Updated 2-8-24
A Backyard Oasis Is Where the Heart Is
Home is a popular location for celebrating Valentine’s Day. It truly is where the heart is…the center of our strongest affections. And while February 14th is usually not a great day for outdoor celebrations, it’s a great time to consider how we’ll spend the outdoor living season with our loved ones.
Making plans to upgrade one’s property, perhaps including an outdoor oasis, isn’t limited to those who have an ideal backyard terrain. Consider what was accomplished for these Dix Hills’ homeowners. Instead of giving up on their dreams, Deck and Patio showed them how we could take advantage of their property’s steep slope.
Backstory
The homeowners wanted a pool, but with the sloping topography they knew any pool would have to be located a distance from the house.
Stream/Waterfalls Enhance Walkway
In looking over the property, our team realized that the way to deal with this was to make the to-and-fro — going from the upper patio down to the pool — part of the overall ‘oasis’ experience.
So, in addition to the pool and pool upper patio areas, we added a beautiful stream with multiple waterfalls, lush plantings, plus a series of stairs and landing areas, to make the waling an experience in itself.
Of course, once the idea of water features was decided on, the homeowners felt it would be a real loss if such a delightful feature couldn’t also be enjoyed up the hill, from the patio near the house. Would they have to be down at the pool to enjoy it all?
Deck and Patio’s solution was to add an additional waterfall at the top of the slope that faced the house-kitchen area. That way, they could see a waterfall, as well as the beginning of the stream from there. And just beyond that vantage point, the stream would take an abrupt U-turn, and flow down through five separate cascades, before ending in the lower area pond.
The Destination Pool
In order to make such a destination pool practical, the overall design plans included an outdoor kitchen, bathroom, living room area, and changing rooms etc.
We added beautiful creeping ground cover and natural boulders. By installing enough retaining boulders and plant materials, Mother Nature’s own gravity coaxes water naturally over rock etc. into a pond near the shallow end of the pool.
At the deep end, a raised patio area holds a natural stone diving rock. Near it, another tiered part of the patio gives way to a pool-waterfall that flows over natural stone boulders and green ground cover.
The result is a Valentine to the whole family. Home truly is where the heart is.
Destination Pools:
The walk from the house down to the pool is as much a part of the overall backyard oasis as the pool. Beautiful plantings flank on either side of the walk. An additional natural looking waterfall, falling over the edge of the swimming pool, draws the eye forward as you stroll. Also note how comfortably large the pool surround is for family time spent by the pool, as well as for entertaining.
Backyard Water Features:
Our vision was to take advantage of the steep property grade to create a beautiful slope with five cascading waterfalls, moss rock boulders, evergreens, perennials and annuals.
Deck and Patio created a series of stairs and landings to captivate
family and friends on their journey down to the new lower pool area. Rich plantings and river rock plus moss boulders line the path.
Picture-Perfect Waterfalls:
We ended up creating an additional waterfall at the top of the slope that faced the house-kitchen area. That way, the family could see a waterfall and the beginning of the stream; slightly beyond that vantage point, the stream takes an abrupt U-turn, and flows down through five separate cascades before ending in the lower area pond.
