What a welcoming retreat for an evening outdoors with all the elements for relaxation and entertainment. Start with a refreshing dip in the pool, then al fresco dining, followed by a lay back in the spa. Add to that the luxury of a Jandy control system, where components can be controlled remotely or from inside the home.

A separate, detached pool house (presently under construction) featuring a south-facing sunning deck with a shade trellis above. A short bridge connects the pool house to the main residence.

This boutique hotel in Dorset required a luxurious indoor swimming pool and outdoor spa with exceptional finishes and features to meet the standards expected of their guests. The indoor swimming pool was designed with a unique surface water draw off system, which allows the deck level pool to appear 'glass-like' meeting the pool edge perfectly. The stone surround sets off the pool perfectly, and the bespoke steps designed to fit into the swimming pool assists entry to the pool, catering for all guests. The outdoor swimming pool offers hotel guests the luxurious surroundings to relax, enjoy the heated spa pool and massage jets with plenty of space for socialising. The sunken spa pool provides a seamless view across the decking to enhance to the Hotel's outside space. Guncast, experts in boutique hotel swimming pool and spa design worked closely with the hotel owners to off a sensational addition to their hotel.

Interior / kitchen of the beautiful and functional pool house featuring slate flooring, stainless steel appliances, black granite counter top and recessed lighting.

This hot tub is in a protected sunken area and is a grand view point into the valley below. Even in the winter with snow on the ground, this area stays warmer than the surrounding landscape.

Inground swimming pool with spa, waterfall, sheer descents, fire features, and waterfall custom designed and built by Dynamic Pools & Patios. Photo by Angela Morrill © 2018

Guest house covered porch and pool

A former dairy property, Lune de Sang is now the centre of an ambitious project that is bringing back a pocket of subtropical rainforest to the Byron Bay hinterland. The first seedlings are beginning to form an impressive canopy but it will be another 3 centuries before this slow growth forest reaches maturity. This enduring, multi-generational project demands architecture to match; if not in a continuously functioning capacity, then in the capacity of ancient stone and concrete ruins; witnesses to the early years of this extraordinary project. The project’s latest component, the Pavilion, sits as part of a suite of 5 structures on the Lune de Sang site. These include two working sheds, a guesthouse and a general manager’s residence. While categorically a dwelling too, the Pavilion’s function is distinctly communal in nature. The building is divided into two, very discrete parts: an open, functionally public, local gathering space, and a hidden, intensely private retreat. The communal component of the pavilion has more in common with public architecture than with private dwellings. Its scale walks a fine line between retaining a degree of domestic comfort without feeling oppressively private – you won’t feel awkward waiting on this couch. The pool and accompanying amenities are similarly geared toward visitors and the space has already played host to community and family gatherings. At no point is the connection to the emerging forest interrupted; its only solid wall is a continuation of a stone landscape retaining wall, while floor to ceiling glass brings the forest inside. Physically the building is one structure but the two parts are so distinct that to enter the private retreat one must step outside into the landscape before coming in. Once inside a kitchenette and living space stress the pavilion’s public function. There are no sweeping views of the landscape, instead the glass perimeter looks onto a lush rainforest embankment lending the space a subterranean quality. An exquisitely refined concrete and stone structure provides the thermal mass that keeps the space cool while robust blackbutt joinery partitions the space. The proportions and scale of the retreat are intimate and reveal the refined craftsmanship so critical to ensuring this building capacity to stand the test of centuries. It’s an outcome that demanded an incredibly close partnership between client, architect, engineer, builder and expert craftsmen, each spending months on careful, hands-on iteration. While endurance is a defining feature of the architecture, it is also a key feature to the building’s ecological response to the site. Great care was taken in ensuring a minimised carbon investment and this was bolstered by using locally sourced and recycled materials. All water is collected locally and returned back into the forest ecosystem after use; a level of integration that demanded close partnership with forestry and hydraulics specialists. Between endurance, integration into a forest ecosystem and the careful use of locally sourced materials, Lune de Sang’s Pavilion aspires to be a sustainable project that will serve a family and their local community for generations to come.

Beautiful pavilion style pool house with kitchen, eating area, bathroom and exterior fireplace and sitting area.

This Morris County, NJ backyard needed a facelift. The complete renovation of the outdoor living space included an outdoor kitchen, portico overhang, folding patio door, stone fireplace, pool house with a full bathroom, new pool liner, retaining walls, new pavers, and a shed. This project was designed, developed, and sold by the Design Build Pros. Craftsmanship was from Pro Skill Construction. Pix from Horus Photography NJ. Tile from Best Tile. Stone from Coronado Stone Veneer - Product Highlight. Cabinets and appliances from Danver Stainless Outdoor Kitchens. Pavers from Nicolock Paving Stones. Plumbing fixtures from General Plumbing Supply. Folding patio door from LaCatina Doors.

Janet McMahan

Architect: Bree Medley Design General Contractor: Allen Construction Photographer: Jim Bartsch Photography