Private Poolside Retreat

Lakeville, MN

Completed 2023

TA-DA!

Property Serviced by Mom’s Fine Gardening

Behind the Design

Design Notes

Before

A cabin-versus-backyard debate, and a deck nobody used: too hot, too buggy, too windy. Evenings outside ended at 8pm, and drainage problems ran through the whole backyard.

The Idea

Bring the cabin feeling home. A pool folded into the natural ambiance of the yard, a simple water feature for the sound of it, and a deliberate balance of sun and shade so there is always a right place to sit.

After

Mobile screens, a louvered pergola, and infrared heaters stretched the evening far past its old 8pm curfew. Alternating patio and turf inlays set apart the lounging spaces, the bubbling boulder murmurs by the pool, and the dried-in deck keeps pool-level seating covered from the elements.

The Brief

—Make staying home better than buying the cabin
—Host small gatherings of relatives and family friends
—A pool with a balance of sun and shade
—A simple water feature to look at and listen to
—Fix the evenings — the old deck was hot, buggy, windy, and done by 8pm

Materials & Craft

Louvered pergola
Mobile screens
Infrared heaters
Artificial turf game space
Bubbling boulder water feature
Outdoor fireplace
Low-maintenance plantings

The evening extenders

Mobile screens, a louvered pergola, and infrared heaters on the upper deck turned a three-hour deck into an all-night one — bugs and cold no longer call the curfew.

Rooms without walls

Alternating stretches of patio and artificial-turf inlay quietly define separate lounging spaces — plus a turf game space that shrugs off Minnesota weather.

The bubbling boulder

The simple water feature the homeowners asked for: a boulder that murmurs beside the pool, giving the whole space its peaceful soundtrack.

Covered at pool level

The deck was dried in so the seating beneath it stays protected from the elements — usable space above and below.

The hard part

Drainage and water problems ran throughout the backyard and had to be solved during the project — the calm the design promised depended on fixing what was underneath it first.