Balinese Influence
The well-traveled homeowners asked the design team for a waterscape that evoked two of their favorite destinations — Bali and Indonesia. However, it also had to make stylistic sense against a home that blended Tuscan and Spanish architectural elements.
They responded with this creation that features exotic amenities, natural materials and some slick visual tricks.
Sitting on a cul-de-sac and hemmed in by a secondary road, this property took on a unique, six-sided shape. “It almost looks like a parallelogram and a diamond were combined,” says Greg Mash. “It was tapered at the front, then it became wide, then it tapered again.”
To fit the pool in this space and orient it to offer views from various spots in the home, the team developed a layout that has users enter on a set of exterior steps, where they are met by a fork in the road: Go directly right for the spa, left for the pool, or straight for the covered island with a Balinese daybed.
The island forms the centerpiece. The wooden structure was custom-made with an ornately patterned roof supported by stainless steel posts. A four-sided rain curtain was installed on the structure for multiple reasons: Besides the obvious aesthetic enhancement, it helps combat insects at night. The team adjusted the system to weight the water drops more heavily to better withstand winds.
The elevated pool’s vanishing-edge wall is pointed toward the house to serve as a waterfeature. A stacked ledgestone veneer creates a gentle whitewater effect on the overflow. The team didn’t want to interrupt the falling water, so they spilled it into gutters on the ground, to avoid the visual obstruction of a catch basin. The stainless steel entry steps cantilever off the vanishing-edge wall so they appear to hover and leave room for the water to fall behind them.
The pool was oufitted with a swim current, so the team had to account for surge going over the wall. To accommodate the extra gallonage, the floor grates go back farther than normal, with some featuring wood insets.
