Accent was proud to be recognized with a 2024 NALP Award of Excellence for this project.
Our clients’ intent was to reclaim their backyard outdoor living space in the prestigious Broadmoor neighborhood. The goals were to provide a relaxing refuge from high pressure careers, build a space for the young family and large groups of friends to gather and entertain, and to extend the outdoor living season into late fall and early spring.
The existence of an old, inground swimming pool and surrounding hardscape that had fallen into disrepair was the first challenge. Even the decision to remove or renovate the pool was part of an extensive design conversation. In addition, the space is in a limited, narrow side yard, making efficient use of space challenging, and crucial to the usability of the area. It was also important to seamlessly blend the new construction into the existing home’s architecture.
Another challenge was, over the years, there were multiple renovations and additions attempted on this home. All of them were completed with varying degrees of skill and forethought. They incorporated multiple, sometimes disparate natural materials of varying quality. Many were dated, or simply no longer available.
Our approach to addressing the clients’ desires, and the challenges of this project were two-fold. We were required to blend extensive structural engineering and artistic design into one seamless addition. The decision to eliminate the pool altogether was the first solution to the limited space. Achieving the required compaction of the fill for the pool removal is more complicated than one might think. Although this home sits on a large parcel, we wanted to keep the living area directly connected to the home and that meant utilizing a narrow side yard in close proximity to neighbors.
As is often the case, good design is achieved through thoughtful subtraction. Although we could not eliminate all of the materials that were less than ideal, we were able to reduce the number of finishes, address the most outdated finishes, and renovate or cover the most decrepit finishes. Some we could not remove for reasons of budget and structural integrity, and we were able to reface them with new unifying materials. The interior of the home had been successfully renovated to the highest design standards, and we were able to key off of those interior materials to make an immediate connection between interior space and exterior space. This served as a foundation to unify the look and feel of the new outdoor living space and the transitions from inside to out.
Where we removed old and unusable finishes, we added a unifying paver floor from one end of the project to the other. Another key element was the extensive use of Haddenstone bespoke cultured limestone surfaces for stair treads, wall copings, column caps, firepit caps, and countertop spaces. And finally, we matched existing elements like tapered round pillars, shake shingle siding, and beadboard ceilings and soffits exactly matched to the existing home. A concrete stamped colored overlay of concrete areas that could not be removed or capped with pavers provided a smooth transition from porch to living area.
With the visual elements addressed, our design turned to the practical uses of space. An added pavilion attached to the home and a 30-foot-tall fireplace chimney required extensive engineered footings and structure. The pavilion made the area comfortable in inclement weather and in addition to the wood burning fireplace, the design included ceiling mounted radiant heaters. An adjacent uncovered seating area was centered around a gas fire pit to further add to the ambiance. A built-in cooking station with high end grill and vent has become the family’s primary kitchen for much of the year.
The next element was the design and installation of plantings to create a garden area that softened and screened this new living space. It also included a custom privacy fence designed to blend into the foothills landscape and existing cottage style gardens.
The final element was well thought out lighting throughout to provide safety, to direct people from one space to another, and to extend the use of all spaces around the clock.
The addition of a hot tub mid-project required rethinking some of the hardscape layouts to integrate it into the plan without being conspicuous posed some challenges, but good communication and flexibility solved that design problem.
The final result received the greatest compliment we could hope for from our client by the fact that they spent the majority of their time at home in the outdoor space we provided. Whether they are relaxing away from the busy lives they lead or hosting a large gathering, this space has become the central gathering point of the home.