The owners of this property originally didn’t want a spa.
“At first the wife said that a spa is ugly and she hated it,” Frenzel says. “But in Switzerland it’s really cold, so you can only use a pool two or two-and-a-half months per year.”
Frenzel and his designer convinced the homeowners that a spa could look as beautiful in the yard as a pool. For starters, the designers wanted the vessel to appear as though it were built along with the house. Not only is this sound design, Frenzel says, but it also adheres to a valued part of the Swiss sensibility — subtlety and modesty.
“In Switzerland a lot of people are sure you don’t have to look too rich, and if you add something in your garden, they say, ‘Hey, you invest money,’” Frenzel says. “If you [integrate it], they say, ‘OK, it was already there when they bought the house.’ And that kind of excuses it.”
To accomplish this, the teak deck is set with a sweeping curve perimeter, reflecting the rambling walkway nearby. This also provided a softer look that the team liked. To form the curve, the edge of each piece of lumber had to be cut individually.
For installation, crews leveled the ground, poured a concrete pad and set the portable spa in place. The deck was then built around it.
