River Oaks Stepping Stone Patio & Pool Renovation

Exterior Worlds was contacted by a family in River Oaks to remodel their pool and build a stepping stone patio around it. The pool was L-shaped and clashed with the entire back yard. The owners wanted the pool redesigned with more of a curved, linear shape that would suggest harmony and balance with surrounding natural elements. They did not want a wooden deck or concrete patio around the new pool, either, but instead requested we build them a stepping stone patio that would look like a part of Nature, but would feature sophisticated drainage and provide a firm, reliable surface upon which to walk.

Stepping stone patios are not difficult to build. The difficult part is building them with a drainage system that will prevent standing water from accumulating. In this case study, we actually built the stonework on individual pads of cement. We built the french drainage system to run under this substructure, and we concealed it with vegetation planted between the individual stones. This made them look very old, as if the grass had punched through in places and had been growing there for a very long time.
We changed the design of the pool into that of a large, curved linear structure. We accentuated one side of it into a stone walkway that hugs the side of the pool. It ran all the way through the yard, and passed through a wooden trellis into a sculpture garden with an outdoor seating area and a patio. We wanted this walkway to look like it was a part of Nature as well, so we constructed it using the same materials we had used to build the stepping stone patio. We cut the stones into pie shapes rather than squares, which allowed us them to fit them individually together and build a 30” structure that followed the water in an arc, allowing it to serve as a coping as well as a pathway.

The sculpture garden into which this walkway led was also a very unique element to this landscaping project. Here, we moved away from the theme of a natural stone patio toward that of a traditional flagstone patio. We actually built this patio off the linear walkway coming from the pool, then connected small walkways to the two doors leading into the home’s interior. We also built a small fountain out of brick into the wall of the home, so that guests who were seated outside at night could look at the lighted water falling against the backdrop of the house.

Throughout the property, we planted a variety of flowering plants and ground cover around our stepping stone patio and walkway. Jasmine was used profusely to control erosion and to prevent encroachment from weeds. Monkey grass was also used for weed and erosion control. Agapanthus and golden globes were used in places near brick walls and corners to help keynote these areas with their highly colorful, seasonal blooms. We also added height and elegance to the landscape with Italian cypress, and planted Camellias throughout the property to provide blooms for the winter season when other seasonal were dormant.