After Dark
Project Overview
Most backyards get photographed at two in the afternoon and used at nine at night. This one was built for the second one, and it is the rare property where you can see that decision in the plan rather than take it on trust.
The site is a wooded lot behind a craftsman house, enclosed by board fencing with mature trees beyond it. Rather than a pool with features arranged around it, the whole envelope was treated as one environment, with a destination in every corner and a route between them.
Our Approach
Luck Lagoons built the project around:
Freeform Pool with Sun Shelf
Sized to the space rather than to a catalog, with a shallow shelf, a chrome rail and a blue interior that carries color well under lighting.
Boulder Waterfall into the Pool
Stacked flagstone spilling in sheets off a planted stone bank directly into the water, so the pool has movement and sound at its edge.
Slab Jet Fountain
A large flat stone with bronze jets rising out of it and polished black cobble set into the surface, water sheeting across the slab and over its lip. Placed in the planting where it is seen from the house rather than from the water.
Sunset Bar
A thatched-roof bar in turquoise with a painted surfboard sign, counter seating and stools, anchoring the far corner of the deck.
Covered Pavilion
A deep timber-posted structure with a standing seam roof and a run of white rocking chairs, tied into the house so there is shade and shelter without leaving the yard.
Putting Green
Multi-hole artificial turf with flags, curved into the planting and edged in stone rather than dropped in as a rectangle.
Multiple Fire Features
Fire set flush into the deck in several places, including a blue glass burner in the flagstone, so there is more than one place to gather.
Tropical Planting
Palms, banana, cannas, elephant ear and hydrangea planted densely enough that the fence stops registering.
Color-Changing Lighting
Run through the pool, the water features, the planting and the structures during construction, which is the only time it can be done properly.
Stone and Customer Boulder Work Deck
A broad pale deck with flagstone and pebble inlay paths threading between the pool, the bar, the pavilion and the green.
THE RESULTS
In daylight the property reads as a resort that happens to be behind a house. There is a bar, a pavilion, a putting green, a pool, two water features and several places to sit, and the paths make it obvious how to move between them.
After dark it becomes a different property. Color runs through the pool and the water features, the pavilion and the palms are washed in magenta, and every fire feature is lit. None of the daytime detail is visible, and none of it needs to be.
Key Features
Pool: Freeform pool with sun shelf and boulder waterfall
Water: Slab jet fountain with polished cobble inlay, stacked flagstone fall
Outdoor Living: Thatched Sunset Bar with counter seating, covered timber pavilion
Recreation: Multi-hole putting green edged into the planting
Fire: Multiple fire features set flush into the deck, including a blue glass burner
Hardscape: Broad stone deck with flagstone and pebble inlay paths
Gardens: Dense tropical planting, palms, banana, cannas and elephant ear
Lighting: Color-changing lighting through the pool, water, planting and structures
The closing frame is three people creating memories, enjoying company with the pool glowing behind them.
That is the version of this yard that gets used most, and it only exists because the lighting and the fire were drawn at the same time as the stone. Neither can be added to a finished deck without opening it back up.
Book a Consultation
Ready to build a backyard that works as well at nine at night as it does at two in the afternoon, with the lighting and the fire designed in from the start?
We build projects like this one across Toledo, Waterville, Ottawa Hills, Perrysburg, Sylvania, Maumee, and Monclova.