Yard of the Week: A Pool, a Porch and a Putting Green

“After” photos by Sarah Mattozzi

Landscape at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their three kids
Location: Henrico County, Virginia
Backyard size: About one-third of an acre (0.14 hectares)
Design-build firm: Outdoor Dreams

Before: The homeowners have two kids in middle school and one in high school. They wanted their yard to be the hangout spot for the kids and their friends, but the existing yard didn’t draw people in. And the deck design left the space underneath uninviting.

After: Finding a pool size that would be a nice fit for the approximately one-third-acre backyard was the first move. Koehler reviewed pool options with his clients, particularly fiberglass pools versus custom gunite pools. They ultimately decided on fiberglass. This is a pool that comes as one completed form, and size is limited to what can fit on the back of a truck. “The largest fiberglass pool that comes in one piece is 16 feet by 24 feet. That was just the right size for this yard,” Koehler says.

The designer notes that recently he has heard of fiberglass pools that come in two pieces and therefore are larger than this. However, he hasn’t seen one or had experience with one, so that wasn’t an option he was comfortable recommending at the time.

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While fiberglass pools lack a few options that a custom gunite pool offers, such as larger sizes and stair locations, the pros outweighed the cons for this family. “The quicker installation time was a real draw for them,” Koehler says. “They wanted to maximize the number of summers they could enjoy the pool before their kids went off to college,” “A fiberglass pool can be installed in two to three weeks, while a custom gunite pool can take around three months and has lots of temperature constraints.” This meant the family would lose out on most of one pool season during the installation of a gunite pool.

“Fiberglass pools are also much more low-maintenance than gunite pools. You have to constantly keep on top of the concrete and plaster in a gunite pool, whereas fiberglass pools are easier to keep clean,” Koehler says. Finally, a fiberglass pool requires a smaller budget. He estimates that choosing fiberglass will save about 10% to 25% over a custom gunite pool.

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Surrounding woods create a leafy backdrop off two sides of the pool. Koehler used arborvitae trees (Thuja standish x plicata ‘Green Giant’; zones 5 to 8; find your zone) to create a screen from the neighbor on the right. These fast-growing trees will grow up to 30 feet tall and 10 feet wide within 10 years.

The designer played around with the design, mixing the large-scale slabs and small-scale herringbone pavers in different ways. In the final composition, he placed the herringbone pattern under the deck and around three sides of the pool. The larger pavers occupy the area between the deck and the pool. This arrangement helped define the flow as well as different outdoor rooms.

The herringbone pavers surround the other three sides of the pool, including the area seen here at the far end. This outdoor room is a small fire pit lounge.

Before and After: 4 Pool Additions for Fun and Relaxation

The firm completed some thoughtful grading in the area off the right side of the house. Before, there had been a steep slope that was tricky to navigate. Regrading and retaining dirt, as well as adding stairs, resulted in an easy path for guests who want to walk from the driveway to the backyard.

The retaining walls that form terraces and slopes in the side yard are a mix of Rocka Walls blocks from Techo-Bloc (left), and Virginia fieldstone boulders (right). The steps in the grass are a cast-concrete product, also from Techo-Bloc. “The Rocka Walls product is a simple block system that does not require capping, which saves money,” Koehler says. The block walls and the stairs also have a natural stone look. “It has clean lines, yet it’s also rustic,” he says.

The deck is off the kitchen, and the area beneath it is a covered patio off the home’s lower level. “The husband loves to grill and use the outdoor griddle,” Koehler says. “They love to mix it up in terms of dining out on the deck or bringing the food in. So they didn’t want to have to go up and down a flight of stairs to do that.”

The 320-square-foot deck has plenty of room for grilling and dining. “My clients also like to grow edible plants including herbs and vegetables in pots up here, but they hadn’t planted them as of photo shoot day,” Koehler says. Once they do, they can pop just outside to the deck to gather fresh homegrown ingredients.

The new decking is a composite product that is low-maintenance and long-lasting. The railings are clean-lined powder-coated aluminum.

Decking: Reserve collection in Driftwood, TimberTech

“We don’t usually push the size of the deck so close to the limits of meeting code, but in this case we maximized the space that’s safely allowed without having to drop another post,” Koehler says.

The area beneath the deck is a fun lounge with two hanging chairs and a TV the family often uses to watch golf tournaments and football games while enjoying the fresh air. A ceiling fan adds comfort on hot days.

“They tell me that they make great use of the lounge, that it’s become a real gathering spot and that they spend a lot of time out here,” Koehler says.

Here’s a closer look at the cast-concrete stairs that lead down to the backyard. The Rocka Walls blocks are on the right and the Virginia fieldstone boulders are on the left.

The plants were quite new when the photos were taken, but as they grow and fill in they will also add to the naturalistic look. “Ornamental grasses provide such wonderful sound and sway with the wind. They are so graceful and relaxing, which is why I love to use them around pools,” Koehler says. The taller grass seen here is Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’; zones 4 to 9), which can grow to be 6 to 8 feet tall.

Along the path, Walker’s Low catmint (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’; zones 4 to 9) provides lovely purple flowers, a naturalistic shape and a wonderful fragrance throughout the summer.

The multistemmed trees at the outer corners of the pool are Natchez crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei ‘Natchez’; zones 6 to 9). These are low-maintenance trees that have beautiful bark, sculptural silhouettes and showy flowers. The two sections of fence in the top right corner conceal pool equipment.

As is common with many homeowners once they get their feet wet on a project, this family decided to go for one more feature late in the project. “They approached me at kind of the last second and said, ‘Soooo … we’re wondering if we can do a putting green,’ and I said, ‘Let’s see what we can do to make it look good,’” Koehler says.

First, he mixed two types of artificial turf. The green is a low turf, and the rough is taller for chipping. Toward the back of the green, he added a mortared cobblestone border to keep the live grass separate from the artificial grass.

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“Of course we put in a sand trap because if you’re going to do this, do it right,” Koehler says with a laugh. “We also mixed flowers, boulders and ornamental grasses to give it natural golf course vibes.”

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