Gallery Explore the Details
Key Features
The Difference Before & After
01 — The Challenge A Beautiful Setting with Nothing to Show for It
The Kauffmans had a charming white farmhouse on a wooded lot in Narvon — the kind of property with mature trees, a rolling hillside, and a quiet rural setting that most people dream about — but the backyard wasn't doing any of it justice, with a tiny paver pad and a few mismatched chairs and a portable fire pit as the extent of the outdoor living space. They knew the property had enormous potential and wanted something that would take full advantage of the natural setting — not a conventional pool and patio, but something that felt like it belonged in the landscape. The backyard was essentially a lawn with a small paver pad between the house and a detached garage, with terrain sloping upward into a wooded hillside behind the home and a small outbuilding at the far end; while the flat area near the house provided workable space for a patio, integrating a pool and waterfall into the hillside required careful grading, drainage planning, and boulder placement to make the design look natural rather than forced, and the wooded perimeter needed to be preserved as the defining feature of the property. The Kauffmans wanted a swimming experience that felt nothing like a conventional pool — something naturalistic that looked like it had always been part of the landscape — with the sound of running water, a place to swim and soak, an outdoor dining area, and a hot tub for year-round use, all designed to complement the farmhouse character and wooded setting using natural materials like stone, gravel, wood, and boulders. Their concerns: a natural pool is unconventional, so they wanted to make sure it would function well as a real swimming pool while still looking like a natural water feature — and they wanted materials and plantings that would look better over time, not worse.
02 — Our Approach Designing a Backyard That Looks Like Nature Built It
The entire design was driven by one idea: make it look like the water was always here. Rather than imposing a geometric pool shape onto the landscape, the team designed an organic, freeform pool edged with natural stone coping and surrounded by river gravel that creates a beach-like transition from patio to water — and the multi-level boulder waterfall was built into the hillside so it reads as a natural cascade feeding the pool. Every material — bluestone, cedar, gravel, boulder — was selected to weather naturally and blend with the wooded surroundings. The hillside was excavated and shaped to accommodate the boulder waterfall, which cascades down multiple levels into the pool; large-scale natural boulders were placed by hand to create the waterfall structure and the pool's stone coping — no two edges the same — and the pool surround uses loose river gravel rather than pavers or concrete, reinforcing the naturalistic feel and providing drainage. A bluestone patio was laid near the house for the dining and lounge zone, with a cedar pergola providing shade and structure for outdoor meals, and a hot tub was integrated near the house for year-round use; planting beds with mulch, boxwood, Japanese maples, and mixed shrubs were designed to fill in over time and soften the boulder edges. The space flows from structured to natural as you move away from the house: closest to the home is the bluestone patio with lounge furniture, a dining table under the cedar pergola, and the hot tub tucked alongside; step off the patio and the gravel beach begins, wrapping around the pool with lounge chairs set on the stone; the pool itself is the centerpiece, its organic shape curving naturally into the hillside; and at the far end, the boulder waterfall anchors the composition, cascading down the slope with planted beds flanking both sides, while the wooded hillside and tree canopy provide the backdrop.
03 — The Transformation A Woodland Retreat Designed to Feel Like a Weekend Getaway
The Narvon Farmhouse was designed to feel like a vacation in the client's own backyard. The naturalistic pool and boulder waterfall were conceived so the space could be used the way you'd use a private swimming hole — long afternoons in the water with the cascade running, followed by drying off on the gravel beach with a book. The cedar pergola and bluestone patio were positioned for outdoor dining with the sound of water in the background, and the hot tub was integrated close to the house for easy year-round access in cooler months. Every material and placement was chosen so the space wouldn't feel like a backyard pool at all — but like a discovery in the woods, steps from the back door.
