About us
Richard Lusk
Landscape and Design.
A residential landscape and swimming pool design-build company based in Newport Beach, California. Richard Lusk has been in the landscape and pool business since June 1976. He brings 50 years of luxury pool and landscape experience and more than 3,000 completed projects across his career.
50 years of hands-on experience.
Richard Lusk has 50 years of experience building luxury landscapes and swimming pools. That is five decades of hands-on luxury pool and landscape construction experience, and more than 3,000 completed projects, from compact courtyard gardens to large estates with pools, spas, outdoor kitchens and engineered retaining walls.
Experience shows up in the parts of a project you cannot see in photographs: drainage, soil, structural walls, permits, sequencing and how materials hold up over decades. Richard brings that experience to each site, evaluating coastal exposure, hillside conditions, inland heat and desert environments on their own terms. That knowledge helps us anticipate problems before they become expensive and give you realistic advice.
What we do
We design and build complete outdoor properties across Orange County, selected Los Angeles cities and neighborhoods, and La Quinta: custom pools and spas, pool remodels, landscape design and construction, hardscape, outdoor kitchens and fire features, planting and irrigation, landscape lighting, drainage, difficult sites and challenging access, and large-scale and complex projects. Our best projects are substantial homes where the pool, front yard, backyard and outdoor living spaces are designed and built together.
Built for difficult sites
We specialize in luxury homes and technically challenging properties: hillsides, coastal lots, desert properties, tight-access sites and yards that need engineered retaining walls or serious drainage work. We plan the property as one project, including the underlying site work that makes it last.
A true design-build company
Our team designs your project in-house and then builds it. The same company is responsible for your design, your budget and your construction, so you have one point of accountability from the first meeting to completion and you are never handed off between unrelated companies.
Budget first, then design
Every project starts with a complimentary site visit and a complimentary detailed scope of work and budget. Once you approve the budget and sign our design-build agreement, we design your plan to that budget, review it with you and adjust the plan and budget together. This approach reduces unforeseen change orders. See our full process →
How we build
The details matter. We use the LATICRETE system, including HYDRO BAN waterproofing, for waterline and submerged pool tile, and an anti-fracture membrane wherever stone or tile is set over concrete. About 8 weeks from permit issuance is a planning guide for a typical pool, with timing adjusted for scope, access, weather and inspections. Warranty terms are written into your Scope of Work, and we provide manufacturer warranty documentation at completion.
Licensed, insured and bonded
We are licensed by the California Contractors State License Board, license #950714, with C-27 Landscaping and C-53 Swimming Pool classifications. We carry general liability, workers' compensation and commercial vehicle insurance and are bonded. Verify license #950714 with CSLB ↗
Where we work
We are based in Newport Beach, California, and serve Orange County, selected Los Angeles cities and neighborhoods, and La Quinta. Explore our cities and neighborhoods →. We do not offer weekly pool service or yard maintenance, but we are glad to recommend companies we trust.
Find us online
Want to talk to past clients? With more than 3,000 projects completed, we can connect you with homeowners whose projects are similar to yours. Ask during your site visit. More questions about us →
Homeowner perspectives
What Homeowners Say
5.0 out of 5 from 20 Houzz reviews · Best of Houzz award winner
“We absolutely love our new pool and landscaping!”
“He’s open and honest in his communications.”
“Beautiful work and amazing communication throughout the project.”
“They started exactly when they said they would”
“Richard has been invaluable in the transformation of our outdoor space.”
“Richard and his crew did an amazing job on our yard!”