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Photography by Sam Fentress and Alise O'Brien
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Into the Woods
The home was built in 1928, and the pool, built in the 1940s, is said to be the first one in Ladue. The original was 12 feet deep and lacked stairs or filtration. Eight years ago the owners decided to modernize, but kept true to the original. Their only changes were additions: a filtration system, steps and benches on the far ends, and a small fountain. And one other important change: "I wanted it to look like a reflecting pond," says the owner, "and not some big blue thing." So she had the pool refinished in black Pebble Tee. The Eden limestone coping is native to Wisconsin and echoes the English limestone low garden wall encircling the pool. The pool house, designed by architect Paul Fendler, is two small buildings, a kitchen and a bath, connected under one roof. The open passage between the two serves as a gateway from the pool to a white peony–and–boxwood garden, complete with Italian balustrade purchased by the owner's grandmother. With shake siding and a shake roof, the house nicely inhabits the shady grove. Shake ages well and gets mossy, says Mr. Fendler, and so it is a good fit in this natural setting. The flagstone surface lends the feel of a cottage deep in the woods. Two tables of six sit beneath a generous roof, and trompe l'oeil butterflies and swallows decorate the cupola. Though she says she might, in retrospect, have made the pool house more formal, she prizes the coziness of hosting intimate lunches, dinners and cocktail hours there, as well as the peace of watching the setting sun as it glows golden on the water.
By George
Georgian Colonial homes are known for their geometric shapes, long lines and small doors that open into large spaces. When Dave and Susie Spence decided to add a pool and pool house to their 1937 Georgian, they kept the new architecture cohesive with the old. The pool is a classic rectangle with terraced fountain. Their architect, Scott Krecji, found bricks from old, demolished downtown buildings built around the same time. By connecting the pool house to the main house with a breezeway, they stayed true to the architectural importance of entering a space. This large pool house doubles as a guesthouse, offering visitors the privacy and cozy feel of a bed and breakfast.
The space also serves as a gathering place for their four children and their friends. Downstairs they can watch movies; upstairs they can play pool or arcade games in the game room, which houses Mr. Spence's collection of antique circus posters and portraits of the 1967 Blues hockey team.
The second floor holds a small balcony, from which Mrs. Spence hopes at least one of her three daughters will one day toss her bouquet. But for now, the Spences use it to greet their guests.
Mrs. Spence advises working closely with your architect and designer: "No one should pick your pieces for you. At the end of the day, they all go home. If you don't trust your own style, you might find yourself living in someone else's."
Harmony & Grace
"We call it our tea house," Jeanne Blumenthal says of her open-air, Japanese-style outdoor kitchen, designed by architect Philip Durham. It rests on the curve of a garden path that connects the house to the patio to the pool. Vertical slats of ipe wood cast filtered light on the long table. The kitchen boasts a stainless-steel Viking Professional Grill, brushed stainless-steel refrigerator and coppery granite countertops but no sink. "I didn't want to lose the counter space," says Mrs. Blumenthal. She adds, "Now I can just hose the whole thing off after I cook."
The dark, curving pool was built in 1983. Why have a black one? "We don't have to cover it in the winter, because black isn't going to stain. The Japanese garden's aesthetic would be marred by a big pool cover." When full, the dark color adds to the impression of a natural spring tucked into the side of a mountain. Adding to the mystique are the garden's many bonsai trees, which are pruned several times a year by bonsai artist Brian Ciskowski of Cass Bonsai Gardens. "Water adds a lot of life to a garden," he says.
Although the kitchen is not high-maintenance, the garden is, and so Mrs. Blumenthal's advice is this: "Decide what's important to you and what you're willing to do ... For most people the pool is all about the sun. For us it isn't that at all. It's about tranquility, relaxing. To sit and listen and just be."
Night at the Movies
Joyce and Jeff Jackson's pool is a curvy thing, with a Jacuzzi nestled into its side and turquoise, Caribbean-esque tiles. With a pool like that and their love of entertaining, the Jacksons knew their pool house had to be fun, too. They called in John Yaakub, the engineer and builder who owns both Concepts & Solutions and CRM Engineering, to help them. When they told him they threw big parties and wanted to create a covered area where guests would be able to mingle comfortably with the pool as a backdrop, Mr. Yaakub suggested creating an open-air kitchen and bar area. Together they designed a simple square structure with a vaulted ceiling, anchored in the front by two thick columns and in the back by the front wall of the small pool house. They planned for a grill area, a drink station, a bar and a buffet line. The architects of Mitchell Wall drew up the plans. The Jacksons are especially thrilled with their 51-inch outdoor grill and dual side burner. "At one party, we flipped like 80 burgers in 20 minutes," says Mrs. Jackson. "I can cook my whole dinner out here."
Simple Solutions
When Alden Pflager decided to build a backyard pool, she first envisioned everyone changing inside the house. But knowing that her husband, "bless his heart," did not do well with mess, and imagining her four children and their friends piling wet suits and towels in the main floor's only bathroom, she realized that with a pool must come a pool house. She designed hers with three simple spaces in mind: bathroom, changing room and storage. It should, she thought, echo the lines of her colonial home. The pool designer, Domenico Tricamo of Holiday Pool and Spa, thought it should sit far enough back from the pool to maintain spaciousness and not block the light. The interior designer, Corinne Jones of Jacqueline Maritz Interiors, suggested an aquatic palette: soft blue and crisp white. Then along the way, a useful feature was added: The slip-proof granite tile floor was brought 3 inches or so up the baseboard, so water puddles can't damage the wall. Architect Paul Fendler kept the pool house simple, without a lot of lounging space, but designed an overhang to shade summer guests. The outdoor shower is much loved because "it means the kids can get completely showered and changed before coming inside," Mrs. Pflager says. As for the pool, she has two tips. The first is for the placement of the pool itself. She had hers set off-center, behind the family room (so in the off-months, she doesn't see the pool covered). The second is for the pool's interior: If you're a lap swimmer, put the pool's stairs to one side.
Brew House Meets Pool House
When Joe and Lynn Danis decided to renovate a Clayton Tudor and add a fully functional pub and pool house out back, they rang Jeff LaDriere. Why? When Mr. LaDriere and Mr. Danis were childhood friends, they built a fort together over the garage, so designing a space "where the guys could hang out and smoke cigars and watch sports" was a natural. "We went to John P. Field's," Mr. Danis says, "and I said to Jeff, 'This is pretty much what I want.'" For the bar, they built a basement with a walk-in cooler and installed kegs and tappers. To ensure that the building felt as much pool house as brew house, Mr. and Mrs. Danis decided to continue the patio's Eden limestone floor inside. This, together with the vaulted ceiling, six tall doors and reflection from the water, makes the interior summery and light. An oak pergola over stone piers and low-sitting walls and gas fire pit invite guests to move from inside to outside. The Danises have two small children and a half-acre lot, so their priorities for the pool were size and safety. They opted for a shallow, free-form, zero-entry pool and a waterfall in place of a diving board, so "you can see every inch of the pool day and night."
