Taste of the Isles: Hoping for a Balinese feel, the homeowners came prepared with artwork, including a stone tiki god and three carved-stone fish. “I think the client grew up in that era and always had kind of a passion for that [aesthetic],” says Jon Kukk, president of Kukk Architecture and Design, P.A. in Naples, Fla. “We kind of built the pool and design around the tiki.” He placed it at the end of the pool, so it wouldn’t always take center stage, and carried the whimsical to the next level by adding bubblers and colored lights. “They wanted this tiki god to get angry,” he explains. “So the lights can flash red, yellow and different colors, and then the bubblers blow up underneath.” Still, he and the homeowners knew that incorporating this element could add too much kitsch. The clean lines and substantial brushed Jerusalem stone add a gravity that balances out the whimsy. “We wanted to make sure that the pool had enough sizzle and sleek appeal on its own,” Kukk says. “There is a joke in there, but the pool’s not a joke.” Dark wood elements, such as carved furniture, an antique Indonesian gate and a wooden ceiling on the lanai, reinforce the Balinese appeal.
Seaside integration: A wood dock conceals the concrete seawall butting up against the property and goes 4 to 5 feet into the backyard. The yard’s layout visually and physically links all major components. Brushed Jerusalem stone steps lead up from the dock, over a koi pond and to a set of stepping pads that appear to float across the pool, allowing direct access to the lanai and also aligning with the home’s main axis. The floating pads also split the aquascape, with the spa on one side and pool on the other. The support columns from the lanai are built on the pool structure so they could stand merely 1 inch from the water. “It creates this more seamless look,” Kukk says. Because of this, the aquascape had to be built before the lanai, so crews worked from the dock back.
The mechanics: To complement the pool’s sleek lines and Southeast Asian style, pool builder Jackson Pools of Estero, Fla., finished the pool, spa and koi ponds in black. The designer also wanted the water level just below the coping so it had a full look. Both an overflow and an auto-fill were installed to maintain the perfect water level. When the spa is in use, the water level lowers approximately ½ inch so that the hot and cold water remain separate. Though the pool/spa combination and koi pond look connected, they each have their own systems.