Top Three Questions to Ask your Outdoor Living Designer

Posted March 26, 2020 in General, Landscape Design, Landscape Maintenance

If you have plans to renovate your backyard, you are probably wondering if you should design your backyard renovations before you build them. Oftentimes, when homeowners choose to begin a project without a design they love, a ton of time, money and space is wasted. When selecting a partner to guide you through every step of your backyard renovation, you are probably looking for someone that you can trust, to deliver a project you love, without compromising your vision.

At MasterPLAN Outdoor Living we believe that you deserve an awesome backyard, and we don’t think you should waste time, money, and space when building it. Before you select a partner to deliver your deck, patio, pool, or other outdoor living projects, consider asking the following questions:

What services do you offer?

Are you hiring a landscape designer that builds? Or a deck, patio, or pool contractor who is trying to design?

There is a substantial difference, and understanding it is key to the success of your project!

When a builder tries to design, the process typically involves hiring two professionals-a designer and a contractor. This can lead to poor communication that results in wasting time, money, space, and a frustrated homeowner who may or may not love their new backyard.

Choosing to hire a designer that builds, combines your design and construction services under one umbrella. When you choose to work with a designer who builds you will gain a trusted partner (and one point of contact!) who is committed to creating an outdoor living space that you are proud of and a fun journey that you will want to tell your family and friends about.

What if I don’t love your design ideas?

No one enjoys hidden fees! Understanding how your outdoor living designer bills for design consultations will help you make educated and informed decisions about your project.

You will want to thoroughly understand your designer’s process. Do they charge per project, design option, meeting, hourly? Do they offer any type of guarantee?

Visualization is the first crucial step in the journey to creating the backyard of your dreams, and having a trusted, supportive, and transparent partner is essential. Your outdoor living designer should never rush you to make any structure, finish, and material selections. They should want to guarantee that you Love your Design before any shovels hit the soil!

How much maintenance will this require?

Understanding the maintenance of your outdoor living space is essential. It can be overwhelming trying to make design decisions without a guide to tell you about the maintenance that your new landscape, patio, deck, or pool will require.

hort therapy for seniorsWhen designing your backyard, make sure to carefully analyze how landscape maintenance ranks on your activity list so you and your family can make the proper decisions and material selections throughout the design of your backyard.

Looking to cross off any and all maintenance? Don’t forget to ask your designer if they offer any maintenance options!


Planning a new backyard is very exciting, but we get how overwhelming it is to select a partner you can trust, to deliver a project you love, without compromising your vision. You are not alone!

This is precisely why MasterPLAN has partnered with hundreds of Pennsylvania and New Jersey homeowners -just like you- to transform their backyards into remarkable outdoor living spaces.

Here’s how we do it:

Call – Schedule your design meeting.

Collaborate – We will collaborate to design your perfect backyard and select all the important details.

Construction– Once you Love your Design, let MasterPLAN do all the heavy lifting to complete your build! We will handle all communication with your township or municipality, develop your plans, obtain your building permits, manage any and all engineering, and schedule your inspections.

Celebrate- You will raise a toast to your transformed home and the new life that will come from it!

With these four easy steps, you will transform your backyard into an outdoor living space that maximizes your property value, allows you to experience an uncommon pride in homeownership, and makes your backyard a magnet to life’s important moments!

CALL US TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR DESIGN MEETING!

(610) 628-2480

In the meantime, sign up for our Design Tips and Tricks to learn more about how you can avoid wasting time, money, and space by designing your backyard transformation before we build it!

Join Our Newsletter

Stay up to date with what is happening with MasterPLAN Outdoor Living.

Affiliates & Partners
Lehigh Valley Style
Lehigh Valley Business Association
Pennsylvania Builders Association
Qualified Remodelers
The Designer