A thoughtfully designed exterior space serves up a slice of tranquility.
Story by Joan Bellinghausen / Photography by Matt Kocourek
High on a corner lot in Kansas City’s Historic Rockhill Neighborhood sits a three-story Colonial house with a secret of sorts. A tall retaining wall coupled with a large Magnolia tree hides a stunning outdoor oasis, a place to escape and relax.
In a relatively compact area on the east side of the house, the homeowners redesigned their side yard into this outdoor retreat. Their plan carefully carved out enough space for a seating area and fireplace under a covered pavilion, an outdoor kitchen and dining area, and two water elements – a small saltwater pool and a spa.
“We wanted to be able to sit outside and relax, to leave everything behind,” say the homeowners.
The space checks all the boxes. Bubbling water from the fountain in the spa provides a soothing background sound while light reflects off the glistening surface of the pool. Cultivated arborvitaes and manicured boxwoods soften the hardscape while pots overflow with flowers, vines, and ferns. Comfortable seating and loungers beckon.
This project culminates the couple’s most recent undertaking for this house built in 1911. They purchased the house in 2008 and started the never-ending process of home improvements in updating and maintaining a house of this age. Early efforts focused on cosmetic changes to the exterior – white paint, black shutters, foundational plantings – and countless renovations on the inside.
Finally, their focus shifted to creating the outdoor space of their dreams.
The homeowners garnered inspiration from a friend’s backyard that featured a peaceful pool area. In addition, frequent visits to the Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden, which is within walking distance of their home, helped cultivate their vision as well.
They wanted their space to be calming and relaxing as well as act as an extension of the house.
“Not only did we want the space to be aesthetically pleasing and accommodate the constraints of the site but we also wanted to make it feel like it was part of the house,” they explained.
They took great care in making sure the architectural elements of the space mimicked the house. For instance, the pavilion’s roof, pillars and eaves carry through the classical proportions and symmetry characteristic of Colonial-style houses. The Chippendale-style railing surrounding the area on top of the retaining wall repeats the same geometric pattern found elsewhere on the home’s exterior. Even the furniture, table umbrellas and pool towels coordinate with the house’s black and white exterior.
“The whole idea was to make the area relational to the main building,” they said. “We wanted this exterior space to be an extension of the main house.”
As far as execution went, transforming the inspiration into reality proved to be a Herculean task in various ways.
As with residences located in historically preserved neighborhoods, making changes is not for the faint of heart. First, the homeowners had to jump through all the various hoops and approvals required by the city to make changes to the historic home. Everything had to comply with the city’s Landmark Commission’s stringent standards.
“It’s not small potatoes to live in a historic neighborhood,” explained the homeowners, who previously lived in the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood in Kansas City. “You have to know what you’re getting into.”
Then, they had to overcome the limited access to the space. The outdoor area can only be accessed from the house or through a back door of the garage; there is no access directly from the yard. This meant that everything – repeat, everything – had to be brought in and out of the back door of the garage.
“The only way to build the pool was by taking everything through a 36-inch door through the garage,” they explain.
To create a level area for the outdoor space, the elevation of the sloping land had to be modified significantly to build a massive retaining wall and foundation for the pool and spa.
“We had to go down to the bedrock,” the homeowners explain. “We had to pull out 40 to 50 tons of soil and scrape down to the bedrock and put in the footings and retaining wall. Then we had to bring the dirt back in.”
“Quite a bit of engineering went into building this,” says the homeowner. “You can have the inspiration but then you hit the technical constraints and have to find a way to work around them.”
The project also amped up the curb appeal of the western entrance of the house. Doing so involved adding a circle driveway for easier access to the front door and an eye-catching “porte cochere” over the driveway. An adjacent courtyard added in black benches and potted plants for a curbside sitting area.
The homeowner’s green thumb shows in all the landscaping – big and small – on the property, which was recently featured on a neighborhood garden tour.
One alluring area is a partially hidden flower garden tucked into the middle of spruce trees and giant arborvitae. Called a “moon garden”, the garden features only white and silver colored vegetation – white hydrangeas, white roses, white astilbe, and lots of ferns, hostas, and lamb’s ear.
“I love flowers, and I like to make things pretty,” she smiles.
Now the homeowners get to enjoy their private retreat day in and day out. They can gaze out onto this beautiful space from inside the house while sipping coffee in the breakfast nook or exercise in the pool using the swim jets or simply do nothing. The opportunities for relaxing are endless.
Resources
- Pool Construction, Outdoor Floor Tile of Upper and Lower Pool Decks: Hardscape Construction, LLC
- Pavilion and Fencing: J. Dahn Custom Woodworking, LLC
- Stone and Brick Veneer: Beau’s Masonry
