Marilee Gaffney Design

Marilee is wonderful to work with. She is a great listener and works to find plants and layouts that match your ideas. I would recommend her highly!

Marilyn did a great job helping refresh our outdoor landscaping. She is the rare creative who is able to share her gift of knowledge about plants in a very professional manner. She is a great communicator and provided reliable and timely service. Very happy with the outcome, highly recommend!

Marilee is extremely knowledgeable and practical. We recommend her highly. We needed to transform our concrete yard into a family friendly room with eco-friendly, drought tolerant plants, cozy but sturdy furniture and a new fence/deck. She provided clean design ideas and thought about each element, gave us options and then tapped her network to bring in quality products and partners. Full landscaping, planning for San Francisco "seasons" and a deck and extensive fence project. Marilee has an extremely clean design aesthetic and provides context to make the best decisions. She's a very clear communicator and her planning and design has given us a beautiful, easy to maintain yard.

I would re-hire and highly recommend Marilee Gaffney Design. Not only is Marilee a pleasure to work with, but her taste level is high and customized to your personal style. She combines the creative and practical aspects of a project to create a beautiful and functional space. Five years later I'm still enjoying how attractive she made my home. And guests love it too!

I have referred Marilee to several clients that had landscaping and staging needs. One client in particular purchased a beautiful view condo in San Francisco with a sloped backyard that seemed unusable. Marilee transformed the space into a very useable backyard with a level seating area with a fire pit , lush yard and a children's play area. She took out aged and overgrown vegetation and replaced with beautiful greenery that also provided additional privacy and beauty. The client was so happy with her work they referred her to several friends around the Bay Area.

I have absolutely loved working with Marilee! Our home’s landscaping is constantly in bloom throughout the seasons and her breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm for her work make her a delight to be with. She has been reliable, honest, hard working and has really gone the extra mile to make everything beautiful and I’d recommend her to anyone. In addition, as my yard has matured I have often sought her help for ideas and creativity.

Marilee is the best! We've known her personally for years, but had never hired her until recently. Our roof deck was in dire need of finishing, as we'd put on decking but nothing else for years. Marilee talked with us in detail about our likes and dislikes, shared images of various plants, planters, and furniture, ultimately arriving at a mix that was her aesthetic, but keeping our likes in mind. We now have another "room" at our house where we can entertain, relax, and garden. I'm already using lots of herbs that are growing quickly!

We have utilized Marilee Gaffney Design over the past twenty years for ongoing landscape projects, in which she ensures our garden always looks fresh, vibrant and seasonal. In addition, she has assisted us with numerous projects, including the installation of an outdoor gas fireplace with beautiful seating, selection of tile material for our patio, and the selection of outdoor design furniture to fit with the aesthetics of our garden. We highly recommend all of the various services her design company has to offer.

Marilee is the best! She did the design and coordination of the landscaping project for our Palo Alto home. She is an amazingly creative individual, incredibly talented and a joy with whom to work.

I contacted Marilee after seeing her work on Houzz. She came out with her landscape contractor, Ralph Laughlin, and made several wonderful recommendations. Ralph implemented the ideas and soon I had landscape lighting up and working in the back and new unique installations working very nicely in the front! Very pleased!

Marilee is a pro! She helped me with new lighting and landscaping in my San Francisco garden. She sourced great options for the hardware and brought reliable high quality contractors to complete the complex job. Marilee is so knowledgeable, has a terrific design aesthetic and is an efficient and excellent communicator. I couldn't ask for a better experience and am appreciative of how quickly and professionally this job was completed.

I worked with Marilee to redesign my garden at my cottage in Mill Valley. My goal was to create more of an English garden that was playful, colorful and soothing. The old garden was dated and needed a total redo. She created a plan with a specific color scheme and i approved it before the work was done. She then arranged for a gardener to do the hardscape and landscape. I added a fire pit and new pathway. She also helped me to select outdoor furniture which gave the whole garden the feel of an outdoor living room. The garden is amazing and continues to bring joy. I was lucky to have been featured here on Houzz. I think Marilee is an amazing designer and i highly recommend her for your garden design!

I hired Marilee to help me choose plants for my front yard, which was designed around a sitting area paved in decomposed granite. Front yard seating is unusual in our Redwood City neighborhood, and Marilee suggested we add a second DG sitting area, which has become our favorite place to sit! I was so happy after working with Marilee that I introduced her to an Interior Designer friend, and they went on to collaborate on projects in Palo Alto and Napa. Marilee’s lovely calm demeanor enables her to truly understand what a client wants, and then she combines her gracious professionalism and perfect design eye to guide a project to a stunning outcome!

Marilee did a phenomenal job in transforming our frontyard and backyard. Before Marilee worked with us, we had a pretty boring standard suburban front and backyard with a grass lawn and some hedge. Marilee transformed it with a stunning hard-scaping design and beautiful choice of plants to make our house feel more like a more cozy cottage with look and feel of an English garden. Amazing roses, tulips, clematis and lavender to brighten up everything!

Marilee helped transform a rat's nest backyard into an urban oasis. She was an absolute delight to work with and true resource through the entire project. Marilee coordinated contractors, was hands on with plantings and collaborated with us from start to finish. I highly recommend this super talented and highly professional designer. Thank you Marilee!