Pool House in Newton MA
A Smart Defensive Move:
A former kitchen renovation client called to say that she and her husband had bought the property behind their house, which included a house and a pool. They wanted to understand if and how the house could be reduced in size and renovated to become a pool house to complement the existing pool and allow the remainder of the property to be green space in which their elementary school children could explore and everyone could garden.
Our understanding is, developers had heard that the property was going on the market and were trying to buy the site. There have been a lot of teardowns and subsequent building of large houses in Waban (a very desirable area of Newton, West of Boston) and the owners feared such a house would be built on the site 30’ from their back door! This site is sloped up to the street behind their house, which about is 10’ above the first floor of their house. So even though their house is not small, they envisioned this enormous home overwhelming theirs and decided the purchase of this site would be a smart defensive move!
They bought the site to enlarge their yard and have a pool. (Their children had enjoyed swimming in the pool that was on the site when they bought it.) They wanted to start immediately and Dorie thought she would need some help with the project, so she invited her friend and fellow Architect to collaborate……and off they went!
They were asked to look at keeping the pool and using some portion of the existing house as a pool house. Each GC that was interviewed was skeptical about saving the pool. It was a vinyl lined pool and built in the 60’s. No one would guarantee that the pool would survive demolition and construction. If it remained and didn’t survive, our client would have made an expensive mistake.
Several schemes were created for placing the program (pool, pool house and green space) on the site within the required setbacks. The client realized that the relationship of existing pool to house wasn’t ideal for their family.
There were a number of issues considered including: sight lines, interrupted green space which disrupted the flow through the properties, and the potential need to replace the old pool. So the decision was made to raze the pool and the house and create a more functional, aesthetically pleasing design.
Another issue that concerned us was the slope of the site. The property sloped ten feet from the street down to the client’s existing house. Placement of the pool became extremely important. MILA, the landscape architects that engaged to help with conceptual design, placed the pool on a mid-level elevation and placed an 8’ wall inside the setback down to the pool deck to maximize the pool area (as we had been instructed). The shear wall was not the look the client desired. The town regulations limited wall height within the 35’ set back to just 4’. The decision was made to construct a series of 4’ walls down the hill with garden terraces between. So after some visits to City Hall, Renee and Dorie developed a scheme with a series of shorter walls from the sidewalk down to the pool deck. While this took away a few feet of deck space, the clients were happy with this approach.
Meanwhile the existing house was torn down (with the town’s permission and after a small amount of asbestos was removed) and many trees thinned. We continued to refine and reduce the house footprint to essential spaces.
The house has an open plan with all eyes/windows towards the pool. The great room and kitchen face the pool. The great room opens to a pergola creating a procession from inside to outside. The changing room, bathroom and laundry are tucked into the back between the exterior storage and the pool equipment room. The area above these spaces contains mechanicals and storage. The outdoor shower was placed on the far side of the pool house for additional privacy. The green space behind the pool house extends the lawn at the owner’s house, providing an excellent playing field for the children. On the rear of the pool house, facing the lawn, is a ‘ball wall’, where the children can refine their skills for soccer, tennis, lacrosse….anything they can imagine, where such a wall would be useful.
Our client carefully considered each material used on this project and chose hand-built fieldstone retaining walls. Between the walls gardens were created. While the walls were built, the GC was framing and finishing the house. Finally, the pool was dug, the spa was constructed while the fire pit awaits its final location!
The white trim paint matches the vinyl of the windows and doors, The Gunite pool has blue-gray tile and the brown stone coping and paver decking pull colors from the field stone walls. The pool is a ‘salt’ pool and does not smell of chemicals. The pergola has been left to weather and will be filled with plants in summer.
Inside, the custom painted wood cabinets compliment the reclaimed wood counters. The concrete floor is stained a warm ochre. The paints reflect the warmth and playfulness of the house. The dining table is also made from the reclaimed wood. The wood tongue and groove ceiling is left with a natural stain, reminiscent of a cabin in the Maine woods. Did we mention that this couple met while in college in Maine?
We all look forward to summer and the flowering of the wall gardens and pergola plantings and of course, BBQ’s and swimming!
A former kitchen renovation client called to say that she and her husband had bought the property behind their house, which included a house and a pool. They wanted to understand if and how the house could be reduced in size and renovated to become a pool house to complement the existing pool and allow the remainder of the property to be green space in which their elementary school children could explore and everyone could garden.
Our understanding is, developers had heard that the property was going on the market and were trying to buy the site. There have been a lot of teardowns and subsequent building of large houses in Waban (a very desirable area of Newton, West of Boston) and the owners feared such a house would be built on the site 30’ from their back door! This site is sloped up to the street behind their house, which about is 10’ above the first floor of their house. So even though their house is not small, they envisioned this enormous home overwhelming theirs and decided the purchase of this site would be a smart defensive move!
They bought the site to enlarge their yard and have a pool. (Their children had enjoyed swimming in the pool that was on the site when they bought it.) They wanted to start immediately and Dorie thought she would need some help with the project, so she invited her friend and fellow Architect to collaborate……and off they went!
They were asked to look at keeping the pool and using some portion of the existing house as a pool house. Each GC that was interviewed was skeptical about saving the pool. It was a vinyl lined pool and built in the 60’s. No one would guarantee that the pool would survive demolition and construction. If it remained and didn’t survive, our client would have made an expensive mistake.
Several schemes were created for placing the program (pool, pool house and green space) on the site within the required setbacks. The client realized that the relationship of existing pool to house wasn’t ideal for their family.
There were a number of issues considered including: sight lines, interrupted green space which disrupted the flow through the properties, and the potential need to replace the old pool. So the decision was made to raze the pool and the house and create a more functional, aesthetically pleasing design.
Another issue that concerned us was the slope of the site. The property sloped ten feet from the street down to the client’s existing house. Placement of the pool became extremely important. MILA, the landscape architects that engaged to help with conceptual design, placed the pool on a mid-level elevation and placed an 8’ wall inside the setback down to the pool deck to maximize the pool area (as we had been instructed). The shear wall was not the look the client desired. The town regulations limited wall height within the 35’ set back to just 4’. The decision was made to construct a series of 4’ walls down the hill with garden terraces between. So after some visits to City Hall, Renee and Dorie developed a scheme with a series of shorter walls from the sidewalk down to the pool deck. While this took away a few feet of deck space, the clients were happy with this approach.
Meanwhile the existing house was torn down (with the town’s permission and after a small amount of asbestos was removed) and many trees thinned. We continued to refine and reduce the house footprint to essential spaces.
The house has an open plan with all eyes/windows towards the pool. The great room and kitchen face the pool. The great room opens to a pergola creating a procession from inside to outside. The changing room, bathroom and laundry are tucked into the back between the exterior storage and the pool equipment room. The area above these spaces contains mechanicals and storage. The outdoor shower was placed on the far side of the pool house for additional privacy. The green space behind the pool house extends the lawn at the owner’s house, providing an excellent playing field for the children. On the rear of the pool house, facing the lawn, is a ‘ball wall’, where the children can refine their skills for soccer, tennis, lacrosse….anything they can imagine, where such a wall would be useful.
Our client carefully considered each material used on this project and chose hand-built fieldstone retaining walls. Between the walls gardens were created. While the walls were built, the GC was framing and finishing the house. Finally, the pool was dug, the spa was constructed while the fire pit awaits its final location!
The white trim paint matches the vinyl of the windows and doors, The Gunite pool has blue-gray tile and the brown stone coping and paver decking pull colors from the field stone walls. The pool is a ‘salt’ pool and does not smell of chemicals. The pergola has been left to weather and will be filled with plants in summer.
Inside, the custom painted wood cabinets compliment the reclaimed wood counters. The concrete floor is stained a warm ochre. The paints reflect the warmth and playfulness of the house. The dining table is also made from the reclaimed wood. The wood tongue and groove ceiling is left with a natural stain, reminiscent of a cabin in the Maine woods. Did we mention that this couple met while in college in Maine?
We all look forward to summer and the flowering of the wall gardens and pergola plantings and of course, BBQ’s and swimming!
