View a Fairway-Side Pool House That Goes With the Flow

Los Gatos, California, enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate. The sole precipitation that concerned one local family was that the type stamped with “Titleist” — falling golf balls are a common hazard if you live next door to a golf program. So much so that the owners built a pool house to protect them from the onslaught.

They requested John Klopf of Klopf Architecture in San Francisco to style a covered area where their family of five would relax, entertain and sometimes work, without obstructing views of the neighboring fairway. Taking his cue in the owners’ midcentury modern residence, Klopf created a post and beam construction containing a covered seating area bracketed by a changing room and a kitchen with a wall-mounted TV.

“Initially we thought about doing some sliding doors,” recalls one of the owners. “But finally we chose to keep it as open as you can.” Horizontal siding echoes the siding treatment on the main house but is rendered in natural cedar, to combine with the landscape (made by Sessa + Wadlund in Oakland).

The household spends much more time outdoors now. “We are out there lounging and watching TV,” the owner says. “It’s almost like having another living room”

Klopf Architecture

The pool house (built by Flegel’s Construction) appears quite simple but was carefully designed to serve its own owners and setting. The covered seating area is exactly the exact same width as the pool; it had been left open to the components to keep views of the fairway beyond.

“It was intended to be a large, open area that you could stream in and out of,” says architect Klopf. “It’s all about indoor-outdoor living — mostly outside.”

Klopf Architecture

One side of the 14- from 29-foot architecture is given over to a kitchen. Ipe flooring here and at the adjoining seating area facilitates drainage and mimicked a set of St. Bart’s Lounge Chairs from Restoration Hardware (discontinued).

Klopf Architecture

The kitchen doesn’t have any plumbing — only a refrigerator, some storage cabinets and a concrete counter for working or dining. The opening in the back was developed to frame the redwood tree; a wooden shutter can close it off to protect against rain (and stray golf balls).

Klopf Architecture

The enclosed end of the pool house includes a changing space and storage area. Klopf angled the soffits under the roof, echoing a detail on the main house.

Klopf Architecture

Horizontal siding reflects the remedy on the main house, but as mentioned, here it’s rendered in natural cedar to combine with the landscape. Lush planting beds framed in concrete offer a transition between the pool area, the paths and the yard outside.

Klopf Architecture

Stairs on the other side of the pool house result in a horseshoe court. Looking up in the pool house ceiling, you can see the weather-resistant fluorescent lighting that illuminate the seating area at nighttime.

Klopf Architecture

Seen from afar, the pool house behaves like a giant image frame and leaves the property feel more expansive.

Klopf Architecture

The simplicity of the construction matches the landscape, that includes a restricted variety of plants and materials used repeatedly throughout.

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