Wave Outdoors Landscape + Design

We had a wonderful experience with Wave! The entire design team did an amazing job creating a beautiful patio space and the install went smoothly. They answered all of my questions throughout the process and were super helpful and responsive. We will definitely work with them again!

I definitely chose the right company for my project. Jenny, Lupe, Dan and staff just put in a rather large garden for me, including a beautiful fountain. I love it! Jenny went above and beyond and stayed late on several days to ensure everything was done to specification. She helped place the plants and move them when it was needed. She did a fantastic job of planning the garden. It's already so pretty.
Lupe managed his staff to build a beautiful fountain. I'm so proud of it now. The one I had before was just to "make do".
Aside from all that, everyone worked so well together and were happy. It appears the staff is treated well and with respect and it shows. I appreciate that.

Last summer (2023) Wave built for us 2 new porches, 2 walkways, a patio, pergola, and arbor, landscaped both our front and back yards, added lighting, and replaced our scraggly lawns with new sod. Everything turned out great. Mary worked with us to design every element: the color schemes and materials for the porches, the walkways, and the patio and landscaping. She listened to what we wanted and came up with porches, patio and walkways that look contemporary, with colors that look good with the house.
The front porch is concrete with beautiful coordinated stone facades and steps, and a paver walkway that goes to the public sidewalk. Mary put a lot of thought into finding shades of color that look great together and with our house. They also built a roof for the porch; its nice to be able to open an umbrella BEFORE we get wet.
The back porch is composite and is much easier to maintain than the old wood porch it replaced. They also suggested putting a door on the side of the stairs so now we have protected storage underneath. (We never thought of that!) The decks on both porches are much larger than what we had before, when only one person could stand there to open the door.
The paver patio and back walkway are wonderful. The walkway covers the area where our dogs had churned it to mud, and now we dont have to wipe their feet every time they come in. The patio is just awesome. We didnt have one before, and sitting outside is so relaxing. Especially since we now have lovely bushes and flowers to look at! We wanted landscaping that would attract pollinators, use as many native plants as possible, and create space and food for birds and small animals; Mary worked hard to create a design that integrated a lot of color for spring, summer, and fall, and in winter snow on the bushes and dried seed heads adds interest. She also designed a small garden for pollinators on the side of our house, and was even able to get milkweed for monarch butterflies.
Everyone was great to work with; there were several teams: landscaping, hardscaping, electrical, and plumbing, and they all worked hard to get each project done. Brian came to check on progress frequently and often came up with suggestions and small changes that smoothed out issues that we had not thought of. He also spent a lot of time working with village inspectors and the permit office.
I would recommend Wave to anyone who wants beautiful, quality work and attention to detail. The photographs Im including speak for themselves.

I interviewed several landscaping firms for a multi-phase master plan for my property, and the level of care and time Kevin paid upfront completely blew me away. She took meticulous notes and truly listened to my vision, making Wave the obvious choice.
From there, Mary took over as the lead designer and has gone completely above and beyond. I came to the project with a highly specific wishlist of perennials, and instead of pushing a standard template, Mary fully embraced it. She tracked our feedback seamlessly and artfully layered the material for multi-season interest. Even when we hit unexpected real-world adjustment Mary and the team pivoted without missing a beat.
The final design is a realistic, beautiful three-phase plan that has a flexible budget and the ability to evolve. Their top-notch design expertise is evident, but where things really shine is in their ability to work with you paint a big picture and align the small details to deliver a magnificent design. If you want a deeply collaborative, detail-oriented team, this is absolutely the place to work with!

We recently hired Wave Outdoors Landscape + Design for some work on our yard, and Im really happy with how everything turned out. The team was easy to work with, showed up on time, and kept things pretty smooth from start to finish. They had some great ideas that made the space look way better than we originally planned.

Pricing felt fair for the quality of work, and they didnt try to upsell anything unnecessary. Overall, solid experience and Id definitely recommend them if youre looking to improve your outdoor space.

Wave Outdoors Landscape and Design did a fantastic job designing and installing the landscape for our backyard berm. From our initial meeting with Kevin to our meetings with Mary who did the final design everything went very smoothly and professionally. Mary not only developed a two-dimensional plan of the design but also developed a 3-D walk thru video of the design so we could get a good feel for what it would look like. Mary was very patient making whatever changes we suggested either due to personal preference or budget issues. The installation team was great and hard working. They showed up when scheduled and on time. I'm still amazed at how they were able to move into place all the outcropping stone they did without damaging my back and side yard. Matt the project manager managed the job well and Mary showed up every day to help oversee the installation and make sure everything was installed as planned. I found them to be honest in all our dealings and very professional. I highly recommend Wave Outdoors Landscape and Design.

I reached out to Wave because my backyard desperately needed a redo and I wanted to put privacy plantings in. I worked with Mary to completely scrub the existing yard and remake it, including removing a large failing tree and then adding new sod, all new flowers and shrubs, a couple trees and privacy trees along the fence lines. Mary took into account my wishes for different focal areas of the yard- seating, bird feeding, bird bath, cut flower garden, and had the sweet idea to add an arbor to the previous dead space behind my garage. I love the variety of plants she selected. She also went above and beyond in the design phase, showing me some more advanced designs so that I had options. The different crews for the tree removal and install were both so friendly, fast, and skilled. Mary's communication was SO GOOD. She always let me know what was going on and when to expect the next step. I'm looking forward to seeing my garden mature and hopefully another project- the front yard!

Wave Outdoors transformed our patio, driveway, and landscaping, and we couldnt be happier with the results! Our house looks absolutely fabulous. Mary and Brian were a pleasure to work withprofessional, attentive, and genuinely invested in bringing our vision to life. They made the whole process smooth and enjoyable, and the quality of their work exceeded our expectations. Highly recommend Wave Outdoors for anyone looking to elevate their outdoor space!

I had two opportunities to work with Wave. The first involved developing a landscape design for a berm area in our development. Brian was very responsive and carefully listened to what we wanted for the area and our desire to use plants requiring limited care. We also wanted color in the spring, summer and fall. We were presented a beautiful plan and the installation was seamless. The residents are very pleased and the area is a great enhancement to our entrance.
I recently approached Wave to help with a design for the front of our Florida home. Mary was so excited for the opportunity and once again collaborated and developed a design that is second to none. The colors, plants used and planned placement are outstanding. We are moving ahead with installation and the plan provided makes needed approval very easy.
Overall, I can not say enough about the professionalism and competence of everyone on the Wave staff. Plus, they all are so nice. A great experience!

We had a fabulous experience with Wave. I highly recommend Wave for any landscape project. Mary was outstanding! She put together a beautiful and creative plan for our rock garden area, tastefully rearranging existing items to accommodate annual planting areas and an outdoor grill.

Mary was extremely responsive and worked on every detail during the entire process. She was always ready to answer questions and come up with suggestions.

I am amazed at how the area looks with the new lighting and slabs. I could mot be more pleased!

Pam Keating

We worked with Brian on landscaping and hardscaping for our Lincoln Park townhome, and they did such an amazing job that two of our neighbors asked for his contact information and at least one of them moved forward with Wave Outdoors too!

Our 100% satisfaction started with consultation on design for a paver patio replacement that includes a small retaining wall and various shrubs/ground cover in several garden beds in the front and side of our home. Brian pointed us to a nearby distributor to choose among Unilock pavers then coordinated three complementary products for the patio itself, the wall, and the wall topper. We are busy professionals and wanted low maintenance landscaping, and Brian's knowledge of good plants for our climate and lifestyle was spot-on.

After an informative design phase (with two in-person appointments that Brian kept reliably and that also included some hand-holding with our HOA to secure necessary approvals), the work crew arrived promptly on the appointed date and worked quickly to complete the entire job in only 3 or 4 days from demolition/removal of the old patio to installation of all hardscaping, plants, and ground cover. We immediately had the nicest patio of anyone in our complex of 48 units, and the high quality generated a lot of neighborhood "buzz" given how visible Brian and his crew's work is for everyone in the complex.

Our only regret is that we didn't go with the sprinkler system that Brian proposed at a reasonable incremental cost that would have saved many, many hours of watering during summer months. We would wholeheartedly recommend Wave Outdoors for any job large or small!

Our back yard garden bed (partly in sun, partly in shade), along the rear property line, was in need of some landscaping. Over the nearly 40+ years we have lived here, we had randomly planted several lilac bushes, a few hosta plants, several patches of narcissus, some pachysandra, and a small number of ferns, but there was no unifying design. Everything we had planted competed with weeds and unwanted brush that had sprouted up around them. We had always wanted to look out our kitchen window and see a beautifully planned display of perennials, shrubs, and trees and finally decided to do something about it.
We found Wave Outdoors and started working with designer Mary DiCarlo last fall, after we cleared much of the bed of unwanted foliage and installed a backyard fence to allow our newly adopted rescue dog to run free. We were looking to get a design created and the landscaping installed early this spring.
Over the fall and winter months, Mary worked with us via several on-site visits, email exchanges, and Zoom sessions to finalize a design. Mary was a careful listener and tried to incorporate our wishes from the start, while making several small adjustments to the design several times at our request. Just a few days before the installation, when a particular specimen tree she had planned for us was in short supply, Mary made several weekend visits to local garden centers to find us the perfect tree. This was above and beyond the call of duty!
The installation work was planned for two days in late April, but was completed by the Wave Outdoors 3-man crew, led by Rob, in a single day. Good timing, because the next day it rained almost all day, giving the plantings a good drink. The crew worked hard all day, doing additional unplanned tasks, such as trimming overhanging branches to make room for newly-planted (but sure to grow tall eventually) spruce trees, and also repairing some lawn spots from our dog. They also cleaned up better than any crew who has ever worked on our property.
We are so happy with the finished result already, but knowing that perennials operate in a sleep, creep, leap fashion in the three years after planting, we expect the bed to look fantastic over the next 2-3 years as the plantings mature. The plantings were designed to be a mixture of tall, medium, and short heights, of a variety of textures and foliage color, with bloom colors expected in at different times in spring, summer, and fall. The evergreen plantings will remain blue-green throughout the year.
We highly recommend Wave Outdoors and designer Mary DiCarlo for your landscaping needs (they do hardscaping also)! The entire process was well-documented with excellent communication from start to finish. Any small issues found after installation were taken care of very quickly. Initial and final payments were easy using Zelle, but Wave Outdoors also accepts personal checks and credit cards.
Looking forward to warmer weather when we can be outside on our patio enjoying our beautiful new landscape!

Wow!!! We had a wonderful experience with Wave Outdoors. Wave Outdoors is located in Mount Prospect which was appealing to me to support local businesses.

Brian worked with us from start of finish. He came and walked our property in the beginning and really listened to our ideas and also incorporated his own landscape design expertise. He walked us through his beautiful design and made recommendations for trees, shrubs, and plants that would be successful in our zone.

Our curb appeal went up 1000%. While I have been out watering many people have stopped and commented on how beautiful everything looks. Some have even asked if they could snap a picture or two.

The crews that came in and took all of the old landscaping out, were here each day on time and left the area neat and clean when they were finished for the day.

THANK YOU Wave Outdoors and Brian Dreher for helping to guide us with this project. It truly has been a pleasure working with Wave Outdoors. I would highly recommend Wave Outdoors for any landscaping design, installations, or any other outdoor needs you may have.

Sincerely,

Colleen and Michael Moreno

Highly recommend Wave for landscaping projects! Mary listened to my requests and worked within my budget to design a backyard that was in dire need of renovation. She is kind, knowledgeable, and happy to provide options and suggestions. Throughout the process, she was responsive and communicated clearly, checking in and answering any questions. Her team finished quickly and even took care of some tasks that were not specified in advance. I am over the moon with the result :)

We were put in touch with Wave Outdoors through online landscape design company, Yardzen. First let me start by saying, they have been wonderful to work with, I highly recommend them, and I plan to continue using them on future projects.

Our home is new contruction, so prior to working with Wave Outdoors we had no landscaping in either our front or back yard. We started with the front yard (and plan to hire them for the backyard in the next 1-2 years). Mary at Wave Outdoors was our point of contact through the whole process. She reviewed our design created by Yardzen, and was able to suggest alterations to better accommodate lighting and temperature zones where we live. Mary was a pleasure to work with, very thoughtful and very accommodating. She was able to help us narrow down several hardscape selections to exactly what we wanted. Through the installation process she checked to make sure everything looked as we wanted it, and was very proactive with any replacement plants. Everything turned out amazing and as I noted at the start, we will continue to use Wave Outdoors for all our landscaping needs!

If I could give 10 stars, I would. From start to finish, they are the best. Mary is a true landscape ARTIST! Her designs are well thought out and she always listens to your vision, while making sure to choose appropriate plants for the soil/zone/sun exposure. They source quality plants and create multiple seasons of blooming foliage for a gorgeous end result. Ive used this company for multiple projects, and I plan to use them for any future gardening needs. They show up when theyre supposed to, and finish projects on time and within the budget. Their crew is hardworking, polite and very tidy. I highly recommend this company if you want a professional garden that only looks better with time and will surely increase your property value.

We needed the dead trees on our rooftop deck removed and replaced. Brian and the Wave team were all amazing to work with. They are professional, knowledgeable and super friendly. I would highly recommend Wave Outdoors for any landscaping project that you need completed.

Brian was very helpful in creating an initial design and working with us to update items as more information became known. He and his team did a great job with construction of our new backyard, including an updated deck, patio, lighting, drainage, landscaping. I would work with them again!

We had a wonderful experience working with Brian and the Wave crew for our backyard renovation. We wanted a complete gut out of our existing yard so we could start from scratch. Brian started by providing us with a design and worked with us to make sure the yard would be functional, fit our budget and looked beautiful. The end result turned out better than we imagined and we have a completely transformed space. I would definitely recommend if you are looking for someone honest, creative, and does the job right!

We completed our landscape project with Wave this summer and we couldn't be happier. Brian is very knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with and he actually met with us virtually (thanks Covid) to review all the designs. The work was completed professionally, on time, and clean.

I am so happy with the work that was done, even though it was only a simple large mulch installation, the team helped make sure everything was done perfectly and even helped me with some of my spring clean up. ABOVE AND BEYOND! I am looking forward to using their services in the future and will be referring them to friends and family.

I have nothing but positive things to say about Brian and Wave.

First, Brian is incredibly responsive and patient. It is clear that he values his customers. I sent over 10 texts while planning this project and Brian responded to each one. He was also responsive over email and his PandaDoc system is a great way of seeing the project online so there can be no confusion. He is honest about pricing and outlines the many different options that the customer has. I never once felt like I was being up sold or pressured into adding more cost to the project. In fact, Brian recommended a lower cost option for me. A silly added bonus? If your dog gets out of the yard during the meeting, he'll help you wrangle her back home. Those small things matter.

Oh, yeah, the work was amazing. Lupe and his team were early, incredibly friendly, triple checked that we were all in the same page, and then did really detailed work though it was a blustery, 40 degree, cloudy day.

We couldn't be happier and plan on using Wave for all of our future landscape projects. In fact, I've already asked Brian to think about fall planting/hardscaping and 2020 spring planting.