Land Studio C

Since we purchased our home in 2010, my wife and I have dreamed of creating a backyard oasis for our 1959 Eichler home. Our place is set against open space (protected, non-developed land) in Marin Co, CA which provides a wealth of serenity to begin with. While our terrain included a fairly lush landscape, we had always wanted a pool and determined that whatever palette/design concept we opted for, the starting point would begin with the pool and any subsequent hardscaping. Working upon a referral from a close friend, we scheduled an initial meeting with Darren Reynolds @ Land Studio C. Granted, his prior work & case studies were definitely impressive. But this first meeting (for us) was more about the interpersonal dynamics and whether or not we felt we had found "our guy." Needless to say, we won the lottery because Darren is not only a talented, wildly creative genius as it pertains to landscape architecture, but he is one of the most friendly, easy-going professionals we've ever had the pleasure to work with. Quite simply, he listens to any preliminary ideas and visions you may have and within short order begins to help bring them to life. He's beyond patient and always approachable & accommodating. He's responsive and accountable. He really is the reason why we were able to make our backyard oasis become a reality. And as our home improvements continue, I'm certain that we'll always want to include Darren in some capacity. He's the best!

Darren Reynolds of Land Studio C was a joy to collaborate with. He listened to my ideas and designed a beautiful midcentury modern backyard that is stunning. I now have a backyard that I enjoy spending my time in. Another big plus about Darren is that he was very responsive to any concerns I had during the construction process and took the time to answer questions and explain construction processes to me. It made the whole project go very smoothly. He's also a really nice guy.

Darren is a true artisan, architect and gem of a person. I met Darren through Houzz, and from the moment I met him I knew he would be "the one" to transform our bare-bones yard into the space of my dreams. Darren worked with me to create entertaining, dining, living, spa, plant, vegetable garden, cactus garden, living wall, etc spaces in our multi-level creekside home (all during major covid-lockdown I would add!) and truly turned it into a magical setting. Darren listens, presents a clear vision, is thorough and detail oriented and there were no surprises during the process. I would highly recommend Darren and Land Studio C to anyone considering an outdoor project.

After having worked with Darren on our backyard project, its easy to say we have found our landscape architect for as long as we are living in Northern California. Being a first time home owner, Darren was very patient, thorough and hands on every step of the way. Even after his portion of the design framework was complete, Darren worked side-by-side with our general contractor with acute attention to detail until everything was completely done. Darren deserves a 10/10 in every aspect of the job. I look forward to working with him on future projects and will gladly recommend his services to anyone who asks. (note the pictures were taken in January 2022 so I had all the covers still on the furniture, I will update when it is summertime so you can really see everything!).

My wife and I HIGHLY recommend Darren for your landscape design needs. We did a total overhaul on our back yard and couldn't be happier with the result. Darren's attention to detail, knowledge of the local landscape, personality and professionalism is unrivaled. Our yard hadn't been worked on in probably 30 years and now brings joy to our whole family each time we're in our new outdoor space. He was involved in the project from start to finish, from initial design planning through working in tandem with the contractor that implemented all the construction. If there was a sixth star, I'd click on it.

Darren is talented, kind and a genuinely good guy. Our backyard looks amazing and is usable too, our family spends all of our time there now. During our process we had to deal with a finicky, frustrating and downright long approval process with the city for permits, in a job that I think many vendors would have given up on, Darren went back to the permitting office over a dozen times to get what we wanted approved. He’s made my friends backyards look amazing too! I can’t recommend him more highly!

Meeting and working with Darren was a serendipitous marvel! He enthusiastically answered our plea, thru Houzz, for a contemporary design for the surrounds of our house and barn situated on a one acre Chardonnay vineyard. Darren had his work cut out for him, as the landscape had not been upgraded since it was 'composed' in the late 1950's. He is exceptionally talented at design. He thoughtfully walked the property and took note of the intrinsic 'bones', and carefully designed exactly what we wanted, and expertly turned our small vineyard property into something extraordinary! Darren is very professional in manner, yet wholly approachable. He smiles alot. We liked that. He's not an egomaniac. We liked that, too. He will answer his phone or call you back (with your multiple questions during the day). His communication adeptness is especially noteworthy and was key to the timely completion and our veritable satisfaction of the project. We hope to work with him again someday! He's a keeper.

Working with Darren at Land Studio C was a dream. He listened thoughtfully to our vision and interpreted it visually in a beautiful plan that was spot on. He was there for us throughout the process and gave careful consideration with us when decisions needed to be made. I highly recommend working with Darren and would look forward to the opportunity to work with him again. The outcome was the backyard and pool of our dreams, and it feels like a resort. We are absolutely thrilled. I wholeheartedly recommend Land Studio C.

We loved working with Darren! I can highly recommend him. We wanted to do redo our yard including new plants, yard, retaining walls, a pool, and firepit/sitting area. He came up with an incredible plan that optimized the space we had to work with, included the most beautiful plants and features that all together have given it the feeling of a tropical spa. Throughout the process, Darren was a good listener, very responsive, and creative as we made small adjustments along the way. His pricing was very fair and we couldn't be happier with the end result.

Darren and Land Studio C are the best! He has fantastic ideas and was very easy to work with. He converted our ideas into exactly what we had in mind, including designing original steel art features that both fit our vision and were a great value. Darren stayed involved through construction, and the project came in on budget and more than met our expectations. We are thrilled with the result! Dave and Liz Feingold

Darren is simply the best! We had a rough template for our back yard when Darren stepped in. He provided professional drawings which fine tuned the template, and provided a schedule for plantings. three years later our yard is beautiful and thriving! We were so pleased that we hired him to redesign the front yard as well. Darren is professional, collaborative and a pleasure to work with.

We had the best experience with Land Studio C. Darren was amazing. Had tons of good ideas and was a great listener as well and spent the time to get to know us and what we were looking for in an outdoor space. We ended up with a real scene stealer of a back yard that still stuns us a year and a half later. It’s the best part of our home.

Land Studio C is a fantastic firm to work on a project with. Everything was top notch- from developing the project vision, producing plans, accurate estimates and contractor selection. Our project came together on time and on budget. My property was transformed from an old grass patch to a wonderful retreat. What a great experience, I would highly recommend working with Darren Reynolds and Land Studio C.

The transformation was incredible. We have gotten countless complements on our yard. He had a great vision and we followed it to a tee. It paid off. He and the workers he works with are very professional. It was a great experience.

We had a great experience with Darren redesigning our backyard. From the beginning he did a great job explaining his role, the project next steps and how best we could be involved in the process. He was professional and gave us a clear understanding of what to expect with regard to our budget in which case we were able to stay within the perimeters of. Darren's contemporary style was exactly what we were looking for. He made great use of all our space and was able to recycle and incorporate some of the existing material to create an amazing oasis! We highly recommend him!

We have worked with Darren on two projects. We chose him based on the quality of his work, modern aesthetic, and friendly attitude. He's a great guy, who is also very good at the sometimes difficult job of setting reasonable expectations. Darren is creative and willing to work within a budget to get the best design possible. He also gave us great recommendations for local contractors, and was responsive throughout construction. He still checks in to make sure all is well. Our yards are beautiful and functional for our family to enjoy. We wholeheartedly recommend Darren and Land Studio C!

Working with Darren has been a pleasure. He listened to our concerns and wishes and yard issues. He addressed them all and designed our backyard perfectly for our needs. During the project he was responsive to questions and patient with concerns. I hightly recommend Darren.

We are thrilled with the transformation of our backyard that Darren Reynolds of Land Studio C designed. We knew Darren was experienced in modern, Eichler design when we hired him, but did not anticipate how wonderfully he would incorporate all our needs into a smart, savvy design that worked with our budget. Darren is a pleasure to collaborate with, always cheerful, patient, and enthusiastic. I recommend him without reservation. Our home was a contractor flip that ended at the back door. The yard was an empty expanse of bark and neglected fruit trees that we soon learned turned into a lake during heavy rains. We needed both a drainage and design plan. We shared with Darren our long list of wants on a modest budget; defined areas, privacy screening, bocce court, fire pit, garden area, and future spa site. He gave us all that and more. His idea of using a dry creek to address our drainage issue, took a shady area along a drab fence and turned it into a show stopper. And cost effective ideas like the wire trellis with evergreen vines along our fence, gives us lovely greens to look at once the leaves fall from the fruit trees. It’s thoughtful ideas like this (and our cool new rain chain), we would never have considered. Lastly when the plants arrived and went in, the colors and textures all flowed together so well, I was delighted. We love our new yard!

The work that Darren at Land Studio C is breathtaking. He completely transformed our backyard into a welcoming outdoor space. Additionally, his suggestions around water usage and local plant choices have made for a thriving, beautiful, and sustainable home.

Best landscape architect firm we've ever used. Darren Reynolds is creative; knows how to design within a budget, hard-working and extremely talented.

I never realized how creative and how valuable Land Studio C would be until we started working together to understand our thoughts and wishes to design and transform our wild, overgrown, steep, unusable Mont Marin backyard hill into a beautiful, natural, functional and usable property. From our initial meeting with Darren, I knew he was the one. Our first meeting was on the hill, and in his boots, started to trek around while asking questions. Before Land Studio C, we thought we had an idea of how to design the hill, and after Darren listened, he started to point out the realistic challenges. When I asked what he thought, he blew me away with his creative ideas that I never would have conceptualized, nor even possible. Land Studio C made the process simple and convenient, and full of value with his knowledge of hardscaping and landscaping to fall within our budget. He presented a full-scale architectural plan that gave us more than we could have imagined. It was easy to understand and included flowers, plants and trees that are modern, interesting, and low maintenance. But best of all he gave us sun and amazing space to entertain and enjoy. I absolutely recommend Land Studio C for any job, as he delivered on his promise, and transformed a useless overbearing hillside into a space that will yield fruits and vegetables, family memories, and everyday enjoyment.

When we decided to hire a landscape designer to re-do our deck, we had a clear idea of what the end result should be. Our plan consisted of bringing the living room, dining and kitchen to the outdoors on a very sunny, old porch. Darren Reynolds proved to be a most effective and creative architect. He quickly understood and transferred our vision into a wonderful and unique outdoor entertaining area. He was resourceful, always on time and willing to cooperate and answer any questions we had. He met all deadlines and budgets with accuracy and to our complete satisfaction.

Darren Reynolds, of Land Studio C, is an experienced and professional landscape architect whom my husband and I hired to provide an overall landscaping plan for our overgrown and weedy front and side yards at our home in San Rafael. We had several meetings with him during the development of the overall plan. He visited our property and gave suggestions and ideas that fit within our budget allowance. He provided a base plan and site analysis, a preliminary design, the master plan, and then the construction documents and details, all of which he went over with us during the visits. He designed a low-maintenance, low-water-use landscape consisting of succulents, native grasses and other environmentally friendly plants, an accent fence, and a drip irrigation system. With our approval, he hired the landscape contractor to do the construction work and planting, and he kept us informed and oversaw the project from start to finish. He checked the work progress and directed the contractors to make any adjustments or corrections that came up along the way. Darren has been very responsive to any questions or concerns we have had, even after the project was finished, and has provided good service throughout the entire process. He is friendly and easy to work with, and we are very happy with the result. It was a big project and we got good value for our investment, about $14,000, which included the design, site visits, contractor's demolition, construction, and planting.

After moving into a new (for us) house, we hired Darren to come up with a Master Plan for our landscaping which would be compatible with our house renovation plans. He was precise and methodical in his approach and after several discussions and plan iterations we had a Master Plan we will be able to use going forward. We knew we couldn't do everything at once, so it's nice to have guidelines for what we can do now and know they will fit in as projects are completed.