Fun in the Sun

Everybody can’t live on a lake, Elaine Lesko says, but having a backyard pool is the next best thing. "We have very few beautiful months in Wisconsin. It’s nice to be able to enjoy them to the fullest," Lesko says. She and husband John, their five children and lots of their friends have been enjoying summers filled with pool parties and bonfires since the Leskos built their Cedarburg home six years ago. Great Lakes Pool and Spa installed the pond-shaped pool and Elaine Lesko headed up the landscaping efforts. In doing so, she followed two simple rules: keep natural litter from hardwood trees and plants away from the pool and create a landscape of continually blooming flowers, most of which she started from plantings from friends. Her favorite flowers come from the 30 to 40 pink peony bushes that bloom in the spring. Even when they aren’t out at the pool, it still has a calming effect, Lesko says, as it can be seen from every level inside the house. "Visually, it’s very soothing," she says.

Grandma Rocks

A trip to grandma’s house is a child’s dream when your grandma is Sue Baker. A heated in-ground pool, outdoor playground and a stream swimming with fish are just some of the attractions at Baker’s home in the town of Waubeka in northern Ozaukee County. "I wanted to make it fun to come to grandma’s house," Baker says. The pool and playground are part of a multiphase project by LaRosa Landscape Co., Cedarburg. Previous phases included a patio with masonry fireplace and an outdoor kitchen. Steps from that area into the sloping yard gave Baker the idea for the pool. I thought the steps should lead to somewhere, she says. Landscape architect Dan Western proposed building bridges over the stream and the pool to blend the areas together. A rough cedar arbor at one end of the pool adds another seating area and offers shade. Four water features and special lighting enhance the nighttime ambiance whether or not you are in the pool. Baker says the outdoor paradise makes it hard to vacation in the summer. "On those 90-degree-plus weekend days when you’re laying in the pool with your iPod playing your favorite song and a drink in your hand, it makes it all pretty well worth it," she says.

Paradise Found

The owners of this Pewaukee home envisioned something special when they looked at their property: an area they would enjoy for years to come. "We were trying to put together a fun place for family and friends," says the homeowner. The couple wanted a multipurpose space for family activities that was stylish enough for entertaining. They achieved this with a functional pool house complete with a grill and kitchen area, changing room, fireplace, TV, hot tub and waterfall. The rooftop basketball court offers a stellar view of the pool area. A pingpong table, circular bar and two pavilions for lounging round out the space, which was designed and built by Westridge Builders, Waukesha. Teak wood chaise lounges and chairs encircle the junior Olympic size pool. In lieu of cement, New York bluestone surrounds the pool, giving it an elegant and natural look. "The area is designed for big gatherings," says the homeowner, who has comfortably hosted parties with 60 to 70 guests. "It’s really relaxing. It’s a nice way to spend a Saturday."

Natural Wonder

The fact that there is a pool in Scott and Kathy Happ’s backyard sometimes escapes visitors to their rural Mequon home. "We really wanted a pool, but we wanted it to fit in with the surroundings," Kathy Happ says. "You don’t necessarily know what it is until you are right out there looking at it." Happ says that’s when she knows that Peter Kudlata of Flagstone Cedarburg, gave them exactly what they were seeking. "He turned our backyard from scrubby woods into a park," Happ says. Kudlata says the organic design is more of a reflection of the lot than the house. The free-form shaped pool includes a 55-foot stretch for the Happs’ three children — all swimmers — to do laps. Water from the curvilinear hot tub spills out onto an underwater bench in the pool to encourage conversation. The landscape also includes a fire pit, lounge area and family gathering space. The patio material is random bluestone; the large Lannon stone boulders are salvaged from the digging of the house’s foundation. Kudlata incorporated large pools of perennial flowers and garden grasses, which Kathy Happ tends. "Kathy is a great gardener. I could give her some more challenging plants and knew they would be taken care of," Kudlata says. Happ says the pool has been a great spot for friends and family to gather. Even the family’s two springer spaniels enjoy the pool, jumping in to cool off or to chase frogs that find their way into the water from the pond behind the property. M