CARL BALTON + ASSOCIATES

32 Reviews

Landscape Architects & Contractors

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About Us

High-end

Published locally

Offers Custom Work

Los Angeles Landscape Designer
Best of Houzz 2012-2022

The Landscape you envision becomes a reality with inspired original design. Our successful designs come from our ability to analyze your location, and implement your intentions for the space. We are not well-suited for clients looking for piecemeal landscape design work versus redesigning the full garden space nor if you already have a very detailed vision of what you want for your space. VALUES: Carl Balton + Associates is dedicated to uniting our clients' needs with a clear and creative vision for the unique places they inhabit. Our goal is to create landscapes that people love. Our designs have renewed the environmental integrity and transformed the quality of a wide range of residential and commercial spaces. We have extensive experience working from Master Planning through realization and beyond. We believe that if the solution is right, it will enhance the environment and be beautiful, people will use it, and it will endure. WORKING WITH CLIENTS: Every physical space is unique. We work closely with clients to understand their sites and the fabric - social and environmental - in which they are woven. We do not impose a program or a signature style. Designs emerge out of the intensive process of re-imagining place and use. We are well versed in responding to concerns, anticipating challenges, and accomplishing what we envision together. HOW WE WORK TOGETHER: We marry accountability and accessibility and this makes it easier for clients to get attention and information. We believe that the better the input from our clients, the better the solution. It also means that there is more than one creative idea and the contest of ideas produces better designs. Carl settled in Los Angeles over 25 years ago after moving from the East Coast. With a B.S. in Microbiology and an M.B.A. in Finance Carl has taken a rather circuitous route to Landscape Design. Although seemingly unrelated, the benefits of studying Biology and Business, and understanding how each can inform the other within the scope of a project, create a perfect harmony between the spontaneity of nature and the structure of planning. He continues studies at the UCLA Extension-Landscape Architecture Program and City of Santa Monica Sustainable Landscape Design Series for Professionals. Carl comes to a project with a working understanding of the complete home renovation process as well as all phases of Landscape Design.

Services Provided

3D Rendering, Custom Fire Pits, Drafting, Drought Tolerant Landscaping, Garden Design, Hardscaping, Site Planning, Construction Drawings

Areas Served

Beverly Hills, Culver City, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Bel Air, Brentwood Los Angeles, Encino, Hollywood, Marina Del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Playa Del Rey, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Topanga, Venice, West Hollywood

Awards

Best of Houzz Customer Service 2012-2022

20 Projects

Business Details

Business Name

CARL BALTON + ASSOCIATES

Phone Number

+1 310-738-3610

Website

carlbalton.com

Address

P.O. Box 5579
Santa Monica, CA 90409-5579

Typical Job Cost

$50,000 - 500,000

Design Fees range from 5-10% of Project Cost depending on scope of work (Example: $100,000 Project = $5,000-10,000 in Design Fees).

Followers

386 Followers

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Credentials

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Featured Review

Shaul Kofler

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32 Reviews for CARL BALTON + ASSOCIATES

Newest first

5.0|32 reviews

Work Quality

5.0

Communication

5.0

Value

5.0

Shaul Kofler

I had the pleasure of working with Carl on a big landscape project in Torrance. Design was absolutely beautiful! He really knows his craft and understands the type of plants and trees that fit the southern California climate. He was really responsive on getting the delivery on time and oversaw the correct installation of all the landscaping. Looking forward to working with Carl again in the next project.

6 December 2021

cortesejocelyn

Carl is very knowledgeable, and also a great listener. He helped us create landscaping that was appropriate for our home's style, our family's lifestyle, and our interest in being environmentally responsible. He is responsive, flexible, and passionate about his craft. We are thrilled with our landscaping and he gave us all the information we needed to keep it looking fantastic. I highly recommend him.

30 September 2021

Clayton cohen

Carl is a fantastic landscape architect with a keen eye for modern, practical, eco-friendly design. He has a seamless design process from start to finish, listened to our needs, and provided our landscape contractor with a perfect set of plans. We feel like we’ve added hundreds of square feet to our home with our newly renovated outdoor space! We would highly recommend Carl for his services as we had a great experience with him and he continues to provide follow up and ongoing feedback months after the project.

15 December 2020

Courtney T

Carl was an absolute pleasure to work with and very professional. He was extremely hands on and brought my vision to life. I highly recommend working with him and will hire him for more jobs in the future. 5 star service and style.

21 November 2020

Maureen Bryant

I used Carl to design our small backyard in Beverly Hills. Carl was punctual, on budget, and delivered not only a beautiful but very functional design!

14 September 2019

Darren Diau

Highly recommend Carl! Our property management worked with Carl on the design and implementation of a landscaping renovations project for a 80,000 SF shopping center. This was a large scale project with many moving parts but Carl was very responsive throughout and made sure the project was done in time and on schedule.

1 July 2019Last modified:1 July 2019

Sterling Landscaping, Inc

We started working with Carl this year to help with our landscape design workload and we could not be more happy with him. He has an eye for not only aesthetically pleasing design but also functional. He is timely, competent, and competitively priced.

26 June 2019

CaliScape Landscape Services

I have worked with Carl on several projects and each time its been a good experience. Carl designs and presents unique, functional and sustainable landscapes. On the job he has a clear vision of the end product with a common sense approach to completing the work.

18 December 2018

Tony Miles

We hired Carl Balton to perform design and landscape work on multiple projects in the Los Angeles region. We worked as owners representatives on all these projects and when the owners would come to the buildings after the exterior work was completed, they were shocked at the transformation from the old overgrown buildings to the clean, modern and street appeal of the buildings. We worked on a total of 7 projects together over a three year period with complete satisfaction on all. Landscape work was the item we ended up receiving the most praise for on all of our projects due to Carl's interaction on these projects. I would highly recommend Carl Balton on any project you have in the future. He is constantly on site to make sure every last touch and detail is attended to.

17 November 2017

User

Carl is a pro. I have very high expectations from creative professionals I hire, Carl meets and exceeds all of them. I hired Carl to work with us on a complete landscape design of our new home. From our first meeting, through the design process and on site support through the landscape contractors installation, Carl was committed start to finish. He is skilled with his plant selection and palate. His design work took into consideration all our needs from being kid/play friendly, our lifestyle, and our taste. Beyond all that, I truly enjoyed spending time hanging out and talking plants and landscaping with him, he's a pleasure to work with.

14 August 2017Last modified:18 March 2023

Cricket Wardein

I moved into a darling house that had zero landscaping - just dirt and dead trees and a few weeds. Carl had an open canvas and made it so beautiful. He designed a pool secluded with tropical plants, a cozy fire pit, grassy play areas for my daughter and dog, gorgeous trellised front yard, seclusion from my neighbors and soothing water features. I was impatient and wanted things to look good immediately - so he added some pops of color and within 6 months it looked amazing. He worked in my budget and really listened to my needs. I would recommend him highly to anyone. Plus, he is cool and fun to work with.

4 June 2017

Chris Taylor

Carl Bolton is both a talented landscape architect and a great collaborator with clients. He provided great design ideas (with built-in flexibility) and did so at a price that was very reasonable. He followed up with oversight and recommendations for ongoing maintenance after the planting was in and had to a chance to grow. I recommend him highly.

18 July 2016

Erik McMorrow

We've worked with Carl Balton for several years on various landscape installations. Carl is extremely professional, knowledgeable and collaborative designer. From a landscape contractors perspective his professionalism continues to make jobs effortless. Carl is very accessible, willing to answer questions, make changes, and anything else that may be required to get the job done. He works closely with the clients and has always provided everyone with enjoyable experience and great finished product. We would strongly recommend Carl Balton for anyone looking for an extremely thoughtful and professional firm, and we always look forward to the next job!

10 June 2016

Santa Monica Landscape

I have worked with Carl for years as his installer and his designs are so much more up and above some of the other designers i have worked for.Always attentive to customers needs and always willing to listen to other ideas as well.His plant palette is really cohesive and works so well. Always a pleasure for me the installer and the customer to have a designer so caring for all involved

29 April 2016

Kirsten Rutherford

Carl has been great to work with. He took the time to understand our design sensibilities and worked creatively within our size, budget and timeframe. He's an expert in drought tolerant planting, which was essential for our project, plus has a little black book of wonderful places to source exactly what you need or desire for our grand garden plans. His attention and eye for detail were spot on and we appreciated his willingness to answer any and every question we had throughout the process, from initial design concepts, to his final detailing of our statement pot! Best of all, we get stopped by passers-by on a daily basis to be complimented on our new landscaping... you can't ask for more than that!

16 March 2016

Andy Watkins

Great to work with. They listen and understand what our vision is, and then add their own expertise. Cant recommend highly enough.

1 November 2015

Steve M

Carl is a true artist and is very professional, very personable and very reliable. we love our final result. Importantly, he is meticulous in his attention to detail - which, as a client, is incredibly appreciated. He offers various design and layout options and is super amenable to any changes. He just wants to make you happy. He provides detailed plans and computerized drawings so that you can see what the end result will look like. There is no visualizing needed. It's all there on the paper. He also works very well with gardeners and gives them good leadership and direction in installing his creations. He follows up promptly to any and all questions and requests and is very easy to work with. If you needs a superb landscape artist, he’s your guy. I can highly recommend him.

9 October 2015

htavarozzi

Carl Balton provided the creative design, architectural drawings, plant choices, contractor selection & supervision, and finishing details to make our landscaping project a huge success. Everything went smoothly and on time, and the results are beautiful. I would definitely recommend his services -- well worth it!

2 June 2015

mmahdesian

Converted a grass fronted business into a beautiful surface of a variety of stones and decomposed granites with succulent beds, drip irrigation and a bocce ball court to help us in achieving our LEED Platinum certification. Carl was creative, took our needs and pricing concerns into his plan, connected us with the appropriate sub contractors to work with and oversaw the project in a timely manner. Will definitely use him again for other projects.

13 December 2014

alisonlogan

We are very pleased with the Landscape Design services from Carl Balton & Associates. It's a delight to work with Carl. We have been renovating a 10 acre property over the last three years and Carl is always available for visits and easily adapts to project adjustments. His keen eye for design elements is communicated with insightful CAD Plans and his project management skills really put us at ease. We wanted something special and that's exactly what we got.

10 February 2014

dpolier

Carl Balton & Associates are a first-rate landscaping company that are also very reasonable financially given the high degree of personal care and creativity that they bring to a project. They take responsibility for every thing they do and treat your project as if it was their own home. Carl Balton is very friendly and enthusiastic and makes what otherwise could be a stressful endeavor into something fun to be a part of from start to finish. We've all had the experience of hiring contractors who don't show up when they are suppose to and who are juggling several projects at the same time. You won't have any of those shenanigans with Carl Balton. He and his company are reliable, always punctual and courteous, and very much "johnny-on-the-spot" when it comes to their work. But what is most important is that Carl Balton has an artist's eye and a craftsman's skill and for that reason I recommend him and his company very highly.

19 August 2013

kenmwright

This was awesome. Carl made this fun! He was patient with our slow decision making process, informative, helpful and really a blast. He is very enthusiastic about what he does, LOVES his job, and LOVES plants, so he brought tons of joy to the entire process. He referred people to do the actual install, and they too were fantastic. His work is excellent.

8 August 2013

photos3737

Carl Balton did a wonderful job designing our front and back yards. His choice of drought tolerant plantings that have visual significance was Fantastic. We are happy clients!

9 January 2013

Jack Valero

Carl has the ability to create unique enviornments which seem totally appropriate to each site. I saw the job he did for a client and it was a magical transformation. From a dull overgrown backyard to a modern sophisticated garden that fitted just what my clients were looking for. Now they actually spend time in their yard. Highly recommended.

12 December 2012Last modified:2 January 2013

Pat Sinclair

I hired Carl Balton to redesign my rather tired looking landscaping which had been in place for quite some time, giving our garden a new look, while keeping the trees and some of the shrubs,. After our initial onsite meeting, we met at "nursery row" and walked and talked, so that he could show me various types of plants and get an idea of what I liked, what I was open to and what I openly disliked. I had seen what Carl had done at the home of a close friend of mine, and I was open to trying some new types of plants which I would not normally have considered. Carl made a landscape plan which gave each area of the garden its own special feel, working in some cases in fairly circumscribed areas which had never before had any particular life of their own. I found him to be extremely creative, very cost conscious (the project ending up costing a bit under budget), fun and a pleasure to work with. Both my husband and I continue to be delighted with all the work that he has done, and he richly deserves a five star review!

11 December 2012

yomoogie

Carl Balton is a real professional with an unparalleled work ethic. He has a keen design sensibility, a thorough knowledge about landscaping and design, and a rare integrity about the way he handles his business. He inspired our garden while respecting our ideas and was hands on at every step of our project. He was available whenever we needed him, and he always had plenty of ideas and encouragement where we were lacking. Working with him was very comfortable; we felt total trust in both the design and the business interactions we had with him. I eagerly recommend him and look forward to the opportunity to work with him again.

5 November 2012

NEXT WAVE GALLERY

Carl Balton & Associates designed and landscaped several areas of my yard in Venice, California. The designer was sensitive to my desire for drought tolerant plants and successfully delivered the WOW factor I was hoping for. I would definitely recommend the company.

4 November 2012Last modified:23 July 2014

katherinebeattie

Los Angels is very lucky to have Carl Balton & Associates in our design community! Carl's design fulfilled my landscape dreams beyond what I had even imagined! Two years into living in the garden he created, I still marvel every single day how perfectly he 'got it'. I had problems, he solved them, with a stunning yard, both plant and hardscape. Highly recommend!

23 October 2012

mattleav

Carl Balton is the best you will find. He is an absolute pleasure to work with, he's incredibly accommodating and is undeniably gifted at what he does. His design was exactly what was needed for our house and the execution was exactly what he described. He has a natural eye for aesthetics as well as an understanding of pragmatics, which is a rare combination. He is extremely knowledgable on all plant-life and was an invaluable resource. I would use him again in a heartbeat.

22 October 2012

Hope Morris Designs

As an Interior Designer in Los Angeles I have worked with many Landscape Designers throughout my years. Carl Balton has a unique balance of knowledge and atheistic Landscape design. Balton and Associates take the project from the preliminary design inception to the fruition of beautiful outdoor spaces. In California, where land is at a premium and the climate is conducive to being outside , the Landscape Design expands the walls of the house into "Outside Rooms" and Outdoor Living Areas.". Therefore, as an Interior Designer ,it is essential to combine my work with a Landscape Designer that understands the fundmental design philosophy of not only, "Bringing the Outside Into the house" but also "Bringing the Interior Design, Outside". I have know and worked with Carl Balton many years and his Design skills are only exceeded by his integrity and work ethic, that is a rare quality and combination..

21 October 2012Last modified:20 January 2014

robinlynnwarner

Carl is very talented and a pleasure to work with at every stage of the process. He has an amazing eye, vision and is very detail oriented. He was involved in every step of the project (spent countless hours with us) and still checks in on us a year after completion. He is a great listener. He helped us create the garden of our dreams. He passionate about his work and it shows.

20 October 2012

toddmckee

We have built an installed multiple projects designed by Carl (Pergolas, Arbors, Driveway Doors, etc.). His plans are always clear, detailed, and well thought out, while still leaving room for collaborative input by all parties involved. His goal is always to get the best possible design for the project. I recommend him to my clients when they need insightful landscape design. I always appreciate his hard work and care that he gives to my clients.

20 October 2012Last modified:31 October 2012

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50 Comments

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CARL BALTON + ASSOCIATES