Art Garden Design builds immersive, nature-based playspaces across the San Francisco Bay Area — shaped from large timber, local stone, Corkeen, fibar, harvested branches and lumber, soil, native plants, and custom carpentry pieces. Legacy landscapes. Living works of art.
15+
Years designing Bay Area landscapes
100+
Projects completed with vision
Woman-Led
Award-winning, craft-driven studio
Bay Area
SF, Alameda & Contra Costa
Our Approach
We don’t drop equipment onto a lot. We build custom spaces curated for the facilitators, early-childhood center children, and community they serve. Repurposing local timber — balanced with natural stone, log structures, water-play features, imaginative play huts, and seating areas — we replicate a magical forest where urban youth can explore, imagine, and enjoy the mysticism of childhood. Everything is built to last against the elements and the lively daily activity of children, and follows all CPSC safety codes.
Who We Serve
We understand public bidding, ADA standards, and agency timelines — with full safety documentation and inspection at every handoff.
We build on school calendars — completing installs during summer and break windows to keep campuses running and children safe.
You lead the vision; we build it faithfully — offering constructability input, material expertise, and honest pricing along the way.
We support design development and consult during preconstruction. Drawing on years of building these custom spaces, we bring deep knowledge of specific wood types, a working command of playground safety requirements (CPSC), and grounded advice on which elements truly succeed in a nature play space.
From the Ground Up
Living timber, boulder terrain, water play, and woven willow — and children making it their own.
How We Work
Here’s how a typical Art Garden playspace comes to life — from first call to final walkthrough.
We learn your site, timeline, and budget — and how Art Garden fits your team. No commitment required.
We walk the ground — studying grade, soil, light, and drainage — and shape a concept that belongs to the place.
A clear written scope, material specs, timeline, and honest pricing. No surprises.
Our crew delivers — site kept clean, milestones met, and proactive communication throughout.
A final safety walkthrough and guidance on keeping the space thriving for years to come.
Materials & Sustainability
Because that’s where they’ll live. Our timber is sustainably sourced, our stone locally quarried where possible, and our surfacing made from renewable cork. We build things that last — because durability is its own form of sustainability.
Hand-carved redwood logs and hardwood rounds, anchored with engineered footings to last.
Boulder clusters and pebble beds set for climbing, balance, and water play.
Renewable, soft-landing surfacing — natural in tone, cool underfoot, and permeable.
Woven tunnels, teepees, and branch walls that grow and weather with the garden.
Our Story
Art Garden Design is a woman-led, award-winning studio founded on a simple belief: that a landscape can shape how a child moves through the world. Rooted in ecology and driven by craft, we design and build outdoor environments across the Bay Area — from private gardens to flourishing school and community spaces.
“Her expertise and creativity helped our public middle school install a now-flourishing native and drought-tolerant garden in a once-derelict space.”
— Katherine Webb-Martinez
Let’s Design Yours
If you’re shaping a backyard, a campus, or a civic space and want a natural playscape built to last, we’d love to build it with you.
