Rose Landscape Design: Making Our Area More Beautiful, One Home at a Time

Tom Papais always liked architecture. He earned an associate degree in architectural construction at Purdue University at Calumet before moving to the main campus at Lafayette. There he planned to go into construction engineering.

But Papais wanted more than just the construction aspect. He wanted to learn about design. As he looked at other programs, the landscape architecture curriculum caught his eye.

He knew something about design, but plants were another matter.

“I didn’t know anything about plants,” he said. “I wouldn’t have known one plant from another.”

Three years later, Papais had earned his bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture. After graduation, he went to work for a private landscape architect in Indiana.

But a sluggish economy in 1979 prompted him to consider other options. He went back to school to study accounting. While at Indiana University, he earned a business degree and met his future wife, Janice.

They moved to Illinois, where Papais worked for Total Concept doing architecture, land planning and landscape architecture – everything he’d studied in school. He then spent five years working as a project manager for a construction company.

But design still fascinated him, so he also began to freelance his own landscape design work while continuing to work for others.

In 1997, Papais was living in Darien and ready to strike out on his own.

“I just felt like I didn’t want to work for somebody else,” he explained. “I looked at what other people were doing out there and thought what I was going to do would look better. And I wanted the challenge of seeing if I could do that.”

Papais wanted a name for his company that would be easy to remember. He named it . Rose is his mother’s name. And design is the focus of his business.

As Papais explained, landscape architecture involves designing, planning and engineering. Landscapers then come in to implement the plan. Rose Landscape Design does both.

“The first few years, I worked in the field, too,” he said. “It was very hard to come back at the end of the day and do design work. At that point, Janice was not involved in the business whatsoever. I did payroll, I did everything.”

Rose Landcape Design now has five employees who work in two crews. And Janice does all the accounting, finance, and payroll work. That allows Papais to concentrate on what he enjoys best – design.

He credits his wife with getting them into the 21st century on the business side, but he still does all his drawings by hand.

“I feel like I can design the best that way,” he said. “And my drawings are unique. I hand-color them all.

“If I look at a house, I already know what I want to do,” he continued. “My mind works that way.”

Papais doesn’t think first of colors or shape. He explained, “I think in terms of space — creating space, creating areas they want. My mind says, ‘That should go there and this should go here and that should go here.’ I can visually see it as I walk through the space.”

The Papais home’s landscaping is his showroom. He said, “I have a lot of things here that I can show people. I like designing in a manicured natural way. I like plants to have natural shapes.”

Papais noted that a popular trend today is for outdoor living space, with elements such as water features, built-in grills and firepits. “People don’t realize how much they can enjoy their backyards,” he explained. “Anything aesthetic to the outside, we do.”

Rose Landscape Design uses both manmade and natural materials. Papais works to blend the architecture of the house with the landscape. His designs have been recognized with several awards.

Papais’ hands-on approach combined with his design expertise results in many happy clients. He said, “Ninety percent of my clients are repeats, and they refer me.”

And for him, all the handwritten thank-you notes make it all worthwhile.

Rose Landscape Design is located at 1514 Pineview Court in Darien. Their phone number is 630-910-7270, and their website is www.roselandscapedesign.com.