AustinLandscape Design
We design for how you actually use the space. Not a pretty picture, a buildable plan.
Book a Design ConsultationLandscape design is the plan before the build: grading and drainage, planting palette, hardscape layout and how the space will actually be used. In Austin a good plan is mostly about water: where it goes in a downpour and how little the planting needs in August.
What a Design Package Includes
Site Analysis & Measurement
We walk the property, shoot grades, note sun exposure, soil type, and existing trees. Every design decision that follows traces back to what we measure here. No guesswork, no assumptions.
Concept & Layout
You get a scaled concept plan showing hardscape layout, traffic flow, focal points, and how the space will actually be used. We present it, we listen, we revise. This is where the design takes shape.
Planting Plan
A full planting palette keyed to your sun, soil, and water reality. Native and adapted species, layered for year-round structure. We specify sizes, spacing, and quantities so the installer knows exactly what goes where.
Construction Documents
The builder gets a complete set: hardscape layouts, grading notes, material specs, lighting plan, and planting plan. Detailed enough to price accurately and build from without a single phone call to clarify.
Design Fees and How They Work
We charge a fixed design fee, quoted after the on site consultation. No hourly billing, no surprises.
Front yard refresh
Full property master plan
Credited toward the build
If you proceed with Live Oak Studio for construction, 100 percent of your design fee is credited toward the build. The plans are yours either way. We publish this because every competitor hides it. Knowing the cost up front should not be a luxury.
Front Yard vs Back Yard
Front Yard
- Street presence and curb appeal set the tone for the whole property.
- Drainage away from the slab foundation is non negotiable. Water pooled near the foundation causes movement.
- HOA constraints on plant height, materials, and fence style shape what is possible before design even starts.
Back Yard
- Privacy from neighbours and sightline control drive the layout.
- Shade structure and tree placement matter more than any plant choice. August sun dictates the design.
- Outdoor living, cooking, and how the family actually moves through the space come first. Form follows function.
Designing Around a Pool
Pool decking has to survive August. Travertine stays cool enough for bare feet. Poured concrete works but holds heat. Flagstone looks right but chips at the edge of the pool. We help you pick the material that fits how you use the pool, not just how it looks in a photo.
Planting near the water needs to drop nothing. No deciduous trees overhead, no flowering shrubs that shed petals into the skimmer. We use evergreen screening and architectural grasses that stay clean year round.
Equipment, pumps, and heaters need concealment without blocking service access. We design screening walls and plant buffers that hide the machinery but let the pool tech get to it. Sightlines from the house to the water matter too. You should see the pool from the kitchen, not the pump.
Drainage and Grading
Central Texas clay soil expands when wet and shrinks when dry. That movement pushes against slab foundations. A landscape plan that ignores grading is not a plan, it is a problem delayed.
We design where water goes in a downpour before we design a single planting bed. French drains, dry creeks, surface grading, and downspout routing all get drawn into the plan. The ground has to shed water away from the foundation, not toward it.
Grading is designed first. Everything else, planting, patios, paths, gets laid in around the grading plan. When a landscape fails in Austin, water is usually the reason. We start there so it does not.
The Plant Palette That Works Here
We design with Texas natives and well adapted species, chosen by sun exposure and soil. A plant that thrives in full sun on limestone in Bee Cave will fry in the shade of a mature oak in Tarrytown. We match the plant to the spot, not the other way around.
What survives an Austin August: Texas sage, agarita, skeletonleaf goldeneye, inland sea oats, Gulf Coast muhly, and live oak. What looks good in a nursery in April and is dead by July: most ornamental flowering shrubs, anything labeled "moisture loving," and anything that evolved in a cooler climate.
We build the palette for structure first, then seasonal interest, then color. A landscape that only looks good for two weeks in spring is not a design. It is a disappointment on a schedule.
Design Portfolio
Westlake
Hillside Retreat
Tarrytown
Shaded Courtyard
Bee Cave
Poolside Living
Lakeway
Native Entry
Manor
Family Backyard
Cedar Park
Modern Front
Our Process
Consultation
We meet on site, listen to how you want to use the space, and walk the property together. No charge, no pressure.
Design
We take measurements, analyze conditions, and produce a concept plan. You review it, we revise.
Presentation & Revision
We present the full plan with planting palette and material selections. You give feedback, we refine until it is right.
Handoff to Build
You receive construction documents ready to build. Build it yourself, with your contractor, or with our crew.
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers on cost, process, and what you actually get.
Let's Design Your Space
Tell us about your property and what you want from the space. We will come out, walk the site, and give you a fixed design quote. No pressure, no obligation.
No cost for the initial site visit
Fixed design fee, quoted on site
100 percent credited toward the build
