Cloonan Design Services Inc. was the landscape architect and construction manager for this backyard project in the exclusive community of Hunting Valley, Ohio. Eight years earlier, Patrick Cloonan, RLA, designed and built a new entryway, including columns and walls, a fireplace and fire pit, two outdoor kitchens, plenty of landscaping, a large waterfall with bridge, and other amenities. Then just recently, he and his team of workers removed and replaced the existing swimming pool and spa, extensively remodeled the cabana and installed more landscaping. Moauro Construction excavated the site for High Tech Pools to build a new pool and spa. Rick Tomko of RDT Sales installed all the landscape lighting, and High Tech Pools added 28 LEDs in the pool area. Together, the lights create an "amazing light show," Cloonan said, and lend a "resort-like" feel to the estate. D&M Masonry installed the pavers for the pool and patio areas, a Wisconsin white limestone with a sandblasted finish.
Photos by Kevin Reeves Photography

When Patrick Cloonan, RLA, completely redesigned and overhauled the back yard of a client's home in Hunting Valley, Ohio, it was similar in some respects to other projects he had done in his 24 years in the landscaping architecture business.

But there is one element in it that stands out in his mind, one that lends sort of a "Narnia like" warmth, exuberance and charm to the landscape "?u a gigantic, manmade tree with huge, sweeping branches, complete with a large swing suspended from one its limbs.

Eight years earlier, Cloonan had designed and built a new entryway, including columns and walls, a fireplace and fire pit, two outdoor kitchens, plenty of landscaping, a large waterfall with bridge, and other amenities in the backyard. But the pool area and cabana were untouched.

The new spa appears to be glass, but is 3" thick acrylic. It has infinity edges on all four sides, and there is a holding tank underneath the pool area that replenishes the spa with warm water. Cloonan also said the pool area has a sophisticated "gutter system," so the warm water from the spa won't comingle with the cool water from the swimming pool, even though it appears that the pool and spa are connected. In line with the "California" look the client wanted, the pool features floating steppingstones. Aside from the acrylic, the spa is lined with custom glass tiles provided by High Tech pools. Part of the pool is also comprised of this same glass material.

Then just recently, his client opted to remodel these elements as well to complete the backyard. Patrick Cloonan Design Services Inc., based in Willoughby, Ohio, was the landscape architect and construction manager for the job. Cloonan specializes in custom residential and commercial projects. "The patio around the pool was stamped concrete that did not match all the other stone work," Cloonan said. "The cabana was poorly designed and did not function well."

In the design phase, it became more and more apparent that the pool area and cabana would need to be completely redone, so they would align well with the rest of the new look. Cloonan said he tried many concepts of incorporating the existing pool and cabana into his new scheme, but nothing worked.

Some 4,000 square feet of pavers were used for the patio and pool areas, after the existing 12-year-old swimming pool was demolished and replaced. S & M Landscape Construction, the landscaper, installed all the plants. The cabana next to the pool was also redesigned and rebuilt. Joe Myers Architects did the design work on the cabana, while Ken Badalamenti of Riviera Construction reconstructed it.

After seeing these sketches, his client decided to demolish the existing 12-year-old pool and replace it, and to extensively remodel the cabana.

"So now my creativity was released," he said. "I no longer had to work within the footprint of those who had gone before me."

Two large faux olive trees were designed for the pool area planters. Olive trees were chosen because they have "amazing spiritual significance" and are mentioned dozens of times in the Bible, Cloonan said. Planters were constructed specifically for these trees. "We didn't want leaves falling into the pool, which led us to use faux trees," Cloonan said. "Tomko installed lighting in these trees to provide a shimmering glow to finish off the resort feel."

A resort-like atmosphere was what his clients wanted, and Cloonan and his team of contractors and subcontractors delivered in a big way.

Soon after construction began, Cloonan's clients went on a shopping spree to New York, and they came home with a gigantic swing. The problem was, "We had nowhere to hang it."

The huge manmade tree took at least four months to design and build, then it was shipped from the Nature Maker's plant in California to Ohio. Cloonan's clients purchased the large swing while shopping in New York. The tree was built specifically as an add-on to the project, after construction on the pool area had already started. Large barnstone blocks were used to terrace the hillside and create an area for the "swing tree." This part of the landscape gives a "whimsical" sort of feeling to the backyard, like something out of the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia," Cloonan said. The pathway is made of steppingstones, and lined with 300 ferns, multiple varieties of Japanese maples, cryptomeria "Yoshino' cypress and carpinus trees, and sedum ground cover. The stones in the pathway are large, natural slabs of bluestone, with "moss rock" boulders on the fringes.

After a brainstorming session, Cloonan and his team came up with a novel idea. "Let's build a tree," he said. And that's what they did. "I started by drawing a concept of the tree and then found someone to build it," Cloonan said. "After 10 pages of design and 38 pages of engineering "?u we did it!"

"The tree was not part of the scope of the work in the beginning," he said.

Cloonan, whose company will celebrate 25 years of business in 2016, said he wanted this tree to look like some of the sprawling, massively large oaks found in the South. The trunk weighs 1,400 pounds, and the branch that the swing is suspended from weighs 1,100 pounds.

He complemented the tree-and-swing section of the back yard with a pathway made of bluestone steppingstones, lined with 300 ferns, multiple varieties of Japanese maples, perennials and tropicals, and sedum ground cover.

"We also set a back drop using 25-foot cryptomeria "Yoshino' cypress trees and carpinus trees, which we purchased at TDH Nurseries in Maryland," Cloonan said.

All of these elements give the backyard a "whimsical" sort of look, Cloonan said. "It put the icing on the cake to this project," and set it apart from all others he has done to this point. The tree even has a "happy face" etched in it. "They call it "The Watchman,'" he said.

Nature Maker, a California company, built the fake oak tree out of steel and fiberglass, as well as two smaller olive trees for the pool area. Cloonan and his clients had to wait a few months for the trees to be completed and trucked to the site.

Cloonan's clients wanted a "California" look to their back yard, so the pool is contemporary and features floating steppingstones, complete with a hot tub that looks like glass but is actually acrylic. "To be kid friendly, we kept the diving board, and set it in the pool on the steppingstones," said Cloonan, who has a degree in landscape architecture from Ohio State University. The steppingstones are made of limestone that had been sandblasted. "Finding white stone was a challenge," he said, " but white was important to pull off the California contemporary look."

The building process was challenging, as Cloonan's client wanted the pool area done before the short summer season ended. Work began in December 2014, and the job was completed in July. The materials for the walls and columns, a custom mix of stone, came from Van Ess Stone, a supplier in Russell, Ohio.

The hot tub has an infinity edge on all four sides, and a holding tank underneath the pool area replenishes the spa with warm water whenever people enter and exit the spa. Cloonan also said the pool area has a sophisticated "gutter system." Water from the spa won't comingle with the cool water from the swimming pool, even though it appears the two are connected.

Landscape lights and 28 LEDs were installed in the pool area. "They create an amazing light show," he said. Step and rope lighting lend a resort-type feeling to the backyard, and outdoor lights accentuate the whole landscape even more. "Subtle, yet powerful," he added.

The building process was challenging, though, as Cloonan's client wanted the pool done before the short summer season ended. Work began in December 2014.

"We dug the pool in January, and we had record cold temperatures," Cloonan said. "We built tents and heated them over the pool and masonry. But my team rose to the occasion, and we finished in late July."

"It has a very unique and outstanding look," he said. "The tree just puts an exclamation point on this entire project. It's really out-of-the-box."

Project Team
Project Landscape Architect: Patrick Cloonan
Construction Manager: Cloonan Design Services Inc.
Pool Contractor: High Tech Pools
Cabana Architect: Joe Myers Architects
Cabana Builder: Riviera Construction
Interior Designer: Jane Frankel Interiors
Landscaper: S & M Landscape Construction Inc.
Tree Fabricator: Nature Maker
Lighting: RDT Sales
Sound: RadioActive Electronics
Masonry: D&M Masonry
Plumbers: Taylor Plumbing
Electrician: Kennington Electric
Concrete: Keselman Construction
Excavator: Moauro Construction Inc.
Glass railing: Finelli Architectural Iron & Stair Co.
Swing: Dedon Inc.