A Stylish Backyard - Kansas City Homes & Style

Discover how a pool and landscaping project elevated a property’s overall style.

Story by Michelle Mastro | Photography by Matt Kocourek

Not every pool is beautiful. Years ago, pools were placed in backyards without much thought given to how they complemented the house or surrounding landscape. “We’ve been in business for 15 years,” explains Kurt Kraisinger, landscape architect and pool designer at the Lorax Design Group, “and unfortunately in the early years of designing master plans for private residences many of our clients’ wanted pools that simply did not visually add to the overall character of the site or complement the architectural style of the house.”

This is because the homeowner may have not been educated about an opportunity to not only add aesthetic value yet provide a relationship from the inside of the home to the new outdoor living space they were creating. However, a new homeowner had other plans for her new pool.

“For many people, pools are just a way to get wet,” says Kraisinger. Often a pool contractor may provide a traditional kidney bean or ‘L-shaped’ pool that is out of context with the rest of the project. “But this infinity pool project we designed in 2021 for the homeowner was instead user-friendly, elegant, and timeless.” Unlike other clients, this homeowner wanted her pool and landscaping to be incorporated into the architecture and new build design of her home.

However, the project would pose many unexpected challenges. “A top priority for this project was to design the house with ease for pool access on the main level,” she explains. “But due to the nature of our lot, this took detailed expertise and collaboration from our ‘A Team’ of experts including the architect, landscape architect and pool designer, the home builder, the interior designer, the landscape contractor, and the pool contractor.”

In other words, the homeowner didn’t want pool stairs leading down to it. “As the lot was situated, there was a lot of elevation change between the first-floor level and the backyard,” says Kraisinger. Beyond stairs, though, most pool projects that have this amount of elevation change often require guard wells, which inherently impact any scenic views.

This would be another problem, as the homeowner had the main level of her home designed specifically to offer great sights. The main floor has glass doors across the primary living area and large kitchen windows, both of which allow her to see the pool and outdoor living area. “As a family, we love being outdoors and designed the pool and surrounding area to appeal from both inside and outside the house, all with the intent to spend hours outside relaxing or entertaining family and friends,” she explains. In the end, the design team made sure there were several areas for congregating around the pool as well as an easily accessible screened porch.

But most importantly of all, the design team wanted the landscape, paving selections, and pool to be uninterrupted by any noticeable obstacles. “We did include stairs, yet designed to be subtle with no immediate drops and honestly, we like stairs as long as they are designed properly. We generally prefer deeper treads and shallower risers,” says Kraisinger. “The transitions are smooth, while also providing more vertical interest.” The various elevation changes allow connection to different outdoor seating rooms. These areas include raised planters to provide pops of seasonal color to be expressed differently throughout the season or switched out year-to-year.

The homeowner wanted the pool area to look nice even when she and her family weren’t using the pool. In winter, she watches the steam rise off the top of the pool and in the evenings, added lights add ambiance to the space, turning the pool into a quasi-artwork all its own. “Even during the day, the pool becomes sculptural as it reflects the surrounding landscape and sky,” says Kraisinger.

For his part, Kraisinger says the pool and landscaping project was a breath of fresh air. “We always encourage clients to entertain a more resort-style design layout — for example, to have a pool deck that isn’t surrounded by an expansive pool deck, fencing or guardrails,” says Kraisinger. “I especially liked how the homeowner was open to using different materials beyond just concrete.” With an infinity edge and raised spa, the pool was already eye-catching, but a simple palette of materials like large format porcelain tile on the infinity edge walls added to the unique classic feel of the pool. “We also included small glass mosaic tile on the spa overflow wall and waterline of the pool,” says Kraisinger. This added a personal touch and unique details many backyard pools lack.

The design team was able to have such an astounding impact on the layout and functionality of the pool and outdoor living for one crucial reason. “Usually, we are brought in late in the game,” he says, “when all the major design moves such as the home placement, grade elevations, patio layouts, site circulation and landscaping have already been completed, so we aren’t able to make major changes.” With this home, our team was fortunately brought in very early to complement other design members involved with the project.

“The landscaping vision began immediately after we purchased the lot to build our home,” the homeowner explains. And both she and her husband were involved in determining the master plan, along with Kraisinger, Keith Eymann, Ambassador Construction Co. Inc. the homeowners builder and an interior designer, Kurt Knapstein of Knapstein Design, whom the homeowner has worked with for many years.

Thus, the pool now complements the home’s interiors: an open layout with a warm white aesthetic. “It is a very modern interior,” says Kraisinger. “And the pool pairs well with it, as the infinity edges are covered in an elegantly dark tile, which provides that clean crisp line you want to see in a contemporary pool design.” Here the property’s outdoor features match or reflect the home’s interiors.

And the end result of the backyard landscaping is a stunning pool and surrounding entertainment area that helps the homeowner and her family get the most out of hot Kansas City summer days and more. “We enjoy our pool and pool area for family time, game time, parties, graduation celebrations, holidays, cocktails, exercise, breakfast, lunch, dinner — you name it,” she says. Overall, this project went incredibly smooth, and she credits that to the expertise of her A Team. “They were all wonderful,” she says.