A Water-Focused Private Resort For This Alabama Yard

Our client wanted to incorporate as much water into this yard as possible and create a private resort for his family tucked into the Alabama hillside.

We started by creating an entrance that makes you feel like you’re driving up to a private resort. The long serpentine driveway leads you up the hill where the home is located, so by the time you actually make it to the front entrance, you already feel like you’re in your own world.

In the rear yard, we designed the entire space around water and the hillside view. An infinity edge pool sits directly against the edge of the property while perimeter overflows, fountain jets, spillways, floating steps, and water walls carry movement and sound throughout the entire yard. No matter where you are in the space, you feel surrounded by water.

The strongest part of the design is the sunken firepit lounge built directly into the water. We wrapped water around all sides of the space and allowed it to spill over the surrounding edges so the lounge feels like it’s floating above the hillside below. Nearby, the spa overflows into a floating dining area while the rest of the water features continue tying the entire rear yard together.

What makes the project feel unique is the contrast between the architecture of the home and the outdoor environment around it. The house leans Gothic French Country with darker materials and steep rooflines, while the outdoor spaces lean cleaner and more modern. Bluestone throughout the hardscape helped pull some of the darker tones from the home into the yard while black architectural accents sharpened the cleaner modern side of the design.

Location 

📍 Vestavia Hills, Alabama

Budget

$750K-$1M+

Estimated Completion Date

2026

Style

Gothic French Country, Minimalist Modern, Resort-Style

Type

Single Family Residence, New Build

Features

– Infinity edge pool 

– Integrated spa 

– Sunken firepit surrounded by water 

– Floating steps 

– Standalone baja shelf 

– Floating dining area 

– Covered outdoor living space 

– Open lawn area 

– Bluestone hardscape 

– Black architectural accents 

– Serpentine driveway entry 

– Vertical cypress approach 

– Front entry fountain and gates 

– Integrated water features throughout the yard 

Challenges

The biggest challenge in this project was the hillside itself. The lot sloped heavily from right to left, exactly where the client wanted the pool and primary outdoor living spaces to be. That meant extensive retaining walls, engineering, and structural coordination to make the layout work while still keeping the overall design feeling clean and restrained. 

The other challenge was incorporating this much water into the project without making the yard feel overbuilt. Every transition between the pool, spa, firepit, dining area, and water features needed to feel intentional so the entire property worked as one connected experience.