Design Questionnaire

This design questionnaire is one of the most important parts of the design process. It is designed to give an overview of your property, your lifestyle and your habits, and to start to look at some of the issues that will be sorted out with your landscape plan. The more in depth your answers, the more customized the design!

Think deeply about how you use your backyard and how you envision using it. Most people know the broad strokes of their goals – maybe you want a pool, lounge area and dining area. Think more deeply about how you will use the space. Do you need a safe place for children to play, a dining area for 2 or 20, a spot to read, relax or soak up the sun? If you like to read outside, is it in the shade or the sun; is it likely to be afternoon or evening? How about a place for the lawnmower and garbage bins? How about constraints? Are parts of the yard too sunny or too shaded? Is the BBQ too far from the kitchen?

Our goal is to create a backyard that is perfect for your unique family, that works with the style of the house and takes advantage of the site. This questionnaire will help us understand your family, your house and your backyard, so that we can do the best work possible.

Please fill out what applies to you. If you prefer, we can go over these questions in person.

About you

Client Name(s)

Home Address

Project Address (if different)

Phone (home)

Phone (cell #’s)

Email(s)

About your home

How old is your home? How long have you lived there?

Is this your main residence? How long are you planning to stay?

Are you planning any major renovations to the house in the future?

Please describe the architecture of your house.

Please describe your personal design style.

Does your current backyard reflect the architecture of your house and/or your personal design style? Is this important to you?

Are there any easements, deed restrictions or covenants to be aware of?

Do you like the transition from inside the house to outside?

What do you like most about your backyard?

What do you like least?

Is there a part of the backyard that is important to keep or protect?

Are there any views from different parts of the house and backyard to preserve? Are there any specific views to hide?

Are there any noise issues? Privacy issues? Security issues?

Any issues with too much sun, too much shade, wind, or drainage issues?

Are there any known issues with the soil (rocky, bedrock, high groundwater)? Are there any known utilities in the yard (oil tanks, septic systems, natural gas lines)?

Do you consider wildlife (deer, birds, etc) beneficial or a nuisance?

Are there pest problems (gophers, neighbour’s dog, mosquitos, black flies)?

Water source

Municipal

Well

About your family

The backyard will serve how many adults, children, and pets and what are their ages?

What is the biggest reason you are planning this project?

What is the most important thing to accomplish?

Do you see this project as one of the following choices:

Family Resort

Zen Retreat

Party Theme

When do you intend to use your backyard (summer, spring, fall – morning, afternoon, evening)?

Are there any allergy issues in the family?

Are there any accessibility/mobility issues?

Do you have a desired completion date (the infamous June grad party)?

What are your favourite colours? What are your least favourite colours?

Do you have any memories of beautiful places from your childhood, or vacations you would like to recreate at home? Describe any details you remember – feelings, smells, views, etc.

What materials do you react positively to? Negatively?

How important is sustainability to your family?

Plants

Do you have favourite plants?

Are there specific plants you would like included in the design?

Are there specific plants you do not want incorporated into the design?

Are you looking to incorporate any of the following into the plan?

Click all that apply:

Pool

Tell us a bit about how you and your family will use the pool. Is it for entertaining the neighborhood kids in the afternoons, or for entertaining adults in the evenings? Will you be swimming laps, diving, playing games/volleyball/basketball? Will you be floating in the pool, lounging, reading a book?

Pool

Shallow lounge area in pool

Diving Board

Slide

Water feature (what style?)

Fountain

Vanishing edge

Automated systems

Wellness

Are you interested in warm water, cold plunge, and/or year-round wellness opportunities?

Gardening

Are you a gardener?

Outdoor Kitchen

Are you a chef? Do you like to prep entire meals and cook outdoors, or just grill some hot dogs and burgers? Do you smoke ribs for 6 hours, or want to have wood fired pizza? How many do you cook for?

Gas grill

Smoker

Pizza Oven

Outdoor Kitchen

Fire

Wood burning, propane or natural gas? All year, or all summer? Do you need log storage?

Fire pit

Fireplace

Out-buildings

Do you need a spot to store the lawn mower and snow blower? How about all the new pool furniture and toys? Is there a bathroom near the back door of the house, or would you like to add one to a building out back? Should the design be simple siding, windows and roofing, or made to match your house’s materials?

Pool House

Man-Cave/She-Shed

Bathroom

Change room

Shade

Shade structures

Screened porch

Built-in umbrellas

Utility areas

Garbage bins

Firewood

Tool shed

Pet run

Other

Hammock

Putting Green

Garden sculpture/art

Rain garden

Rain water storage

Lawn area

Playground/Swing set

Cornhole

Washer Toss

Style

What style do you picture for your backyard? Please choose one or more of the following:

Country/English Garden

colourful, mixed borders, perennials, informal layout with winding rustic paths english_garden

Asian/Oriental

simple; mixed shrubs and groundcover; serene, shady, lots of green; water feature or pond asian_oriental

Formal

symmetrical; clipped hedges, lawns; pergolas; fountains formal-garden

Modern/Contemporary

simple, clean lines; mass plantings modern

Natural

freeform; mimic nature; native plants natural

Tropical

freeform, mimic nature; Caribbean or tropical influences; tropical foliage and bright colours

Rustic Modern

clean lines, simple; natural materials; local artisanal details rustic_modern

Transitional

a combination of modern and traditional; clean, simple lines with antique or traditional materials or accents

Maintenance

How will the pool and landscape be maintained?

By owner

By professional gardener

By pool service

If maintained by the owner, how many hours per week will they be willing to put in?

Budget

Most people don’t like to think about this, but your budget will determine whether your backyard can be installed all or once or phased in over time; it will also determine which features, materials and details can be installed on the project.

Please check the budget figure that is closest to what you are willing to spend:

Under $10,000

$10,000 - $50,000

$50,000 - $100,000

$100,000 - $150,000

$150,000 - $250,000

Whatever it takes

Please add any other information that you feel would be helpful in planning your design.

Uploads

Please upload us the following documents (whichever you have, if any):

Property plan or a plot plan?
House plan or blueprints?
Photos of your current backyard?
Photos of projects, features or details that you like and would like to try to incorporate into this project?

File Upload

Choose files

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Design Questionnaire

About you

About your home

About your family

Plants

Pool

Wellness

Gardening

Outdoor Kitchen

Fire

Out-buildings

Shade

Utility areas

Other

Activities

Winter Features & Activities

Style

Mood

Maintenance

Budget

Uploads