"Our projects exude a passion for color, garden elements that reflect our love of art, devotion to exquisite design, and ultimately a garden or landscape that is sensual and celebrates the senses."
DESIGNER BIO
Julie O'Farrell is founder, principal landscape designer and colorscapist for the Seattle-based landscape design company, O'Farrell Design.
When O'Farrell was 17 she took her first job with a neighborhood florist,
the legendary Martha E. Harris. She fell in love with the color,
texture, and romance of flowers.
O'Farrell holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington where she studied
Art and Horticulture. At UW, she discovered the Olmsted brothers' extraordinary parks
and gardens while taking a "History of Landscape Architecture" class. Inspired by the
Olmsted's Seattle-based parks and gardens, she began volunteering at the Friends
of the Volunteer Park Conservatory. Shortly after she was awarded an internship with
Friends of the Parks in Chicago and assisted at the Jackson Park Osaka Garden.
Upon returning to the Northwest, she served on the Friends of Seattle's Olmsted
Parks Board, and the Dunn Gardens' Executive Committee. She has also worked for
Botanical Designs, specializing in large-scale corporate projects in downtown Seattle
and Bellevue. Armed with ample experiences and a vast horticultural knowledge base,
she established O'Farrell Design in 1998.
Artful landscape design infused with color is O'Farrell's forte. The human eye recognizes
color before anything else, and she loves the challenge of weaving color into gardens
and landscapes so that it charms the eye.
O'Farrell completed post-graduate studies in color at Pratt Fine Arts Center and graduated from the Eiseman Center for Color and Training, taught by color
icon Leatrice Eiseman. Documenting, mixing, and recording close to 800 colors from
the two color wheels, she's learned to instinctual apply color to a landscape so that the palate subtly excites nature's symmetry.
O'Farrell's expertise on color relationships in the
landscape has led to lecture engagements at the Olympic Sculpture Park, the Rainier
Club and the University of Puget Sound. O'Farrell's dedication to contemporary art led to a coveted spot on the Executive Committee of the Contemporary Art Council at the Seattle Art Museum. While on
the Committee, O'Farrell organized two sold-out artist lectures coinciding with the
construction of the Olympic Sculpture Park. The first talk featured the internationally
renowned, grande dame of modern landscape architecture, Kathryn Gustafson, and the
second talk showcased august installation artist and MacArthur Fellow, Robert Irwin.
O'Farrell's creativity, passion, and focus led to a Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award
nomination in 2009. Her work has been featured on HGTV and Pacific Northwest
Magazine.
TESTIMONIALS
Client: Keith and Kathleen Stamm
Project: Private perennial garden
"The flow of colors, the tapestry of textures from season to season all contribute to the sense of lushness and tranquility. Clearly, our investment is bearing a rich and renewing harvest."
Client: Guy Rittger and Cindy Hodges
Project: Residential
"O'Farrell Design transformed our entire block and inspired our neighbors to do better. We greatly respect Julie for her creativity, professionalism and follow through."
Client: Eric Jackson, Project Manager
Project: Charter Construction Newman Center University of Washington
"From a contractors point of view, Julie's willingness to discuss and negotiate budget and her ability to work within our fast paced schedule was appreciated; and I stand behind the owners sentiment that O'Farrell Design succeeded in creating a wonderful landscape environment."
Client: Ric and Carrie Clark
Project: Residential
"Julie has a tremendous knowledge of plants and design. Her keen ability for picking the right plants for our particular landscape situation blended well with her sense of meeting our landscape budget and timeliness goals. She guided us through our landscape needs and made the whole process fun at the same time."
Client: Delilah J. Richman, Vice President
Project: Harsch Investment Properties, South 93rd Business Park
"Julie's attention to detail, design and meeting our expectation was exactly what we were looking for. O'Farrell Design's integrity, ethics and values when it comes down to doing the job right is an A+. Thank you for making the park look fabulous and making my job easier"
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Landscape and color theory lecture at the University of Puget Sound, 2010
Talk at the Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park regarding color
relationships in the landscape, 2010
Landscape project featured on HGTV's "What You Get For the Money," 2009
"A Walk in the Park" talk discussing the language of color at the
Olympic Sculpture Park, given with Marisa Sánchez, SAM Associate
Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, 2009
"How to Use Color and Texture in the Garden" talk at the Rainer Club
Horticultural Society of Seattle, 2009
Featured in Pacific Northwest Magazine article, "Vision Meets Reality," 2009
Nominated for Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, Smithsonian
Institute, Landscape Design, 2009
Organized two sold-out lectures with internationally renowned artists Kathryn Gustafson
and Robert Irwin, coinciding with the construction of the Olympic Sculpture Park.
