Set along a dramatic, forty-five-foot cliff in the Great Lakes Region, Lakeside Lifestyle reimagines waterfront living as a fully immersive, resort-caliber experience. Designed and built by Ohio-based luxury landscape architecture firm Cloonan Design Services Inc., the project transforms a private residence into a layered outdoor environment where landscape, architecture, and water are inseparable. Beyond crafting an environment for everyday use and hosting, the goal was to create a sense of openness and ease often associated with world-class waterfront destinations.


Standing above the upper pools provides an uninterrupted view to the lake due to vanishing edges on all three pool elements. The upper living area features lights in the larger pool - which is a consistent 52 inches deep - as well as under the coping around the spa, creating a unique glow effect. In the nearby outdoor kitchen, LED color-changing strip lighting was used to complement the white granite countertops.

Setting The Stage
At the start of the design process, the homeowner wanted a rectilinear design. The Landscape Architect drafted two concepts to reflect these wishes but felt strongly about creating a design that would respect the fluid nature of the lake and landscape. So, a third concept was formulated featuring a curvilinear/circular design that differed greatly from the other two. When the client reviewed the three concepts, he overwhelmingly approved of the curvilinear design. Unbeknownst to the design team, the interior of the home featured multiple round motifs as well as curved stairs, making a strong aesthetic connection between the two. Once the construction process began the design team worked closely with the homeowner, who allowed various changes to be made as challenges arose.


Nestled between planters and the cascade retaining wall of the upper pool, this fish-eye-shaped, private living room features a 60-inch concrete fire bowl. Outfitted with composite decking, this space was intentionally closed off from the rest of the backyard to protect users from the wind and to provide a more intimate area.

Most clients desire the lake views to be completely wide open throughout the property, but the client agreed to including view barriers in order to create depth of interest. While the lake will always be an exciting feature, it is even more exciting to catch a glimpse of it around elements like planters and large trees, culminating in a sense of arrival once the cliffside deck finally opens up to reveal the watery expanse beyond. Because most of the upper levels of the property were filled with programmed "rooms," the wide-open views along the deck are accompanied by large, flexible spaces on the deck and synthetic turf lawns.


Added for its calming acoustics and dramatic nighttime effect, a cascading waterfall features large, circular, pre-cast concrete steppingstones along its path to the outdoor kitchen. Lights from underneath tie the element to the adjacent pools while illuminating the running water, unique staircase, and the various hues of blue tile.

 

Flowing Along
As the property does not provide direct access to the lake below, the homeowner and their guests are able to vicariously experience a day at the lake through three pool features that serve as the visual and experiential core of the project. These elements contain vanishing edges that, when viewed from the top of the property, dissolve the boundary between land and water as each body of water flows to the next and terminates at the lake.


The property contains a total of seven different levels that lead to the total lake view along the edge. LEGACY limestone - a 30,000 PSI, easy-to-clean private stone brand distributed by Cloonan Design Services - was used on all wall caps, steps, coping, and pavers. A terraced rooftop synthetic lawn above the cliffside lounge provides uninterrupted views of the lake and yard behind it. At night, the many walkways and terraces are softly illuminated with a combination of step and path lights.

The hot tub is the first water feature encountered upon entering the outdoor kitchen from the house. Elevating the original grade by about 12 feet, the hot tub acts as both a focal point and the connective element that enabled the vanishing edge design. Its location - close to the interior spa room and protected by the geometric, pergola-like stucco arbor above the outdoor kitchen - encourages year-round use and reinforces the landscape's role as an extension of interior living rather than a seasonal amenity.


The large amount of hardscaping led to the inclusion of lots of plants in as many colors as possible. Along the terraced steps, the deep purples of Blue Fortune Agastache (A) (Agastache x 'Blue Fortune'), golden yellows of Vintage Gold False Cypress (B) (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Vintage Gold'), and Zagreb Coreopsis (C) (Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb') present a complementary color combination repeated elsewhere on the property. Between the hardscape, evergreen varieties like Korean Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonii) and Weeping Norway Spruce (Picea abies 'Pendula') add their own flair with unique branch and leaf structures.

Attached to the custom hot tub is the upper pool, which is a consistent 52-inches deep, as the client wanted to be able to walk and float around while enjoying the view beyond the vanishing edge. As you pass the upper pool and hot tub on the right and the modern outdoor kitchen with granite and concrete countertops on the left, you walk through a stucco portal and down a set of circular, pre-cast stone steps. This staircase is illuminated and curves along a stepped waterfall fed by the vanishing edge of the first pool and a 36-inch water weir. Additional waterflow comes from between each lily-pad-like step. This adventurous path culminates in a fisheye-like outdoor living room complete with a fire pit. The bench foundation around the fire pit features composite decking placed over the Landscape Architect's private brand LEGACY limestone that is quarried in Wisconsin and has become a signature element in many of the team's projects.


Integrated into the landscape, the cliffside lounge contains an indoor bar that opens to a patio with lounge swing chairs and custom standalone planters. Though the rest of the site uses limestone pavers, the deck that extends beyond the bluff is surfaced with lightweight composite decking in two different colors. Cable railing with a silver powder coat finish provides safety and minimal intrusion of the view forty-five feet above the lake.

After crossing a short, paved walkway, you reach the lower pool that was built separate from the upper pool due to a sewer line easement that runs right in the middle of the backyard. With two leaper jets, a stream fountain, and a sun shelf with a bubbler, the lower pool is larger and is accompanied by a nice-sized sun deck. Starting at three feet deep, this pool gradually descends to eight feet on the deep end. When digging the pools the team hit shale, which is a fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from compacted mud, clay, and silt. To solve this, the shale was flashed with tar so the pool walls were protected from water damage. Instead of finishing the pools with traditional plaster, the Landscape Architect specified various hues of a rich blue tile, ultimately elevating the durability and aesthetic of all three features.


Many trees on the property were chosen for their unique, often geometric, forms. Specimens like the Green Giant Arborvitaes (A) (Thuja standishii x plicata) along the property edge feature cone-shaped, upward-oriented structures. Elsewhere, outward-spiking Limelight Hydrangea trees (B) (Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight') introduce horizontal interest on various planes. Circular planters are bordered by the up-and-down forms of Sky Pencil Holly (C) (Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil') as they contain hues of pink with annuals like SunPatiens (D) (Impatiens x hybrida) and perennials like (Hylotelephium herbstfreude).

Layers Upon Layers
The three large, raised masonry planters showcase large, beautiful Honeylocust Trees (Gleditsia triacanthos) and Karl Foerster Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster') as well as hydrangea and fuchsia annuals, creating an eye-catching focal point while guiding visitors through the limestone garden paths. Towards the cliff, crescents of turf provide visual relief from the bright hardscaping, which all leads to the lake. The large circular turf area is the highest point, with views of the lake and the entire yard behind it. This overlook is surrounded by perennials, annuals, and various plants that will provide year-round color and interest. As there was a significant amount of monochrome hardscaping on the project, the design incorporated heavy planting featuring a lot of color. To do so, the planting plan specified perennials mixed with annuals to intermingle the blooms throughout the summer. The buff-colored limestone created a neutral base that framed the plants, circular turf, and fluid forms of the design.

Underneath the overlook is the private cliffside lounge, featuring a speakeasy-like bar and gathering area. Added to the plans later, this room raised the rooftop lawn above by four feet and lowered the deck below by three feet, resulting in expanded views from both areas. TimberTech compsite decking on this cantilevered overhang introduces warmth and resilience around the cliffside lounge while creating a quiet setting to enjoy the sunset or watch the boats. The intentional decrease in programmed spaces this close to the lake is also intended to facilitate more relaxed use as the homeowner enjoys the sounds of the lake.


The design incorporates two large pools on different grades with a paved walkway between to work around a sewer line easement located about halfway through the yard. The lower pool jumps down to three feet deep and gradually descends to eight feet. The pool is surrounded by a large variety of plants, including but not limited to Dwarf Mountain Pine (Pinus mugo) and perennials like Sombrero Salsa Red Coneflowers (Echinacea 'Balsomsed') and Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima "Little White"). Closest to the bluff, a synthetic turf lawn contributes a flexible outdoor "room" to an otherwise heavily programmed yard.

The deck outside the cliffside lounge doesn't just provide a view of the lake - it hangs over it! As the Landscape Architect needed to protect the backyard from lake erosion, a series of steel pylons were driven into the shale on the cliff and then connected with I-beams. This allowed the team to build a composite deck cantilevering over the forty-five-foot-tall cliff. Though a challenge, the result added some significant drama to the resort-style backyard.

A Private Oasis
There are many areas to explore and enjoy this world-class, resort-style backyard. Completed in 2025, Lakeside Lifestyle is designed for everyday enjoyment as well as entertaining. The finished project offers a series of connected outdoor spaces that feel comfortable, functional, and closely tied to the lake. By organizing the site around views, movement, and usability, the landscape supports how the homeowner lives and gathers while making full use of a dramatic waterfront setting.

As seen in LASN magazine, April 2026.