Topo d'Oro Landscape Design
(847) 387-9509
Chicagoland

Landscape Design & Build in Northbrook, Illinois

Call (847) 387-9509Request a Design Consultation
Landscape design and build project by Topo d'Oro in Northbrook, Illinois

Northbrook is a postwar village with grown-up trees. The population went from 3,319 in 1950 to 30,735 in 1980, which means most of the housing stock is mid-century and later — and the canopy planted with those subdivisions is now sixty and seventy years old. Northbrook has been a Tree City USA community since 1994. Topo d'Oro designs and builds across the village's 13.31 square miles, working with that mature canopy, the drainage conditions along the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River, and the Village's tree protection requirements.

Services

What we build in Northbrook

  • Landscape Design

    Custom landscape design for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore. AutoCAD site plans, 3D renderings, planting design and full build documentation.

  • Hardscaping

    Natural stone patios, walkways, driveways, retaining walls and stone fireplaces built for Chicago freeze-thaw. Serving Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicagoland.

  • Decks & Pergolas

    Custom cedar and ipe decks, pergolas, railings, fences and privacy screens built in-house. Iron and woodwork for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicagoland.

  • Outdoor Living

    Custom outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits and rooftop terraces designed and built for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore.

  • Lighting & Water

    Low-voltage LED landscape lighting, color-changing systems, fountains and ponds designed and installed for Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore.

  • Artificial Turf

    Professional artificial turf installation for lawns, pet areas, putting greens and rooftops in Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicagoland. Built on a drained base.

  • Commercial Landscaping

    Commercial and association landscaping across Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore. Grounds care, hardscape restoration, drainage and entrance work for property managers and condo boards. Call (847) 387-9509.

  • Snow & Ice Management

    Snow plowing, sidewalk clearing and ice management for residential and commercial property across Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka and Chicago's North Shore. Seasonal contracts. Call (847) 387-9509.

Postwar lots, mature canopy, and the teardown question

Northbrook's housing is overwhelmingly postwar — mid-century ranch and split-level from the 1950s through the 1970s, later-generation colonial and contemporary from the 1980s onward, with an active teardown and rebuild market layered on top. The median resident age is 48.5, and the lots are generous by inner-suburb standards.

The defining asset is the canopy. Trees planted with those 1950s and 1960s subdivisions are now mature, and they are the single biggest thing separating a Northbrook yard from a new-build subdivision. They are also the thing most at risk during a rebuild, which is exactly what the Village's tree protection ordinance is aimed at.

Water, and where it goes

The West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River runs through the village, which puts riparian corridors, floodplain and drainage into live play on a meaningful number of properties. On a lot near the corridor, drainage design is not a detail — it determines where hardscape can go, how deep a base can be built, and whether a lower terrace is a good idea at all.

Away from the corridor, the usual Chicagoland conditions apply: heavy clay, freeze-thaw movement, and downspouts pointed at foundations. We design grading and drainage into the plan rather than patching it after the patio settles.

What Northbrook projects usually are

The most common brief here is turning a large but undifferentiated postwar backyard into rooms. A properly sized patio instead of a slab. A pergola for the west-facing afternoon. An outdoor kitchen and a fire feature that make the space usable from April to October. Lighting that makes it worth looking at from the family room in December.

The second most common is the rebuild — a new or heavily renovated house sitting in a landscape that no longer matches it, with mature trees that have to survive the process. That project is as much tree protection and grading as it is design, and getting the protection plan right at the start is what keeps a sixty-year-old oak alive through construction.

Local detail

Local conditions and village requirements

Tree protection and preservation
Municipal Code Chapter 25. A permit is required for protected trees with a DBH of six inches or greater, or an aggregate diameter of twelve inches or greater. Heritage and landmark trees carry their own designation and review regardless of size.
Pruning exemption
Pruning by the property owner or their representative on private property, in compliance with National Pruning Standards, does not require a permit.
Replacement requirements
Replacement is mandatory when protected, landmark or heritage trees are damaged or removed in required yards, except for hazard, dead or diseased trees. Replacement caliper must equal or exceed the removed tree's DBH, minimum two and a half inch caliper, from an approved species list, planted within an approved timeframe and maintained for two years. Fees in lieu are accepted at the Village Manager's discretion.
Tree City USA since 1994
Northbrook has held the designation for three decades, which is consistent with how seriously the canopy is treated here.
River corridor
The West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River runs through the village, making riparian corridors, floodplain and drainage live considerations on many properties.
Where we work

Neighborhoods and areas we serve

  • Techny
  • the West Fork corridor
  • central Northbrook
  • the Sunset Ridge area
  • the Willow and Dundee corridors
Questions

Frequently asked in Northbrook

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Northbrook?

A permit is required for protected trees with a DBH of six inches or greater, or an aggregate diameter of twelve inches or greater. Heritage and landmark trees carry their own designation and review regardless of size. Because tree code gets amended, we confirm the current requirements against the Village code for your specific project rather than working from an old copy.

Do I need a permit to prune my own trees?

No. Pruning by the property owner or their representative on private property, in compliance with National Pruning Standards, does not require a permit. Removal is a different matter.

What happens if a tree has to come out during construction?

Replacement is mandatory when protected, landmark or heritage trees are damaged or removed in required yards, except for hazard, dead or diseased trees. The replacement caliper must equal or exceed the removed tree's DBH with a minimum of two and a half inches, from an approved species list, planted within an approved timeframe and maintained for two years. Fees in lieu are accepted at the Village Manager's discretion.

My lot is near the river — does that limit what I can build?

It can. Riparian corridors, floodplain designation and drainage all affect where hardscape can go and how it has to be built. We establish those conditions during site analysis, before the design commits to a layout that will not survive review.

Can you save the mature trees during a rebuild?

Usually, with a real protection plan — correct fencing radius, hand excavation inside root zones, proper root pruning and utility routing that goes around root systems. The failures we get called to fix almost always trace back to a plan that existed on paper and not on site.

Nearby communities

We also work in

  • Deerfield

    Landscape design, hardscaping, decks, outdoor living and lighting in Deerfield, IL — designed for flat postwar lots, heavy silty clay soils and the Village's tree and drainage requirements.

  • Glenview

    Landscape design, hardscaping, decks, outdoor living and lighting in Glenview, IL — built to the Village's species-tiered landmark tree thresholds.

  • Highland Park

    Bluff and ravine landscape design, hardscaping and outdoor living in Highland Park, IL — built to the Steep Slope Zone rules and the City's tree permit requirements.

  • Lake Forest

    Estate landscape design, hardscaping, outdoor living and lighting in Lake Forest, IL — built for a village whose code expects landscape to dominate the improvements.

Begin your golden sanctuary.

Tell us about the property and how you want to use it. We will walk the site, scope the work and put it in writing.

Call (847) 387-9509Request a Design Consultation