Toffey Studio is a Southern California-based exterior design studio specializing in indoor/outdoor living. We use plants and design-build projects to transform underused outdoor spaces into places that feel useful, distinctive and artfully integrated with the home.

What began as a one person operation, started by Ben Toffey in 2018, has grown into a full-service studio with a team. We design outdoor spaces around the people who’ll actually use them. Before we begin, we look closely at what’s already there: the history of the property, the personalities of our clients, the existing ecosystem and soil, the way light and weather shape the site. Smart design begins with understanding what’s in front of you before imposing something new onto it.

Through conversation with our clients we get a sense of what they’re imagining, consider how they’ll actually occupy the space, then work out how to make that vision real. A project might involve hardscape and planting, lighting, custom structures, furniture. Sometimes it is a skate park, other times a fire pit.

Each space is designed to function as well as it looks, with storage integrated where it’s needed, materials chosen for how they’ll age, and layouts shaped around how people gather and spend time outdoors.

Planting is specific to each site. We research species suited to the local soil, climate and ecology rather than relying on a standard palette or built-in aesthetic. We also consider the environmental impact of the materials we use and design for the long-term: how a design will weather, mature, and settle into its surroundings over time.

Everyone lives differently, but no matter who you are, an evening in the backyard can be one of life’s greatest pleasures. We work with that possibility in mind.