Smelek Design

Mike and his team are professional and talented landscape architects. They were attentive to our wishes and turned our vision into reality. Smelek Design provided the extra touches and attention to our project. We HIGHLY recommend Smelek Design.

It's been a sincere pleasure to work with the team at Smelek Design. They sat down with us in the concept phase and understood the vision we had trouble articulating. It only took a few iterations before we arrived at our final design. They were always patient and always willing to work with Type A clients with grace and humility. Beyond the walls of our home, they designed everything from the driveway, to the landscaping, and the pool. They then worked with the subcontractors to make sure our vision became our reality. When it wasn't executed to perfection, they would make them redo it. Mike and his team have a genuine gift for art and landscape architecture. I couldn't recommend them more.

Found Mike as a top rated licensed landscaping on Houz and decided to give him a call. We knew we wanted to do something to landscaping but going directly to a landscaping company doesn't get you the design style that an architect brings to the table. We did a total package of pergola, patio, fire pit, water feature & entire landscaping plan. Be prepared that the process takes a long time - it took from March 2019 of first contact to ready to go for bidding & permits by September 2019, so roughly six months of design. Mike incorporates revisions and comments in a back-and-forth with customers that's very easy. He is OK with texting and email which is very helpful if you work long hours during the normal workweek and can't be by a phone. Mike worked through final issues and revisions at time of Permiting in the Woodlands too (very strict!). Excellent responsiveness. The bid process & construction management was the only thing that got out of hand and needs improvement - though this would be construction contractor dependent. The construction contractor took advantage of our inexperience around gas/plumbing & electric and ended up increasing cost of the project by another 10% but the major problem was the quality issues associated with those two things that neither Mike or I knew how to initially question at the beginning of the process . For being in "the business" since the early 80's, I'm actually surprised that Mike didn't know how to answer basic constructability issues like "how is electrical and plumbing typically installed?" or "how do I make a box for the fan to attach to that I spec'd out in my design?" or "I know we broke the rules for how high a wooden screen can be but maybe the HOA won't notice" or "Maybe my design causes drainage issues against the house?" Surprising especially since his management services during construction cost almost as much as the design itself. To Mike's credit, he worked tirelessly to resolve issues with Texas Patio Pros (DO NOT USE) who ended up doing sub-standard work. Many thanks to Mike & being our representative to help shield us from the usual contractor pitfalls. Can't stress this enough: CHECK LICENSES BEFORE WORK BEGINS OR CONTRACTS ARE SIGNED! Overall, happy to have a planting plan & dimensional drawings for the entire landscape too as me and my wife love working outside and will use those plans to finish the entire vision & have fun along the way. I recommend Mike if you have a year plus to design and implement landscaping plan. Would not recommend to manage or bid or supervise construction activities.

My wife and I live in Bellaire, TX. Our house is built on pier and beams, and the lots are not very large (ours is roughly 9,000 sq ft), so we were very limited with space. From the very first meeting with Mike and Bobby, they listened to our wants and requests, and did a tremendous job of working within the constraints of property lines, the house, and an 80+ year old oak tree. They had the brilliant idea of demoing the existing veranda and lowering it a couple feet in order to put the outdoor kitchen and spa under the existing roof. This keeps the spa out of the sun, and also out of the rain. They kept a watchful eye on an existing 80+ year old oak tree, and took extra precaution to stay out of its water line by designing a raised wood deck to allow rain and water to drain through. We hired Mike and Bobby to do the detailed design, to create a bid package and bid out to multiple pool and landscape companies, help select and coordinate the multiple contractors, and make sure all of them understood the plan and performed in accordance with the design. The end result is we have an infinity edge spa with seating for 10 and an L shaped pool measuring 40' x 20' on the long ends with a 10' x 8' sunning shelf. Both are much larger than we ever envisioned would fit, and it's all because of the expertise and vision that Mike and Bobby had. We've been in the pool for about a month now, and we could not be any happier and satisfied. We'll upload pictures soon when the landscaping is completed and it's picture ready.

Great Vision. Knowledge of plants, hardscape and landscape lighting that compliment each other and creates great curb appeal. Works within the budget. Coordination and Professionalism is outstanding. Easy to work with and definitely a team player.

Excellent Design Team! I have worked on couple of projects with them and they are always a joy! Very responsive and excellent Designs Highly Recommend them

Mike & Bobby have done a phenomenal job. They architected a landscape project and managed it as it was implemented. As the plans moved forward, communication was constant. They are hands on and always willing to go the extra mile. We are very pleased with their knowledge and skills. No project is the same so there will always be a unique feature in whatever they develop. Thank you for all your hard work. We appreciate you.

We hired Smelek Design for our landscaping design project and so glad we did. Mike's expertise and professionalism was superior. Smelek Design listened to our desires and was able to utilize their creativity to bring the project to life. They really were pleasant to work with as well.

I would highly recommend Smelek Designs. We hired them for a large back-yard pool project and it was the best decision we ever made. The first thing that should be mentioned about this company is their design skills. They constantly updated the design in order to address our own concerns and to address budget issues. Now finished, our pool, deck and pergola takes the breath away for anybody who comes to look at it for the first time. The design is at a level that, so far as I know, is not available from pool companies' in-house designers. It is in a different class -- you can see it immediately. In addition, their attention to the daily detail of getting the job done was first-rate. At first I thought they would be over-qualified for our project but they quickly dispelled that notion. They conducted all negotiations with the pool company and kept a constant check on the contractors, correcting inevitable errors in real time. We would have never had the success we did with our project without them. We could not be happier.