Landscape Architect Articles

Once in a Blue Moon05-10-23 | Feature

Once in a Blue Moon

Aurora, Ohio
by Cloonan Design Services

The homeowner of this Aurora, Ohio, residence wanted drama and bling first and foremost! To establish their vision, Cloonan Design Services created multiple levels of patios, each with a fire feature. Stainless steel was specified for the railings, fire bowls, and the fire pits, and glass tile was added in the pool to add sparkle and pop in the summer sun, and nightime light.

The Landscape Architect added a mix of plants that bloom throughout the year including forsythia for early spring blossoms, hydrangea which blooms through the fall, and some annuals and perennials to keep the color consistent throughout the summer. Arborvitaes and spruce trees were added to provide winter interest and privacy.

A bubbler, with a color LED light, was added in the shallow end of the pool.

The initial design had more than 1,800 square feet of concrete without any green space on the upper patio. In order to break up the concrete and create the more modern look the client wanted for their patio, the team decided to add turf to the scope of the project by cutting the concrete into squares with turf in between. The concrete was sealed, and the turf will not require regular maintenance.

The pool is 16' by 43' and the water depth is 6' at the deepest point. The Artic ledgestone making up the outside walls of the pool was selected to match the legacy limestone coping and treads.

The clients wanted drama, and since the pool was being built above the ground, Cloonan proposed a vanishing edge in the corner to take advantage of the golf course view beyond. The lighting is comprised of three, color changing LED Lights.

Two stainless-steel fire bowls were added with blue fire glass to match the color of the pool tile. The 30" by 30" steel fire bowls feature automatic ignition and are manufactured by Outdoor Plus.

The handrail lining the edge of the upper patio is stainless-steel. The individual concrete squares are 8' x 8' with 8" gaps for the turf. All of the individual amenities, other than the fire features and plantings, were purchased after the construction by the homeowner.

Washed gravel was used instead of mulch in this area to keep mulch and dirt out of the pool area. The pots with flowers are placed to create a sculptural effect and add color with the annual plantings. The fire pit is 6' x 6' with blue fire glass.

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When the owner of this custom home approached Cloonan Design Services about designing a pool for their backyard, the message and vision was clear.

According to Patrick Cloonan, RLA, even though the site was in northeastern Ohio, "They wanted glass tile, bling, good lighting, fire features on every level, and a bright blue Caribbean style pool."

Design Decisions
Located on a little less than an acre of land and adjacent to a golf course in Aurora, Ohio, the slope of the lot presented the initial challenge.

"We did multiple designs. Designs that had steps coming out of the house, or steps that came down to a terrace then more steps onto the pool deck, but ultimately, they wanted the pool to be at the same height as the door of the house," said Cloonan, who is exclusively quoted throughout this article.

With an elevation change of more than six feet from the finished floor of the house to the lowest point of the property, there were going to be significant hurdles to cross in order to raise the pool out of the ground. The pool, which ended up as a 16' x 43' gunite swimming pool with a vanishing edge constructed by High Tech Pools, was the first part of the project to be started. Construction began in the fall of 2021 and continued through what turned out to be a very harsh and cold winter. Once the pool shell was in place, Cloonan and the design team constructed more than 80 feet of retaining
walls to retain nearly 500 tons of gravel fill to raise the height of the patio to the same level as the house floor.

"We did a progression of three patio tiers that wrapped around the pool and all the way down to the lower level."

One of the more impressive factors of this project is the vanishing edge pit of the pool which became the focal point of the entry into the backyard. Complete with a dark blue glass tile, the vanishing edge creates a wonderful transition from the upper to the lower patio.
"We added the vanishing edge pit to create a little more drama. We wrapped the corner with it and flanked it with fire bowls which added a dramatic effect for a reasonable cost."

Redesigned for Interest
One of the more intricate features of the design was the main pool patio on the upper level. Originally slated to be a standard concrete patio, the upper patio lacked any sort of green space or plantings to break up the hardscaping, so midway through the project, Cloonan and his clients decided to make a change.

"We had a budget that we needed to stick to, but we added turf to the patio midway through. We did nine different revisions each with a different design of turf integrated with concrete."
The clients settled on a design of 8' x 8' concrete squares in a diagonal pattern that had 8" strips of artificial turf in between them. Cloonan encouraged the addition of artificial turf as it not only added a necessary color to the palate of the upper patio but also added a contemporary look that the client desired. With the vision in mind, it was time to bring it to life, which proved to be a challenge in its own right.

The installation was tricky because there was no room for error in the concrete. But with the bright green accent, it turned out to be quite the fantastic detail that created a real 'WOW' factor.

Landscaping
With the concrete poured and the turf installed, it was time to put the finishing touches on the project with the landscaping.
One of the biggest hurdles was trying to create privacy from the golf course located directly behind the property. With three sides of the property exposed, it was crucial to create a privacy screening that not only blocked the view during the summer months but winter and fall as well.

They were able to reuse almost all the existing plantings that were on site. Then they filled in the gaps to create privacy on all three sides of the property and flanked the privacy trees with colorful perennials and shrubs that will have
seasonal blooming.

The landscaping was anchored by nearly two dozen Green Giant Arborvitaes and a few larger Norway Spruce trees. Colorful Viburnums and hydrangea accented the evergreens.
Another major focus of the project was bringing it to life by using proper lighting. Nearly fifty landscape lights ranging from path lights to up lighting and step lights were added to illuminate both the hardscaping and landscaping. Additionally, five color changing LED lights illuminated the vanishing edge wet wall and the interior of the swimming pool. Together with five fire features, each on different levels of the patio, the lighting transformed the backyard into an all-hours oasis.

It is clear from a glance that this backyard had a great deal of thought put into it by the homeowners as well as Cloonan Design. Put simply, the design packs style and presence into every aspect of the project. From lighting and fire to landscaping and elevations, this Caribbean paradise in the heart of the cold north is a residence worth writing home about.