, and then billed us for the hours spent discussing and resolving them. She charges principal level rates for inexperienced site research and permit assistance and cannot take ownership of her mistakes with professionalism and grace. She also makes it difficult to detect her mistakes because her contract insists that her office is the only one allowed to submit for permits. I heard from a few people in the design and construction business that they preferred other LA firms over Kim’s. This should have been a red flag from the start but I ignored the suggestion and hired her due to her 5 star ratings. Here's our experience: 1. She makes costly mistakes and does not take ownership for them. She unnecessarily delayed our permit process about 10 months when it could have been done in 2 months—she forced us to go through a lengthy design and permitting process because she was convinced that our hillside was a Steep Slope even though our Survey didn't indicate the presence of one. Luckily, a city reviewer emailed all of us asking why Kim drew a Steep Slope on her plans which was not in the Survey she submitted. It took a couple emails and a call from me to convince her that our slope was not steep. She billed for these discussions, the revisions, and resubmitting permit revisions. She had a hard time taking ownership for this mistake, and instead blamed the surveyor for not labeling the Steep Slope. The surveyor is not responsible for labeling it if it doesn’t exist, Kim. The overall financial damage of her mistake was over $15k, among the unnecessary hours billed by Kim, the unnecessary permit fees, and an unnecessary Geotech report we had to get as a result of this process. 2. She mistook a shrub for a protected tree and drew it in the wrong location on our Planting Plan. When I texted her, she told me she was billing me for discussing this mistake and that she would charge me for revising the Planting Plan around the correct location of the shrub. What’s to keep her from taking advantage of me and making intentional mistakes just so she can charge me more? 3. She didn’t deliver what she promised on our proposal and pushed back on our vision because she was afraid the city wouldn’t allow it. She billed us hours for inaccurate site research, mislabeled our setbacks, and didn't design short retaining walls which the city would have allowed. 4. She also seems desperate and pushy when it comes to money. One time, she spent an hour texting me to call my bank to see if they could speed up a payment hold of 3-5 days. That hour would have been better spent on proofreading her plans.

Buyer beware! Set up a call and meet her first!! , Kim is rude and she doesn't listen. I set up a call since an initial visit costs $250. My multiple email requests to Kim provided no answers to what $250 buys. We talked on the phone and I asked her several questions which she brushed aside and continued with a monologue skirting around the direct questions I asked her. To try to redirect the conversation and get my questions answered I referenced my email and had her pull it up. She referred to my email questions as "blah,blah,blah." I repeatedly asked her what the all-up cost for a design drawing would be, and instead of answering she patronizingly repeated that $250 would only buy a visit. Not my question at all. She even said "let me break it down so it real simple for you" and repeated that she would need to meet for $250. She said this about 6 times in the conversation, but still couldn't answer the basic questions I was asking about the cost of the drawing. Finally after an hour of this I extracted this information: She will visit for $250 and write a follow up contract and then if you sign it, she will do a drawing which has an additional cost, but she wont have a good idea of the cost until you give her $250 for thinking about it. You may be more successful than I am at getting her to communicate, but I would strongly advise you set up a no-fee call with her first and make sure you don't waste $250 on a visit with someone who has an overly-inflated sense of her importance. And be prepared for her long monologue about visiting for $250. If you have money to burn, maybe this is a good fit, but I wouldn't hire her.

Kim and the two subcontractors she employed were professional, communicated clearly, and they completed all work as promised. There were a couple of miner revisions that were necessary due to issues on the property the were unforeseen, but we felt Kim and her subs worked to develop and effective an reasonable alternative. Overall, we were very satisfied with her work and management of the project and are considering completing phase two in the Spring.

I was able to schedule time with Kim within two days of our first conversation. During our first appointment, she listened to what I was interested in doing, and where I needed advice. She asked permission to give me all her thoughts; we walked around the yard and she provided ideas for both hardscape and landscape, which was exactly what I was looking for. She asked questions about some features we might be interested in, and we scheduled a follow up appointment to review two conceptual plans for a driveway, walkway, entry way and two patios. The statement of work was handled over e-mail and phone. She returned to review the conceptual plans and was very knowledgeable about the process, material options, etc. We selected one of the two conceptual plans and made some adjustments. She created the associated removal plan, hardscape materials, grading and layout for the components we planned to do first, and also obtained cost estimates for us. Throughout our engagement with Kim, she was very prompt, professional and thorough in her communication. She was also very flexible when we decided to remove some features from the plan that had been part of the statement of work. I will engage her if needed for further work, and also plan to have her consult on a landscape plan for a challenging area of my yard. I enjoyed working with Kim and look forward to working with her again.

Primary concern was her professionalism - my wife walked up to us as Kim was going on about her advice, and Kim didn't acknowledge her - pretty much ignored her and barely stopped to take a breath. Kim has lots to say, and low on the interactive style - so a style / personality conflict with us - might work for someone else... Maybe she had a bad day and was not aware that she would affect others. The expertise/recommendations she gave seemed fine and pretty much matched the description of service.

We hired Kim to help us with a landscaping plan for our backyard. Since we are also replacing the deck in the backyard, she offered her expertise regarding our deck plan. Kim's input was so valuable and timely. She got a detailed drawing of our new deck to us in just a couple of days. Our new deck designed by Kim is much more in keeping with the style of our home. Kim's knowledge of design and landscaping is extensive. She saved us from making some costly mistakes. We will definitely have her come back when the deck is finished to design a final landscape plan.

It was a consultation and went as planned.

She listened to my ideas and also gave me alternatives to my ideas. We walked thru the yard discussing what made the most sense. She was on time and explained next steps, if I wanted to engage her services further. she sent her proposal within 3 days of meeting.

Fabulously! The money spent was well worth it because of the useful information, good ideas and suggestions for changes that I could make myself as well as when it would be a good idea to get a professional in. She listened really well to what I was looking for, and then proceeded to respond on every issue. This was a most valuable consultation. I will likely use her services again if I decide to go ahead with some of the plans we talked about.

She arrived on time and gave a very thorough assessment of the project i have planned. Kim also spent time to go through my yard with me (front and back) to give suggestions to make improvements based on how I use my yard. Look forward to seeing her quote and design details for my first project.

It went great! I have already hired Kim to continue the process of landscape design.

We are very happy with the layout and plans. Kim listened to our needs and wants really well and took them into consideration in her plans. Our friends want her phone number :-)

It was excellent. My first impression of Kim was that she was very competent and I was confidant that she would do a great job. But what pleasantly surprised me was how thoughtfully she took into consideration my tastes and personal preferences throughout the entire project. I had some very specific design requests that honestly, I thought might be very difficult do develop and execute, especially considering the landscape we had to work with. Kim did an excellent job incorporating everything and the final product was a landscapes that was both beautiful and functional while capturing the quiet retreat-type setting I longed for. Kim's involvement in the entire process is what ensured that each stage of the project was done correctly as she very much had a Hands-On approach which I also appreciated. I can whole whole heartedly recommend Kim and I look forward to working with her again in the future. And by the way, she has also become a good friend.

Unfortunately, I had the same experience as the previous reviewer. I spoke with Kim on the phone on Thursday and we scheduled an appointment for her to come to my property on Friday the next day. After we had a brief conversation, it seemed like my project may be a little small for her to want to take on ($10K) so I mentioned that I didn't want to waste her time (as I understand that one needs to manage priorities especially as a small business owner) however, she mentioned that she still wanted to meet. She never showed up for the initial consultation meeting and never phoned to notify me that she couldn't make it. It was rather rude and unprofessional. It seems that others have had much better experiences, but I will assume that their projects were larger than mine.

I spoke with Kim on the phone and discussed our project (new patio and backyard landscaping). She seemed knowledgeable and capable on the phone but unfortunately she never showed up for our initial consulation meeting and never phoned to notify me that she couldn't make it. I have not heard from her again since our initial phone conversation.

We are extremely pleased with the landscape work that Kim Rooney did at our home. Kim is very professional, knowledgeable, responsive, creative and easy to work with. From the time that we first contacted her, she was responsive in setting up a time to meet. She asked a lot of questions, and understood quickly what we were trying to accomplish in our project. After several meetings, she provided us with several design options that were exactly what we were looking for in terms of materials, plants, and prices. We particularly appreciate her working with the landscape contractor as she was on hand daily to oversee their work and make small changes that enhanced the project. She was particular about where rocks should be place, their angles, how many plants in a grouping, and was very attuned to the sun and shade aspects of our garden and the types of plants that would do well. She was also present for our walk through with the contractor, and was helpful in making sure made that even small details were completed. Kim was very creative not only in the overall design but also in her ideas to reuse some of our plants and rebalance the landscape. She made sure that small garden areas related to but not part of the original project were updated so that it all fits with the style of our yard overall. The landscape project that Kim designed for us is very attractive, has seasonal interest and color, and greatly enhances the entry way to our home. We continue to receive many compliments from neighbors even 6 months after the project was completed. My husband and I really enjoyed working with Kim and we love the landscape design that she created for us. I highly recommend Kim Rooney.

We hired Kim based on the strength of her reviews on Angie's list and a first meeting in which she made a good impression as she described the process that she uses to complete the projects she takes on. She started by preparing 3 different concepts for our yard, each of which provided a different feel and pricing. This was very useful for my wife and I to decide what we valued in our project. We chose an option and Kim finished up plans with our input. Kim also worked with her preferred general contractor and directed their efforts during implementation of our project. Kim has good design instincts and did a nice job on the design. However, we found her to be difficult to communicate with as she tends to be set in her approach. While I thought she did a good job on the design, I would not use her again to oversee actual implementation as this portion of the project has more to do with communication and managing client expectations than actual design work. For us, Kim was not as strong in these areas.

Everything went well. Kim's plans were beautiful and she was able to fit us into her schedule since we were pressed for time.

We have a fairly small front yard that had two massive trees. Due to the tree root damage, we had them removed, and then needed to develop a plan for the entire space. Ms. Rooney responded and gave ideas and thoughts regarding her overall concept for the space; however, we decided to go a more natural outlook, She was gracious and wished us luck in our project.

She was very punctual. She has submitted detailed billing and she is very well prepared. She is very friendly. I would rate her high overall and would use her services in the future.

It went very well. Kim designed the plan, went over it with us, made changes. She worked the the landscapers during each phase: removal, implementing the design, planting. She met us at a rock center to help us choose a dish rock. She worked with us to place our existing plants within the design. Our budget was not huge and Kim managed to make the yard look lovely with relatively minimal plantings. The reason we gave a B on price is simply because we had nothing to compare prices to.

This was not a big job. It kept getting delayed because it was difficult to entice good professionals to come and look at the small job. I found Kim on Angie's List, contacted her and set an appointment right away. She developed a detailed plan, adjusted it readily in response to our requests. She brought in a contractor to do the actual work and supervised it. Her fee covers the design and contract supervision. We are pleased with the outcome. It was a pleasure to work with Kim as she was very prompt in returning calls or emails and always followed up as promised. She coordinated things well with the contractor doing the work.

We had a horrid looking patio dating from the 1980's that we never used and had pretty much been defeated by mold and moss. Knowing nothing much about plants or patios, we hired Kim to redesign the entire space. This was one of the best decisions we ever made. She listened carefully, paid close attention to our style and engaged in good dialogue over design options. She also project-managed the construction with great patience but also great attention to detail. Her encyclopedic knowlege of plants was impressive, as was her knowledge of code (our back space is a restricted area with difficult zoning challenges). The result is breathtaking---we have a beautifully designed patio with ample built in seating set off by an artistic waterfall that blends into the stones and curves of the concrete. The before-and-after is truly amazing, and we now have a beautiful, artistic space for entertaining or just enjoying the outdoors. I would recommend Kim without hesitation.

Kim did an excellent job redesigning and landscaping our front yard under very aggressive timelines. She is very diligent, professional and easy to work with and I would highly recommend her services to anyone. I would also use Kim again without hesitation.

Kim took the time to survey our yard, drew up beautiful concept designs, and was very patient as we worked to make changes to fit our needs and budget. She's a very good listener. Not once did we ever sense impatience or frustration on her part. Once the design was done, she did all the work to schedule and oversee the work done by landscapers. She also did multiple drawings to design a porch that complemented our house and coordinated the building work. The work was done on time and on budget. We thoroughly enjoyed working with Kim, who was enthusiastic and supportive the entire way. We were thrilled with the outcome when the project was finished and are still enjoying what she did.