Home renovation with outdoor entertaining area, pool

Function and practicality are key components of landscape design, but it is also important for the landscape to reflect the architecture. It follows that when a house has been given a contemporary makeover, the landscape needs to follow suit.

Landscape and pool designer Gudrun Fischer was asked to create an outdoor area to suit a house that had been renovated a few years prior.

A coloured concrete patio took up the majority of the original outdoor area, which included a small lawn near the entrance. Planter boxes marked the transition from this upper level down to a second larger lawn below.

Because of its proximity to the kitchen and living room, the patio functioned well as an entertaining area but the landscape as a whole was lacking a sleek, cohesive design, says Fischer.

"The idea was to use all of the available space and create a fully functional, stylish entertaining area, with a swimming pool for the owners' two daughters and their friends."

Consequently the patio was completely retiled and a 9.4m x 4m swimming pool was installed, designed to project over the lower lawn.

"In the preliminary design, the pool featured an infinity edge, but we soon realised that this would jeopardise access to the lower lawn from the driveway. So instead, we straightened out the edge and planted terraces of succulents."

The neutral colour scheme and crisp, clean, cubical nature of the landscape is an appropriate match for the architecture of the house, Fischer says.

"The house had been given a contemporary makeover, so it was important to create a modern landscape that would complement this."

Plants soften the courtyard and provide visual interest, while a stainless steel sculpture enhances the sleek aesthetic.

Story by: Ellen Dorset