On the land,
for ninety minutes.
The first conversation is on the site, with at least one principal present. We walk the land for ninety minutes; we don’t bring drawings, just a notebook. The brief that follows is a one-pager, written by us, summarizing what we heard. No charge.
Five questions.
Site, budget, timeline, fit. Sixty seconds. We’ll reply within 48 hours with one of three answers: yes (let’s walk), wait (we’re full until X), or refer (here’s a peer who fits better).
Five questions, written in chapter form. Your answers compose the brief shown to the right; we read it before our first call. We don't do template designs — this is a starting vocabulary, not a destination.
The site is —
The vocabulary should feel —
The lot, in size, is —
The budget, approximately —
The timeline begins in —
- Today
Submit the brief
Five questions in the form below; sixty seconds. We'll reply within 48 hours, usually within 24, with a yes/wait/refer.
- Wk 1
Phone call · 30 min
If the brief reads as a fit, we'll book a 30-minute call. We talk through the site, the budget, the timeline. No drawings yet.
- Wk 2 — 4
Site walk · 90 min · no fee
We come to the property — Anna or Marcus, sometimes both. Ninety minutes on the land, walking the site as it is. Brief is written from this.
- Wk 4
Brief delivered
One-page brief on what we heard, two scope recommendations (often Master Plan vs Design + Build), preliminary timeline + budget range. The decision to engage is yours from there.
The
thresholds.
- SITE SIZEQuarter-acre minimum · larger preferred · roof gardens make exception
- BUDGET$180k+ for build · $28k+ for plan only · we'll be honest if it's borderline
- GEOGRAPHYMarin · Sonoma · Peninsula · SF · East Bay (case-by-case) · LA (rare, founders' projects only)
- TIMELINEWe work in 9-month-plus engagements · sites needing turn-around in under 6 months are not a fit
- WHAT WE TURN DOWNStrict HOA constraints · sites with active mechanical issues unresolved · sub-quarter-acre · maintenance-only without design
Is the consult really free?
The site walk is free; the brief is free. We don't charge for the first conversation, ever. About half of inquiries don't lead to a project — we'd rather both of us walk away early than work through a misalignment.
Why a 90-minute walk?
Less than that and we don't read the site. More than that and we're inventing scope. Ninety minutes lets us see the grade, the light, and the bones, and gives the conversation room to breathe.
Do you turn projects down?
Yes — about half of inquiries. Sites under a quarter-acre, sites with extreme HOA constraints, sites where the budget is below the threshold. We refer to peer firms when we can; we keep that list current.
What if I'm in LA?
We work in LA only on founder-led projects, no more than two per year. The build crew is San Francisco-based; logistics make broad LA work impractical. We refer to Mariposa Gardening (LA-based) for most LA inquiries.
