Our clients asked us to create an outdoor entertainment area that would include spaces for them and their young children to live and entertain outside. Part of the scope was a large pool, a hot tub, a pool house containing a gym and changing rooms and various areas for lounging and dining. Furthermore, the rural Sevenoaks property had remnants of a natural pond in an area so overgrown that it was neither accessible nor visible (see pond case study)
The master plan created a series of interconnected yet distinct outdoor living areas adjacent to the house. Considering that main living areas of the house have an open view and generous access to the south facing garden, the emphasis was on maintaining a ‘garden’ view and linking to the borrowed landscape beyond. The direct view of the pool, which remains covered when not in use, is screened by raised beds planted with evergreen shrubs and grasses. This layering effect also creates an intimate area for the hot tub, which opens up towards the covered pool bar and informal built-in seating area.
A ’grown-up’ lounge area is accessed from the formal lounge and has a view of the pond, which was cleared and reshaped with a raised water level.
A living pergola of parasol hornbeams leads the eye towards the breathtaking view beyond and offers much needed shade beside the pool in the summer.
