Jeff Piper is a bit of a renaissance man.
A former VP of design at Pelle Pelle, a Detroit-based frontrunner in ’90s hip-hop streetwear, he dressed clients with swagger, from Destiny’s Child and 50 Cent to Deion Sanders. He spent decades traveling the world, staying ahead of the trends through Japan, China, Germany and France.
At the same time, architecture had always been a quiet passion, another outlet for his eye for design and detail. “I always loved architecture,” Piper says. “I was doing it on the side for years as a hobby.” So when the opportunity arose to work with Derek Spurlock, founder of the 30-year-old outdoor design and build firm Spurlock’s Lux Living, it felt less like a career change and more like a long-overdue arrival.
“I was always at a fork in the road,” Piper says. “I went with the apparel route, and it took off. But I never lost the love for design and building.”
When Piper came on as minority partner, Spurlock’s was a lean, highly regarded operation — Spurlock, largely a one-man show, was known throughout Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills for exceptional old-world masonry: hand-chiseled natural stone fireplaces, pizza ovens and custom patios built the way they haven’t been built in generations. “Even today, these guys are out there hand-chiseling 300-pound rocks into a wall,” Piper says. “You just don’t see that anymore.”
The company had built a loyal following among the area’s discerning homeowners. Piper saw the potential to take it further. He redesigned the brand’s visual identity, expanded its service offerings beyond masonry into full landscape and pool design and helped give Spurlock’s what he calls “a face” — nearly doubling business in just three years.
Spurlock eventually sold to current owners John-Michael Del Valle and Nick Zimmer — and while ownership changed, Piper stayed on as the creative and operational force at the center of it all. Today, Spurlock’s is part of Zimmer’s Evergreen Landscape Group, a family of companies that also includes Willow Greenhouse in Northville — a grower of annuals and perennials from seed — and Plantsman, an integrated pest management company that brings in beneficial insects sourced from Israel to protect plants naturally. For Spurlock’s clients, this means access to premium plant sourcing straight from the greenhouse, with none of the middleman markups.
The company has since grown into a full-scale outdoor design-build firm with an in-house crew of master masons, drainage specialists, landscape teams and synthetic turf installers — plus a roster of carefully vetted subcontractors handling specialized trades like electrical and irrigation. “If you hire us, it’s turnkey," Piper says. “Homeowners are never in the position of having to manage it themselves.”
Piper leads every client relationship from the initial concept through design, using the latest 2D and 3D rendering technology to build out every detail — lighting, plants, trees, furniture — before construction begins. The 3D platform lets clients walk through their future space virtually, from multiple angles, in day or night settings. For clients who need help visualizing, he’ll even walk a backyard with a spray can and sketch out a patio on the lawn. “We try to give them options,” he says. “It also eliminates costly change orders and delays. Clients can have total confidence that their new outdoor space will not only meet their expectations, but exceed them.”
That design rigor is more than aesthetic. Spurlock’s works with engineering firms to ensure every design meets local municipality requirements for permitting and approvals, a process they manage entirely on behalf of the client. “There’s a big difference between designing something that looks good and designing something that can actually be built,” he says. “We come from the construction side. We know what works.”
The portfolio is extensive: custom pools and spas, natural stone and porcelain patios, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fire features, water features, putting greens and synthetic turf. Spurlock’s is also known as one of Michigan’s largest bluestone installers and suppliers, sourcing directly from Pennsylvania — it’s a material that defines the character of their work, from a sweeping estate project in Bloomfield Hills to a recently completed public park in Northville.
“We turn backyards into unforgettable experiences,” Piper says. “From the first sketch to the final stone.”
“These guys are out there hand-chiseling 300-pound rocks into a wall. You just don’t see that anymore.” — Jeff Piper