The owners of a contemporary residence near the Gulf Coast in Fort Meyers, Florida, wanted a landscape that featured clean lines and tropical landscaping so they contracted with Knaak Design Group, a consortium of registered landscape architects, designers and certified building contractors, to realize their vision. Working with a 30,572 square-foot-lot, company owner and landscape architect Robert B. Knaak created a design that called for a covered lanai, an outdoor kitchen, a fireplace, pool, spa, pool deck, driveway, the landscaping and lighting. Constructing and installing all of these amenities was also part of his firm's assignment.

With the home located along the Caloosahatchee River, Knaak Design knew it would be most important to retain the views out to the river from inside as well as outside the home. The home was sited approximately five feet above finished grade for flood and drainage reasons so Knaak divided up the backyard into four distinct levels of outdoor living.

Level One
The covered lanai located at the same elevation off the back of the house needed to have a seamless connection with the family room and kitchen. Large pocket sliders were used to connect the indoors out. Inside the home, large shellstone travertine tiles were used througho ut as the main flooring choice so Knaak carried the same material outside under the covered lanai. To preserve the views, the outdoor kitchen and bar area was designed to be on one side of this large lanai. while the fireplace was on the other side. This kept the views out to the river intact and created two separate outdoor living spaces. Knaak also specified and installed a cypress tongue and groove ceiling from with a Bordeaux-colored stain to finish off the vaulted ceiling and give it a high-end aesthetic.

Level Two
Again, to retain the river views, Knaak designed the pool to be sleek, modern, and not overly distracting. Centered between the U-shaped outline of the back of the home, the rectilinear pool and accompanying deck are reached by descending a staircase of four six-inch risers.
A large 18-inch-high perimeter overflow spa iwas positioned at the back of the pool and cladded with designer glass tiles by Luanda Bay. Other features include a shallow sun shelf perfect for the three chaise Ledge Loungers. At night the sun shelf is lit by three LED color bubblers.

 

The deck was to blend seamlessly with the upper deck, but the owners wanted a lower maintenance alternative so Knaak decided to use large format 20"x 40" x 2cm-thick porcelain pavers by Bellissimo in their "limestone" color shade. Knaak says the outdoor porcelain pavers are very popular and a slip-free, mold and mildew resistant alternative to natural stone that doesn't need to be pressure washed or sealed to look great.

Level Three
Since the pool deck sits approximately three feet above finish grade, it would normally require a fence around it. In order to mitigate that and keep views open to the river, Knaak designed another level and specified a series of low planters with perennial peanut groundcover to be installed along the back of the pool deck.
To meet safety code, a white aluminum fence was installed on the side yards and brought all the way down to tie into the seawall at the river's edge.

Level Four
The concept for the landscaping was to mimic a lush tropical resort but yet keep a "clean" aesthetic. The rear yard, one level down from the planters surrounding the pool deck, was kept simple with a large area of Zoysia Turf for playing games, and with limited trees and shrubs to again maintain that million-dollar view.
The landscaping in the front encompassed: several species of palms including the Copernicia Palms that help to frame the house, a triple Bottle Palm specimen highlighted at the center of the driveway, and several large Triangle Palms along the side yards to help add privacy. Two Shady Lady olive trees flank the driveway on each side while Little Gem Magnolia trees and a Silver Trumpet Tree (tabebuia) add more interest. Knaak also incorporated a large plant massing of fakahatchee and muhly grasses along with pops of color with bougainvillea, orange bird of paradise, walking Iris, and Chinese hibiscus shrubs to name a few.

The Rest of the Story
With a growing family and teenage drivers, the homeowners biggest concern was to have a large enough driveway for parking vehicles and to maneuver several cars in and out of the two 2-car garages. The lot was not wide enough for a traditional horseshoe driveway so Knaak created a single ingress/egress drive with a large circular turnaround. The expanse of concrete was overwhelming so Knaak broke up the drive using patterns and 8" wide synthetic turf banding. The drive design not only met the must-have by the owners but adds a level of sophistication and curb appeal to the home's coastal architecture and approach.

The outdoor lighting had to be tough to withstand not only the irrigation, insecticides, weed whackers, and bugs but most importantly the salt spray that takes its toll on lighting systems. As with all of his projects, Knaak is a proponent of using completely-brass, LED landscape light fixtures that attest to be fully sealed to keep out moisture, corrosion, debris, and bugs.

"They might be a bit more expensive, but they are worth the extra cost for longevity and peace of mind," Knaak states.

Team List
Landscape Architect: Knaak Design Group
Certified Building Contractor: Knaak Design Group
Residential Designer: Crespo Design
Home Builder: Darrell Peeples, Inc.