While renovating a suburban Keller, Texas, home, Signature Home Services Inc. designed an outdoor kitchen and pool house that extended entertaining space and made an outdoor lifestyle possible year-round. The homeowners now enjoy a private indoor-outdoor oasis customized for regular entertainment and constructed in harmony with the main home. The structure showcases visionary design work that optimizes the use of space, the flow into social areas and the luxury of must-have amenities the homeowner dreamed of, including the fully equipped kitchen with three grills, refrigeration, outdoor-graded cabinets and counters and a beer tap.
“Our clients had seen some features, like the shade system, at a friend’s house and had many other elements they wanted to include in the pool entertainment area,” said Robin Burrill, CEO and principal designer, Signature Home Services. “We figured out how to bring it all together while ensuring everything would be waterproof and able to withstand the Texas heat.”
To integrate the pool house with the existing property, work was done on the exterior of the home too, such as installing new doors and windows and giving it a fresh coat of paint. The primary bathroom had already been updated by the design team during a previous renovation with the intention of connecting it to the outdoor space, and a private patio and outdoor shower were added adjacent to that bathroom during the pool house project.
This Kitchen Has It All
The main entertaining space of the pool house includes a TV area, a full kitchen and indoor/outdoor seating for up to 40 guests. Although shade can be provided by a retractable screen system, the space is effectively open to the elements at all times. This made material choices critical, but the result had to provide visual appeal, too. The design team selected cabinets that look like wood but are made of waterproof and UV-resistant expanded PVC sheets.
Proper ventilation and easy clean-up were also key to making the space functional and pleasant. In a completely open space, smoke and grease from the three cooking appliances would not be as much of a concern. But with the back of the kitchen in this pool house closed off by the wall separating the private rooms beyond, Burrill and husband Rob Mathews, president, Signature Home Services, needed to make sure cooking areas would be well ventilated and easy to clean. They extended the Dekton countertops the full height of the wall behind the grill and smoker and added two ventilation hoods enclosed in a single hood cover made of the same material as the cabinets.
“Everything was done so that it would be cohesive and offer easy maintenance,” said Burrill. “We also needed to make sure it would combat cooking, dust and yellow pollen in spring. It’s truly an all-season space.”
Above and below, the emphasis on ventilation and durability continues. There is a massive ceiling fan on the vaulted ceiling, which looks like wood but is fiber cement siding. The flooring throughout the pool house is easy-to-maintain porcelain tile.
A Pool Bathroom & Then Some
One of the private spaces in the pool house is the bathroom, which was a must for ensuring the entertaining potential the clients wanted. Burrill infused a rugged, rustic style here because it gets a lot of traffic, much of it coming in from the pool, which means moisture.
The cabinets are the same durable, waterproof, wood-look material that was used in the kitchen, and the countertops are again Dekton. The porcelain tile continues into this space, too. Even the baseboards, which are from Schluter, were chosen with an eye to durability and moisture resistance.
Heavy matte-black hardware, faucets and lighting add to the industrial style of this bathroom. The transom windows above the sink let in natural light during the day, heightening the indoor/outdoor design of the pool house even in this enclosed space. And the full shower offers convenience for the clients on non-entertaining days.
“The homeowners love having the bathroom out there and using it after a workout in the pool house gym,” said Burrill.
A Patio for Privacy
When the design team updated the clients’ primary bathroom a year before the pool house project, they reconfigured it to include a larger shower and give it a spa-like appeal while blending contemporary and industrial style. They also made room for an exterior door in anticipation of the future outdoor renovation.
Now, just outside the primary bathroom, a high-tech outdoor shower is hidden by panels of the wood-look PVC sheet material. On the opposite side of one panel is private seating, which can be airy and open or completely closed in by the blinds, a full system that includes heaters and lighting. The result is a personal, all-weather space that can be used day or night.
With multiple entertaining options and a thoroughly updated poolside, the homeowners have room to welcome dozens of guests to dine, enjoy the pool, watch the game or play dominos – a specific request from the client. Although Burrill and Matthews were able to incorporate the multitude of features the clients wanted, the infrastructure required to do so proved challenging.
With two 10-foot fireplaces; a grill, a smoker and a round flat top; a firepit; and numerous torch lights, additional gas lines had to be installed and the gas meter increased. To add the gas lines, existing sprinklers were rerouted.
“There is a lot that goes into building an outdoor space that has all the comforts of the indoors, especially in a project like this one with multiple televisions, many smart features and the comprehensive shading system,” said Burrill. “We found solutions and worked with multiple partners to make it all happen, giving our clients the spectacular entertaining space they wanted.”
—By Carrie Whitney