For this Neenah, Wisconsin home inspired by Tuscan architecture, the upper level of the backyard features a large wood pergola supported by four solid carved limestone columns and Corinthian-like capitals. Footings for the columns were poured below the frost line under each column to prevent any movement during Wisconsin winters.

The outdoor season in Wisconsin is short. The goal is to take full advantage of the brief but enjoyable Wisconsin summers. Naturally, when you've been cooped up from the snow and cold, people look forward to spending more time outdoors. The homeowners of this Neenah, Wisconsin home wanted an outdoor retreat with amenities to enjoy without leaving home.

A lot of thought went into the design of the space, which included excavating the pool area to make it lower than the surrounding landscape, which shields it from the wind. Consistent with the high-end finishes inside the home, the vision for this backyard began as a luxurious extension of the interior living space. A few years earlier, CSC was on site to design, supply and install the many interior stone features, including travertine and marble columns, stone flooring and a large custom carved lion fireplace mantel. It was only natural that CSC was called back two years after the home was completed to become an instrumental member of the outdoor design team. CSC began with an architectural hand rendering indicating the "feel" of the project. From that concept the company employed its in-house 3D CAD capabilities to layout and model the curved retaining walls that would define the space around the pool and carry the wall stone, caps and balustrade.

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A sitting area by the pool deck is tucked into an alcove with a lion's head wall fountain fitted to a curved wall. A custom arched stone door was also placed into the curved wall for access to???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+the pool equipment room (above). All of the walls are covered in a dry-stack split-face mosaic in "Tuscany Scabos' travertine from Turkey. The rich color pallet and natural quartz inclusions of this stone really sparkles in the sunlight.
Photo: Carved Stone Creations

The Curved Stair Rail
Wess Ripley of CSC said the most complicated aspect of this project was the curved stair rail. The difficulty was in designing a curved staircase that would be carved by hand over 7,000 miles away, he explained, then delivered on site to be assembled for a perfect fit. Unlike a straight or curved balustrade on a balcony or patio that sits flat, a curved staircase twists, making the layout and planning extremely difficult. "For anyone who's tried installing a stone staircase with standard parts, a regular curved railing just won't fit correctly," he added. It takes experience to create these complicated one-off three-dimensional models, which requires an understanding of how to create the necessary shop drawings for creating both the poured concrete foundation and the dimensional stone carving done overseas. The drawings had to be provided to the masonry team onsite, and also to the carving factory, which built a temporary mock-up of the staircase.

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Carved Stone Creations (CSC) of Kaukauna, Wisconsin, notes the most difficult aspect of the work on the project was designing the curved stair rail. Complicated one-off three-dimensional models were created to develop shop drawings for the poured concrete foundation and the dimensional stone carving done overseas 7,000 miles away. The drawings were required for the masonry team onsite, and also the carving factory, which built a temporary mock-up of the staircase. CSC designed, sourced and installed all of the custom limestone elements: pergola columns; planters; fire bowls; fireplace trim; balustrade; helical stair rails; cut-to-size stair treads and risers ("Isis Gold' limestone from Egypt); pool coping; pavers (also "Isis Gold'); wall caps and lion head wall fountain.

Outdoor Fireplace
The outdoor fireplace was designed from the ground up. Once designed and modeled to the homeowners approval, it was reverse-engineered to come up with the masonry drawings required to construct the block structure.

The veneer stone covering the fireplace and adjacent outdoor bar/kitchen is a dry stacked 6-inch x 24-inch rock-face panel of "Tuscany Beige' travertine accented by "Summer Wheat' limestone used on much of the project.

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The outdoor fireplace was designed and modeled for the homeowners approval, then reverse-engineered to derive the masonry drawings required to construct the block structure. The fireplace and adjacent outdoor bar/kitchen is veneered with dry stacked 6-inch x 24-inch rock-face panels of "Tuscany Beige' travertine from Turkey, accented by "Summer Wheat' limestone imported from China.

Pergola
The large wood pergola is supported by four solid carved limestone Corinthian-inspired columns. Corinthian columns are the most ornate of the orders, with fluted (groved) columns, and elaborate capitals, usually rendered with acanthus leaves and scrolls. The pergola columns are not fluted, but the captials have scrolls and a fa?????ade of leaves. Footings were poured below the frost line under each column to prevent any movement through the winters.

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Pavers of "Isis Gold' limestone from Egypt are on the upper patio, and used for the lower pool decking and coping. The pool contractor was Steckling Builders of Neenah, Wis.
Photos: Carved Stone Creations

Pavers
Pavers of "Isis Gold' limestone are on the upper patio and on the lower???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+pool deck, tied together by matching cut-to-size limestone stair treads and risers.

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The entry fountain has plantings of "Champlain' and "Pink Double "Knockout' roses. The yard was graded to improve drainage, with downspouts and drains buried for esthetic reasons.
Night image: Carved Stone Creations
Day image: Springhetti Custom Outdoor Living

Limestone Planters
The top of the stairs are flanked by???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+a pair of ornately carved limestone planters inspired by a???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+15th-century Italian design.

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Springhetti Custom Outdoor Living, the landscape designer, brought in tons of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin outcropping stone from the local quarry for the flowerbeds. The main plantings are Black-eyed Susans, "Knockout' roses, Garden Phlox "David', meadow sage, limelight hydrangeas, "Diablo Ninebark' and Liatris spicata "Kobold'.
Photo: Springhetti Custom Outdoor Living

Lion Head Wall Fountain
At the pool deck level is a sitting area tucked into an alcove with a lion's head wall fountain fitted to a curved wall. A custom arched???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+stone door surround was also created to fit onto the curved wall that leads to the pool equipment room. All of the walls are covered in a dry-stack split-face mosaic in "Tuscany Scabos' travertine. The rich color pallet and natural quartz inclusions of this stone really sparkles in the sunlight.

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At the far end of the pool is a pair of carved lion head fire bowls inspired by a popular???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+planter design, but customized to operate with a remote-ignition gas system. Removable stone panels in the pedestals allow access to the gas components.

Fire Bowls
At the far end of the pool is a pair of carved lion head fire bowls inspired by a popular planter design, but customized to operate with a remote-ignition gas system. Removable stone panels in the pedestals allow access to the gas components.

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At the top of the stairs is a pair of ornately carved limestone planters festooned with Argyranthemum. The planters were inspired by a 15th-century Italian design.
Photos: Carved Stone Creations

Project Team
Architect: Chas Reuter Design Associates, Greenville, Wis.
Stone supplier/installer: Carved Stone Creations, Kaukauna, Wis.
Pool contractor: Splash Custom Pools, Green Bay, Wis.
General contractor: Steckling Builders (owners), Neenah, Wis.
Landscape designer: Springetti Landscaping, Neenah, Wis.