When a new client asks what a project runs, our honest answer is a range. The landscape design build cost in Greater Seattle depends on your materials, the design, and the features we build in along the way, so we quote a ballpark and call it about 25% either side until the design is set. Most clients invest around $150,000, though we've built complete outdoor environments from $25,000 into the high six figures. Below, we break down our three tiers so you can see where your vision fits before we ever get on a call.
When homeowners weigh the landscape design build cost, the biggest misconception we hear is that design is an extra expense homeowners don't need. It's the opposite. Good design is what helps you make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and end up with a project that fits both your vision and your budget. A contractor installs features. A design-build team works out how the whole space fits together and how it gets built, so the finished yard matches what you pictured instead of feeling like a pile of separate add-ons.
Design Fee Structure
A Refresh improves a specific part of the yard rather than transforming the whole space. It's the right fit when you have three or four focused features in mind and want them done with professional quality, and these projects typically come in at $75,000 or less.
What's Included:
A Transformation combines multiple elements into a single outdoor living space, and these projects typically run $75,000 to $250,000. Expect a mix of high-end and prefab materials, with some custom features. This is where the yard stops being a collection of separate parts and starts feeling like one designed environment. Once projects move above $150,000, patio covers and larger outdoor living spaces become much more common.
What's Included:
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An Estate project treats the whole property as a single designed environment, front yard and back, and these builds start at $250,000. They lean heavily on high-end materials and custom features, creating a one-of-a-kind result.
What's Included:
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Where most clients land:
The majority of our projects fall around $150,000, which puts them in the Transformation tier. Once projects move above that, patio covers and larger outdoor living spaces become much more common.
What moves a project up a tier:
A Refresh becomes a Transformation once you go past three or four features. A Transformation becomes an Estate when you move from basic materials to high-end selections like Techo-Bloc and porcelain, plus custom water features, custom patio covers, and custom decking.
Our tier pricing covers the design and build. A few costs are handled separately because they vary too much from project to project to bundle fairly:
On permits specifically: Permits are billed separately because requirements vary widely from project to project. We include a ballpark permit estimate in your proposal so you can plan ahead. Depending on the project, permits range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand if engineering, structural review, or land use approval is required.
Material choice is the single biggest driver of landscape design build cost in Greater Seattle. Moving from basic prefab to high-end selections like Techo-Bloc pavers, porcelain, and natural stone changes the investment significantly, as do custom water features, custom patio covers, and custom decking.
Sloped lots are common across King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties, and grade changes add retaining, drainage, and engineering work that flat lots don't require.
Narrow gates and yards without truck access slow down material delivery and excavation, which adds labor and time to the build.
Permit requirements differ across King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. The same scope can carry different review timelines and costs depending on where your property sits.
Labor costs in the Greater Seattle market have risen roughly 20% from 2025 to 2026. Current pricing reflects this, and it's worth understanding that waiting tends to mean paying more, not less.
Booking ahead:
Plan to book 2 to 6 months in advance depending on project type if you want to hit a specific construction start date.
We offer financing through HFS Financial. Rates typically run 8.6% to 9.5%, there's no hard credit check to see if you qualify, and funds go directly to the homeowner. The process takes about a month.
Signing
Project start
Midpoint
Completion
This Lynnwood backyard came together around a handful of well-chosen features: a paver patio, an artificial turf area, a built-in seating bench, a planter box, and landscape lighting to carry the space into the evening. It's a clear picture of how a Refresh works, focused improvements to one area of the yard rather than a full rebuild. The finished project came in around $75,000.
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In Edgewood, we redesigned the yard as a single connected space, combining a pergola, retaining wall, pavers, concrete, artificial turf, full planting, and a custom water feature. Several elements were custom-built rather than prefab, which is what gives a Transformation its depth. At roughly $150,000, this project sits right at the investment level where most of our clients land.
This Bothell property was designed as one unified outdoor experience from front to back. It brought together porcelain hardscape, a roofed pergola, a water fountain, a gas fire pit, a putting green, pavers, a retaining wall, artificial turf, and full planting and landscape work, most of it custom and built with high-end materials. A large backyard and that level of detail put the finished investment around $350,000.
Every project is backed by our workmanship warranty. Coverage and duration vary by component:
General exclusions across all warranties:
Normal wear and tear, fading, discoloration, and efflorescence; plants (their health depends on ongoing care); material defects (covered by manufacturer warranties); natural disasters; vandalism; damage from tree roots, burrowing animals, or external impacts; high-pressure washing damage; freeze damage from failure to winterize; and any unauthorized repairs or modifications. Warranty periods begin on the date the final invoice is paid, and routine maintenance is the homeowner's responsibility. Repairs made by a third-party contractor void the warranty.
A full Care & Maintenance Guide is provided for every completed project.
Still have questions about cost, timeline, or how the process works? Here are the answers we give clients most often.
We can, and it doesn't take much to get started. Send over your wishlist with some basic measurements and photos of the space, and we'll give you a ballpark that typically lands within about 25% of the final number. For context, most of our projects come in around $150,000.
Installing a single feature doesn't take much planning, so a contractor can simply put it in. A full design-build is a different job. Someone has to work out how every element fits together, how it all maps to your budget, and how it gets built so the finished result lines up with what you had in mind. That's the work we do: steering you toward the right features and layout for your goals, then running the whole process so it gets executed the way it was drawn.
You can. The gap between building it all at once and splitting it into phases is usually small, but it isn't zero. Remobilizing for a later phase tends to add around $5,000 on its own, and that's before any rise in labor or material prices. The longer you wait between phases, the more likely those costs creep up.
Because our contract includes a no change order policy, signed by both sides. Once the design is locked during the Design Verification phase and the contract is signed, so is the price. We're on the hook to build exactly what was designed and agreed to, so no change orders should ever come from us. The one exception is you: if you decide to add or change features after everything's finalized, that's the only thing that moves the number.
No. The initial Zoom consultation is free, and it's the right place to bring any questions you have before committing to the design process. In-person meetings come later, once you've signed a design agreement and site visits become part of the work.
They're two separate things. The design fee covers the planning phase, starting at $2,500 for conceptual design and $7,500 at the build tier. It isn't folded into or credited against the build cost, because the design is the part that makes the build come out right.
No, they're billed separately, since what a permit requires changes from one project to the next. We do include a ballpark permit estimate in your proposal so nothing catches you off guard. Expect anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand once engineering, structural review, or land use approval enters the picture.
A Refresh wraps in about four weeks. A Transformation runs 8 to 12 weeks, and an Estate takes 10 to 16. If you're aiming for a specific start date, book two to six months ahead depending on the project.
Yes, through HFS. Rates generally fall between 8.6% and 9.5%, there's no hard credit check to find out if you qualify, and the money goes straight to you. Plan on about a month for the process.
Every Greater Seattle property is different, and so is every budget. Share your vision with us and we'll give you an honest ballpark, no pressure and no surprises.
A space worth building is a space worth planning. Every project starts with a design — fees begin at $2,500.
Tell us about your project and we'll follow up within one business day.
Serving Greater Seattle homeowners with custom outdoor living spaces. One process, one team, one result.
Contractors License : ANGKOI*750PA
