White Rock North Modern
This project occupies a special place in Randy's heart, as it quickly became one of the most acclaimed and awarded projects he had yet designed. But as with any project, this one too posed its own set of challenges before it became the showpiece that it eventually turned out to be.
The most distinct element in this entire project, arguably, was a small modern-style shed that sits nestled into a corner atop the highest point on the entire property. But this wasn't just any old backyard shed. This one was hand-built by the homeowner himself, with the help of his father-in-law. And when it comes to having a structure so deeply immersed in such high sentimental value, tearing it down is simply out of the question. So it was collectively decided that the shed would instead become a centerpiece for this design.
But before we can get to the shed and the beautiful addition that was attached to it, its important to understand what lies between it and the house. When walking out of the house and into the back yard, the first thing you'll notice is a very wide and well built concrete stair set that sits in the center of a tall retaining wall. The stairs and retaining wall are the only thing between you and the bulk of the back yard, which happens to sit 4 feet above the area you're standing in.
Traverse up these steps and you're now at the main entertaining level of the yard. 4 feet is a pretty steep elevation change for any back yard, but to get to the shed, you still have to go up 2 feet higher than where you already are. Needless to say, this was the biggest obstacle for this project.
With large elevation changes such as this, you're almost always guaranteed to incur higher construction costs due to the necessity of implementing numerous retaining walls and hardscapes which must be in place in order to hold large amounts of earth in place which constantly want to move and satisfy gravity. But from a design standpoint, elevation changes equal excitement and dramatic visual features.
As you approach the pool, you'll be greeted with a symmetrical grid of concrete steppers that hug the semi-circular shape of the stair set. Each stepper is divided by a 6-inch gap that's been filled in with Mexican beach pebble, which mixes a raw sense of nature with clean, modern, concrete lines.
Step over, and you'll end near the edge of an L-shaped pool. It was clear from the beginning that the generous wet deck and the spa would be set on the front side of the pool, because with the 2 foot elevation change going up to the shed and additional covered patio, it meant that a spectacular raised wall would come off of that patio and line the back of the pool.
The clients opted to line the pool with the dark, "Midnight Blue" Pebble Tec interior finish, and this set the color tone for rest of the design. With such a dark and vivid color covering the majority of the pool area, there needed to be some tile and wall elements included that would play well. For the waterline, the client found Zahara's "Zafu Iridescent" mosaic glass tile in a 1/2" x 1-1/4" format, which featured shiny, mostly dark tones that had several pops of brighter colors mixed in. And for the wall veneer, Randy recommended a ledgestone that would compliment the pool plaster and waterline tile, and what he ended up liking the most was the "Charcoal Shadowstone" made by Realstone Systems.
They had a great thing going with all of the dark colors and grey stones, but what really set it all off was the "Lueder" limestone pool coping and the bone-colored concrete decking. Not only was the pool completely outlined in linestone, it was taken up the stairs, along the raised patio, and even doubled as a wall cap for the raised wall. It made for an incredibly sharp look.
To accent the back wall, Randy incorporated one of his trademark stainless steel, square-tube, multi-pipe scupper banks, which really brought in a sense of life and movement to the center of the pool.
And as for the previously mentioned shed, it became a tiny pool house / cabana complete with a custom-designed, modern flat-roof awning, which gives shelter to those lounging on the sectional sofa beside the glass fire pit. The only real change that was made to the existing structure came in the form of a new color palette that the clients fell in love with; a dark grey body with a bright, chartreuse door. Attached to the side of this structure, on the pool level, they incorporated a small outdoor kitchen with a barbeque and a cooker.
After all of the digging and leveling that took place in order to prepare for a pool to go in, large chunks of higher ground had to be removed. This process ended up leaving an entire side of the yard in need of some soil management. This was resolved with the installation of a C.M.U. retaining wall. And while it may not be the first thing you notice when visiting this masterpiece, it definitely gets noticed due to the fact that it ended up being painted to match the chartreuse door of the pool house.
With all of the love and careful consideration that went into the design of this modern, outdoor entertaining space, its easy to see why it received so many awards? Furthermore, its not hard to understand why this family was so excited to call it their own!
The most distinct element in this entire project, arguably, was a small modern-style shed that sits nestled into a corner atop the highest point on the entire property. But this wasn't just any old backyard shed. This one was hand-built by the homeowner himself, with the help of his father-in-law. And when it comes to having a structure so deeply immersed in such high sentimental value, tearing it down is simply out of the question. So it was collectively decided that the shed would instead become a centerpiece for this design.
But before we can get to the shed and the beautiful addition that was attached to it, its important to understand what lies between it and the house. When walking out of the house and into the back yard, the first thing you'll notice is a very wide and well built concrete stair set that sits in the center of a tall retaining wall. The stairs and retaining wall are the only thing between you and the bulk of the back yard, which happens to sit 4 feet above the area you're standing in.
Traverse up these steps and you're now at the main entertaining level of the yard. 4 feet is a pretty steep elevation change for any back yard, but to get to the shed, you still have to go up 2 feet higher than where you already are. Needless to say, this was the biggest obstacle for this project.
With large elevation changes such as this, you're almost always guaranteed to incur higher construction costs due to the necessity of implementing numerous retaining walls and hardscapes which must be in place in order to hold large amounts of earth in place which constantly want to move and satisfy gravity. But from a design standpoint, elevation changes equal excitement and dramatic visual features.
As you approach the pool, you'll be greeted with a symmetrical grid of concrete steppers that hug the semi-circular shape of the stair set. Each stepper is divided by a 6-inch gap that's been filled in with Mexican beach pebble, which mixes a raw sense of nature with clean, modern, concrete lines.
Step over, and you'll end near the edge of an L-shaped pool. It was clear from the beginning that the generous wet deck and the spa would be set on the front side of the pool, because with the 2 foot elevation change going up to the shed and additional covered patio, it meant that a spectacular raised wall would come off of that patio and line the back of the pool.
The clients opted to line the pool with the dark, "Midnight Blue" Pebble Tec interior finish, and this set the color tone for rest of the design. With such a dark and vivid color covering the majority of the pool area, there needed to be some tile and wall elements included that would play well. For the waterline, the client found Zahara's "Zafu Iridescent" mosaic glass tile in a 1/2" x 1-1/4" format, which featured shiny, mostly dark tones that had several pops of brighter colors mixed in. And for the wall veneer, Randy recommended a ledgestone that would compliment the pool plaster and waterline tile, and what he ended up liking the most was the "Charcoal Shadowstone" made by Realstone Systems.
They had a great thing going with all of the dark colors and grey stones, but what really set it all off was the "Lueder" limestone pool coping and the bone-colored concrete decking. Not only was the pool completely outlined in linestone, it was taken up the stairs, along the raised patio, and even doubled as a wall cap for the raised wall. It made for an incredibly sharp look.
To accent the back wall, Randy incorporated one of his trademark stainless steel, square-tube, multi-pipe scupper banks, which really brought in a sense of life and movement to the center of the pool.
And as for the previously mentioned shed, it became a tiny pool house / cabana complete with a custom-designed, modern flat-roof awning, which gives shelter to those lounging on the sectional sofa beside the glass fire pit. The only real change that was made to the existing structure came in the form of a new color palette that the clients fell in love with; a dark grey body with a bright, chartreuse door. Attached to the side of this structure, on the pool level, they incorporated a small outdoor kitchen with a barbeque and a cooker.
After all of the digging and leveling that took place in order to prepare for a pool to go in, large chunks of higher ground had to be removed. This process ended up leaving an entire side of the yard in need of some soil management. This was resolved with the installation of a C.M.U. retaining wall. And while it may not be the first thing you notice when visiting this masterpiece, it definitely gets noticed due to the fact that it ended up being painted to match the chartreuse door of the pool house.
With all of the love and careful consideration that went into the design of this modern, outdoor entertaining space, its easy to see why it received so many awards? Furthermore, its not hard to understand why this family was so excited to call it their own!
Project Year: 2014
Country: United States
Zip Code: 75238
