Landscape Design
Outbuildings
Yard of the Week: 2 New Cabanas Anchor an Entertainment Space
Charming prefabricated structures add a poolside kitchenette, bathroom and outdoor living areas to a New Jersey property
These Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, homeowners wanted to make their yard more conducive to entertaining and add convenience near their pool. “They also wanted a spot that would give their kids, who were about to graduate from college, a place they would always enjoy coming back to,” architect and contractor Rosario Mannino says. As for style, one of the homeowners was drawn to charming English country colonial looks.
Two charming new pool cabanas provide a kitchenette and a bathroom at the back of the yard. The new design also includes a dining area, pergola-covered patio, fire pit area and outdoor shower.
Two charming new pool cabanas provide a kitchenette and a bathroom at the back of the yard. The new design also includes a dining area, pergola-covered patio, fire pit area and outdoor shower.
Grading was required to flatten out the sloped area for the cabanas. The extra dirt was pushed up beside this kitchenette cabana and held back by stacked-stone retaining walls. Mannino had two foundation slabs poured to fit the dimensions of the pergolas.
Each cabana is 10 by 10 feet and 14 feet high (not including the finials on top). The dimensions were limited by transport via flatbed truck, but the size was ample for the homeowners’ needs. “These structures are pretty simple and utilitarian, but they have a lot of charm,” Mannino says. “They are made of traditional natural materials. And the flared rooflines add softness.”
The architect edged the foundation slabs in brick to match the house and brick details on the new patio. He also designed a cedar pergola that connects the cabanas. The kitchenette cabana has a pull-up bar window underneath the pergola.
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Each cabana is 10 by 10 feet and 14 feet high (not including the finials on top). The dimensions were limited by transport via flatbed truck, but the size was ample for the homeowners’ needs. “These structures are pretty simple and utilitarian, but they have a lot of charm,” Mannino says. “They are made of traditional natural materials. And the flared rooflines add softness.”
The architect edged the foundation slabs in brick to match the house and brick details on the new patio. He also designed a cedar pergola that connects the cabanas. The kitchenette cabana has a pull-up bar window underneath the pergola.
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Details like the Dutch doors, metal lanterns, shutters and finials add charm to the structures.
The kitchenette is outfitted with a beer tap, a beverage fridge, a sink and an ice maker. The siding is tongue-and-groove nickel gap shiplap. The pale blue ceiling lends a light coastal feel. While there’s a pass-through window over the counter, Mannino notes that at a party the homeowner had a bartender serve drinks through the top of the Dutch door.
Wall paint: Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Borrowed Light, Farrow & Ball
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Wall paint: Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Borrowed Light, Farrow & Ball
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The cabana also has a built-in bench for the little dining table and two pantry cabinets for tableware and snacks.
There are lots of paving transitions in the patio from front to back. In the dining area, the paving is bluestone. In between the cabanas is a mix of bluestone and brick, and it breaks up beyond the pergola into bluestone pavers and gravel; the surface beneath the casual fire pit area is gravel. It’s a nice gradual transition from the more formal built area to the natural woods out back.
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There’s also a small transition with pavers laid in the gravel between the bluestone patio and the cabanas. Evergreen boxwood shrubs create a formal structure along this side of the patio, while roses and hydrangeas bring in the English country feel the homeowner wanted.
An outdoor TV is mounted on the left side of the bathroom cabana.
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Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
The bathroom cabana also has nickel gap shiplap. However, the shower isn’t inside — there’s an outdoor shower off the back of the kitchenette cabana.
A line of pavers leads from the bluestone patio through the grass to the house. The cabana is on axis with this path.
The interior finishes in the bathroom cabana are the same as the kitchenette’s, with the same wicker light fixture and blue paint on the ceiling. The space also has a changing area.
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Landscape at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey
Cabana size: 100 square feet each (9.3 square meters)
Architect and contractor: Rosario Mannino of RS | Mannino Architecture + Construction
Garden house prefabrication: Alison Carabasi of Hillbrook Collections
Landscape architect: Devin Short of Tapestry Landscape Architecture
The design was a collaboration between Mannino, garden house designer and prefabricator Alison Carabasi of Hillbrook Collections and landscape architect Devin Short. “The homeowner had chosen a cabana design she liked from Hillbrook Collections and I worked from there,” Mannino says. These customized outbuildings are prefabricated in Pennsylvania and then shipped to the site and craned into place.
“Using this company went very well; I highly recommend them,” Mannino says. “You can call them to discuss options and Alison will provide beautiful drawings for you. But in this case I completed the drawings myself and outfitted the interiors, and they provided the shells, including the Dutch lap siding and the flared cedar roofs.” He specified the lanterns, finials, Dutch doors and windows on the cabanas, which were all part of the prefabrication. Mannino estimates that using factory-built cabanas saved at least 60% over building them on site.
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