Who is Weeds? …that’s me, Nancy, and my wonderful team. I’m a designer who has worked for many years in both interior and landscape design. I’m a licensed landscape contractor and have also a completed the Sustainable Landscape Professional Program with the City of Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and the Environment. I also consult for the City of Santa Monica regarding their sustainable landscape program. In my opinion and from my experience, inside or outside your home, a beautiful space combines very similar design and practical elements: color, scale, proportion, texture, and light plus site constraints, projected use, personal style and budget. I use my experience and training as an interior designer combined with my knowledge of horticulture and planting to create what is essentially your outdoor home. I started my own company to create and install interesting, unique designs, and to do so in as sustainable a manner as possible. What is sustainability in design? Well to me, very simply, it is making a space that treads as lightly as possible on our particular environment in both the short and long term. That means, design that pays attention to: reusing and recycling materials (both yours and others), irrigating with low-water and sensibly engineered systems, growing climate appropriate and native plants and vegetables, limiting chemical pesticides, herbicides, toxic finishes and paints, using local craftsmen, materials and products where possible, and most importantly, giving you, your friends and family a space that will be enjoyed for years and that will evolve with you as a result of intelligent and thoughtful design. How do you juggle the environmental versus the practical? I try to keep a balance between design, functionality and sustainability – If I can do it and the client wants it, I will try my hardest to fulfill the abc’s of walking lightly on your piece of Southern California. But I won’t sacrifice a client’s wishes if something doesn’t fall directly in line with my philosophy – after all you are the end-user, and so I try to be as conscientious as possible, while still making you happy. And most of the time, it’s easier than you think to keep things green. Everyone on my team understands that we are working in your space. The job site must be kept clean and safe, with noise levels at a minimum. We make sure to utilize our days fully, and will tailor our hours to any special schedule you may have. We are a design firm that looks at the big picture. We take into account who you are, what you want to do with your space, what is your personal style, timeline, wish list and desired expenditure. Then we mix that up with environmentally-friendly, creative ideas and solutions to give you that amazing place that you have always wanted.
