Intimate Poolside Retreat

For their new outdoor space, this project’s clients wanted a design that would provide privacy and appear as though it had been there for years. The shallow backyard posed a challenge to this vision, as did working within the city’s codes and watershed requirements. The design team collaborated with a stormwater consultant to create an aesthetically pleasing solution suited to their clients’ wishlist and the backyard’s parameters. Two 1,500-gallon infiltration tanks were buried to handle the water from all the surfaces and to prevent water runoff. Synthetic turf allows rain to flow into the underground tanks, aiding in water filtration.

To achieve privacy, the design-build team retrofitted the cabana with a solid back wall that houses the fireplace and TV area on the high side of the property. Custom Ipe-wood louvers on both sides of the fireplace provide seclusion while still allowing air and light to flow through the space. Infrared heaters added to the ceiling extend the sports-watching season. The project team also custom-built a 36-foot-long limestone slab fireplace to screen the pool from neighboring homes. The feature stands almost four feet above the pool level and seven feet above the grade on the underside of the pool. Whether sunlit or firelit, the true showstopper is the champagne spa with shimmering, hand-made glass tile and matching sun ledge.