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A very
private River Oaks couple who loved the simple life purchased a
lot and decided to construct a house that reflected their
ideals. They wanted the home to be surrounded by as much
greenery as possible, with the lawn itself forming a sort of
grass courtyard on both sides of the house. They also wanted
landscaping around all lawn edges, an aesthetic and concealed
drainage system, and a very unique,
custom swimming pool designed to preserve as much greenery
as possible.
The front yard of this home led out to a major street and was
characterized by rich San Augustine grass and massive oaks in
the front near the sidewalk. The problem was there was no way of
draining water from this lot, and the architect had hit a
roadblock when it came time to develop a drainage system for the
house itself. Standard gutters could not be inDrainage
Systemsstalled on the home because it had been constructed
with exposed rafters that extended past the sides of the roof.
The architect asked us to develop an alternative way of moving
water off the property while still maintaining the natural
aesthetic of the house and surrounding landscape.
We determined that the best way to accomplish this would be to
surround the entire front yard with a
French drain made entirely of gravel. We laid down the
gravel in the shape of a picture frame, creating the aesthetic
of a grass courtyard made entirely of natural elements.
Functionally, it offered an even greater, hidden value as well.
Gravel is a natural drain that quickly pulls water away from
vegetation and man-made structures with equal efficiency.
On the other side of the home, we were asked to do something
even more unique—build a swimming pool surrounded by only a
grass courtyard. The owners did not want any more paving than
was absolutely necessary, because they wanted plenty of natural
play space for their children and pets. So, rather than use
paving, we used sod and grass instead to soften the entire area.
The only concrete used was what we needed to build a low-profile
pool coping. We also designed the skimmer throats with no lids
in order to make the pool look flush with the grass. We placed
simple water jets on one side of the pool so water would arch
over its surface yet remain contained within its boundaries.
A variety of plant species were used to add a sense of color
variation and containment to our grass courtyard design. In the
very front of the yard, we used some very innovative
tree preservation strategies to install up lights under the
oaks and
landscape lights for the front yard. We also created a green
border around the French drain using boxwoods interspersed with
Crepe Myrtles that added height and floral coloration. In the
back, we decorated the far wall with Lantana and Caladiums and
planted larger Japanese blueberries illuminated with up lights.
Along the wooden fence between the far wall and the house, we
trained a Star Jasmine to begin growing across the surface of
the wood.
This has been to date one of the most popular
custom pool designs
Exterior Worlds has ever done in Houston. We believe it is
because it combines two very distinctive disciplines—pool
construction and landscaping—into a new aesthetic that
harmoniously blends water and earth.
For more the 20 years
Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's
fine neighborhoods.
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