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Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from Nilsen Landscape Design, LLC. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
Estimated range
$50 – $70
Typical landscaping service around $60
Nilsen Landscape Design carries a 5.0 average across 42 ratings on Houzz, where the studio has posted 23 projects. Andrea Nilsen leads the practice, which lists a Marblehead, Massachusetts mailing address and names Nahant among the towns it covers. The customer accounts run 2017 through 2020, and they keep circling the same thing: this is a designer people call for a hard site. A homeowner writing in December 2020 described a third-of-an-acre lot with a 40-foot elevation change where ground that had been unusable became outdoor living space. In a 2019 account, a client with a sloped yard, an old wall and water problems near the house credited her with keeping the job moving and bringing in qualified contractors to choose from. Another client, writing in October 2020, said she laid the design out to scale for their construction team and caught a failing retaining wall along the way. The coordination role comes up again and again. Reviewers in 2017 and 2018 describe her finding the landscape contractor, positioning plants on site and supervising the planting rather than handing over drawings and stepping back. Several also say she stayed inside a stated budget, offering different materials when costs ran tight. Two trade professionals wrote in as well: a general contractor in 2019 and a custom home builder in 2018, both saying they send their own clients to her. Two things are worth raising on a first call. Every written account is at least five years old, the newest dated December 2020, so ask for recent references and projects finished since. And the scale is real — Houzz puts the typical construction budget behind her projects at $25,000 to $250,000, so a small planting refresh may not be the right fit. Her Houzz page lists a Certificate of Landscape Design from the Boston Architectural College and APLD membership, plus a service list running from planting plans and hardscaping to patio, pool and outdoor lighting design. For a North Shore homeowner planning a substantial, design-led yard with someone to run the trades through construction, she is a credible call — confirm current availability, fees and a recent project you can look at before committing.
We can not say enough about Andrea. She is simply amazing. Her talent and attention to detail is reflected in her work. Andrea took our pathetically dull back yard and transformed it into a tranquil, peaceful, and majestically colorful piece of artwork. Andrea respectfully listened to our wants and thoughtfully presented us with an incredible design. We highly recommend Andrea and look forward to working with her in the spring and seeing the canvas transformed into a colorful work of art.
Working with Andrea was great. We have a property that has a 40 foot elevation change on a 1/3 acre lot. Nilsen Landscape developed a landscaping plan that transformed our exterior. Portions of the yard that were unusable are now exterior living space which was much needed in 2020! Thanks for your help Andrea. We are so happy with the final product!
Andrea came highly recommended and she did not disappoint. She was very friendly, not pushy but came with good ideas. She listened to us and what we wanted out of space and helped us map it all out. She was a great help to our construction team as well...she laid out the design to scale and gave them what they needed to order and how to lay out. Finally, she has great attention to detail (considered environment/lighting) and even helped us catch an issue with a falling retaining wall (much appreciated). We love our space now and are so happy to have worked with Andrea.
I was referred to Andrea Nielsen by a general contractor (S+H) who had worked with her in the past, and she came to me highly recommended. My experience was positive since the first interaction. Andrea was very attentive to my needs and listened to the concept we had for our landscaping. After our initial meetings, she came out with a beautiful design that exceeded our original expectations. Andrea worked with us every step of the way and was always aware of our budget when providing options for our selection of materials. She was very responsive to each one of our inquiries and even got answers back to us during her vacation. The process was easy to handle from beginning to end, and we felt that we were being accompanied in every step of this complex process. Andrea spent time with us explaining different options and brought samples that allow us to understand better the different selections. She was also very resourceful to find information about options and questions we have thought for our property and provided useful advice to help guide our decisions. Andrea was very involved in our project, she helped us in selecting furniture and appliances, recommended subcontractors to do other work, and even took the time to upon delivery to personally position every plant according to her layout, and then she personally supervised the planting. Finally, I can say without a doubt that working with Andrea has been one of the most pleasant experiences I had. She is very knowledgeable, has a great ability to explain the technical details behind each decision, and listens to the customer to make sure the space she designs fulfills every need and expectation. I highly recommend Andrea for your landscaping work, I am sure she will be the first person I call for any future project. To finalize, the best way to summarize Andrea's work is to say that after completion of the design Andrea put together, our home feels now complete. Also, all of our neighbors have highly complemented our landscaping work.
We have enjoyed working with Andrea. She is knowledgeable of all aspects of our job. We have a sloped yard, an old wall, and water issues near the house, and an upper patio needing to flow into the new outdoor living space. Andrea provided guidance and great ideas to make our vision of the space a reality. She listens, takes notes, is responsive, and provided options when we were up against our budget. She keeps the job moving, brought in qualified contractors for us to choose from, and is overall easy to work along side. Her fees have always been reasonable and fair. I would hire her again and recommend her without reservation.
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