The Call Of Water
A Wyckoff couple found they could enjoy the allure of a seaside resort without leaving their backyard.
Design by Thomas Flint, Thomas Flint Landscape Design & Development
Photography by Adam Pass Photography
Text by Kirsten Meehan
The homeowners were happy where they were. Nearly 28 years in their Wyckoff home, the husband and wife had raised two children, now both grown and living in New York City. They saw no reason to go anywhere else.
Still they felt the call toward water.
“We’d thought a lot over the years about a second home near a body of water,” says the wife. “But we didn’t want the responsibility of having two different properties. We love our home.”
After many years of thought, they decided that the solution was to bring the water to them. Their objective was simple, as they put it: “Let’s make this an even happier place to be.”
Enter Tom Flint of Thomas Flint Landscape Design & Development in Waldwick, who was up for the task of crafting a full pool, a patio and a pool house to transform the backyard over the course of this three-month project.
The homeowners wanted something simple, modern and functional.
The wife is delighted with her outdoor shower. “It’s something I’ve thought about every time I visited somewhere with a really nice one; I always think, ‘What a fun accommodation!’ I use it all the time.”
They also wanted to be able to use a corner of their yard that was heavily wooded and distant from the house. It felt disconnected. Recalls Flint: “At first glance, it almost didn’t look like it was part of their property, so they wanted to reclaim it.”
That distance informed the rest of the project. The pool would be more than 100 feet from any entrance to the home. Rather than seeing this as a hindrance, Flint saw an opportunity. “We could build a destination,” he says. “Sometimes a pool is close enough to the house that we can ‘borrow’ the back patio and make it multifunctional. Because this project was off and away from the house a little bit, we needed the patio to be of a good size, and the pool house to be the hub.”
Because the pool would be an inconvenient distance from the house, making the pool house the main hub was essential. The space is covered and well lit, and includes a television, a ceiling fan and a sound system. There is also a bar area with a refrigerator, a sink and seating options, as well as a full bathroom and storage inside.
And a hub it is. The pool house brings all the comforts of the indoors out, with a full bar, a sink, a refrigerator, a television, a ceiling fan and a sound system. The inside boasts a full bathroom and extra storage space; tucked over to the side is an outdoor shower.
According to the wife in the homeowning couple, the pool house has become a place where all who enter can release a breath. “It’s a beautiful space to simply exist in,” she says. “It’s very soothing, and it’s perfect for entertaining.”
The patio itself is lined with a porcelain paver sourced from City Stone in Clifton. “It’s a great material,” says Flint. “It offers the look of stone, but with the case of installation that comes from a paver. It is also incredibly durable—it doesn’t absorb and doesn’t stain.” The soft color adds to the simple, modern vibe of the overall design. Flint also applied a keen eye for detail to the layout—he says. “We designed down to the way the joints in the pavers line up. Every cut was considered. In a design this simple, it’s the details that really elevate it.”
Flint knew the darker finish in the pool would create breathtaking reflections, and the Silver Shadow Eased Edge coping adds to the effortless, streamlined look. “When we first put the water in and the homeowners saw the reflections, there was a lot of emotion,” he says. “They were ecstatic.”
The pool design is slightly elongated, for both form and function. The shape is in harmony with the yard itself, which is also longer than it is wide. “A rectangular pool seemed correct from the start,” says Flint. “Then we stretched it out a little bit. The result is very pretty, while still being practical. It’s great for doing laps.”
Flint also championed a darker finish in the pool. “I wanted those reflections,” he explains. “Darker colors make the light bounce off the water more.” The resulting deep blue color of the water conjures the ocean. The pool feels both alive and perfectly integrated into the scenery around it, creating something balanced and Zen.
Also perfectly integrated was the homeowners’ taste in plant life. The husband is an avid, talented gardener; the wife describes them both as “very into landscaping.” Flint and the couple set up a temporary plant nursery on the property while the project was underway so that the original flowers and bushes could be reincorporated back into the yard upon completion.
Simple, cozy patio furniture, sourced by the homeowners from Houzz and Wayfair, keeps this covered pool house comfortable and perfect for entertaining.
The lighting choices are an ode to value of details; they ensure that this destination can be open 24 hours. “You see the light, but you don’t see the source,” explains Flint, who wanted the space to be bright and safe without feeling industrial. The result is soft and elegant, and creates a warm welcome. The lights themselves gently guide a person from the house’s entrance, through the landscape and into the pool area like an usher at a resort.
That welcoming feeling and resort vibe are, in Flint’s eyes, the heart of the project. “From the start, I told the clients that this was going to change their lives,” he says. “We were building them a lifestyle. I don’t think they expected a full transformation, but that’s what we wanted to give them.” According to the wife, that transformation has been nothing but positive, and has brought the waterfront retreat the couple always dreamed of right to their fingertips. “My kids feel like they can come here to escape from the city,” she says. “It’s a perfect little oasis in the summertime.”
