About This Project
Located in Malden, MA, this property was located on a narrow, sloping lot in a crowded neighborhood, hampered by tight setbacks. The homeowners wanted to transform their rocky, sloping backyard into an inviting and usable entertaining space, complete with an inground pool.
Our design team presented the owners with a comprehensive plan to transform the backyard into a contemporary oasis that matched the look and feel of their home. As we started to implement this plan, we encountered multiple boulders as we were excavating, as well as a ledge that posed a significant obstacle for installing the 35 x 15.5 foot pool the owners had ordered.
While this might cause a deadline or scheduling challenge for some installers, we quickly had this in check since one of the many pieces of professional land moving equipment we own includes a pneumatic hammer that we were able to bring onsite immediately. Without delay, our team began chipping away at the ledge to a depth that would accommodate the pool.
The tight setbacks and property lines of this project required execution of a precise plan to create the very linear, contemporary design for the new backyard. Despite these challenges, we were able to utilize our crane to swing the new fiberglass pool into place, frequently adjusting and readjusting its position until it was square with the house.
Pool positioning completed, we continued to the pool deck installation and the outdoor living area design, including the kitchen. To accommodate both the pool functions as well as outdoor kitchen appliances and the extensive landscape lighting, we ran electrical from the house to the yard, pool and kitchen. The main features of the kitchen included a Lynx outdoor fridge and matching 36” auto-start grill. Constructed of veneer stone to match the rest of the yard’s hardscaping, the surfaces were capped with striking marble countertops for the kitchen work area and the 4-person bar.
The remainder of the sloping backyard was leveled and carved out using retaining walls capped with vinyl fencing to provide ultra-high privacy barriers in the crowded neighborhood. Drip irrigation was installed in all the ornamental beds and spray heads in the lawn. Uplighting was used for dramatic accents on trees and pathway lighting installed throughout the property for both safety and aesthetic effect.
For the ultimate convenience, the Hayward Omni system was installed to allow the homeowners’ to control the entire backyard from their phones. Using the Omni app, the owners can control the lights for both the pool and landscape as well as adjust the pool heater, filter and chlorination from anywhere.
