Whether you’re looking for a pool design in Knoxville or planning to work with a Knoxville landscape designer on a patio or planting for your Knoxville landscaping, you’ll gain tons of inspiration from this Carex Design Group project in the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood.
The Patio and Pool Deck
The entire project was designed by Cassidy Gupton to incorporate the property’s existing paver patio, which was small but functional for a few chairs and grill space. Our goal was to extend that space to incorporate a larger patio and pool area as well as connect the house visually to a small pool house (built by our friends at McCamy Construction) that we sited on the far edge of the property, across the pool from the main house.
The scope of the paver area was determined by the city’s code specifying the allowable square footage for pervious vs. impervious surfaces. While this may seem like a silly regulation, it’s in place to protect the ground water system and promote more green spaces within city neighborhoods, which helps control heat in the summer, among other benefits. When you’re working with a landscaping company in Knoxville (or elsewhere), it’s important that they have an understanding of these types of codes. If they’re not followed, you may end up costing yourself more time and money fixing previous mistakes when you pull future permits.
Another challenge Cassidy faced in designing the patio was the significant grade difference from the original patio to the rest of the yard. To address this, we incorporated several sections of steps and landing areas to transition gently across the space.
We used a combination of Belgard pavers and block, including the Castle Manor Grana wall block, which was already on the property from a previous project. The Savannah honey color of the Dimensions 12 paver complimented the brown trim on the house while the charcoal accent lines in the Dimensions 6 Midnight paver provided structure to the space that mirrored the Tudor-style, half-timber beams of the house’s architecture.
We also lit the patio and pool deck with FX Luminaire landscape lighting, including path lights, step lights and flush-mount path lights.
The Pool
We worked with the team at Sequoyah Pools for this project with a design that featured a rectangular pool as a nod toward the more structured architecture of the house with a sun-shelf section off to the side to allow for a comfortable lounge chair spot on a hot day.
The stand-out feature of this pool project was our design for a jump rock in lieu of a diving board. Thanks to the team at Magnolia Construction who selected the jump rock for us, the piece blends beautifully with the natural look of the pavers and provides a fun interactive element for the homeowners without the visual blight of a fiberglass diving board.
To continue the theme of seamless aesthetics, we also chose to use the Hide pool skimmer product that allows the pavers to hover over the skimmer, eliminating the need for the unsightly plastic skimmer basket covers. In addition, the team installed a low-profile trench drain that’s all but invisible.
The Plantings
Although the planting portion of this project was sparse, plant selection was vitally important due to the location of the pool. Because the property had utilities that ran along the back of the space (something that’s quite uncommon in this area), we had to shift our focus toward the side yard rather than the back. Because of this, the pool was closer to the neighbors than we typically like to get when given the choice. To maintain privacy for the homeowners, we selected mostly evergreen plants such as Oak Leaf Holly trees, Teddy Bear Magnolias and Emerald Green arborvitaes. For a lower screen, we chose Spreading Plum Yew and Little Rascal Holly. A side benefit of these plant selections is that most evergreens produce only a small amount of debris, which will keep the pool clear of leaves and such.
The Products
From the Hide pool skimmer system to the FX Luminaire landscape lighting, we incorporated several cool products into this landscape design project. One of our favorites was the Adept Audio Solscape outdoor audio system with cabinet speakers mounted at the fireplace beneath the pool house’s pavilion roof. The best part of this audio system is that you can use your phone or tablet to control the audio. It’s a Bluetooth-enabled device that once connected will automatically reconnect each time you’re within range.
Contact Us
When you’re ready to start your own project wit a landscape architect in Knoxville, reach out to us for a free conversation. You can call us at 865-765-5550 or fill out our contact form.
