Elsternwick · Inner-south Melbourne

Elsternwick

A True-L bayside backyard pool with quartz finish and terrazzo tile surrounds, set into an inner-south Melbourne home.

THE STORY

A True-L pool with quartz finish and terrazzo surrounds.

Elsternwick sits inside Melbourne's bayside belt where the blocks tighten and the homes are typically established. The owners came to us through their renovation builder — the home was already getting new glazing and a kitchen extension, and they wanted the pool to sit inside that work rather than next to it.

We worked the geometry as a True-L — one arm running along the rear boundary, the other turning back toward the home. The shape gave the deck a defined edge and turned the back of the block into a courtyard rather than a long rectangle. From the new kitchen extension, the pool reads as a turning of the space, not a destination at the end of it.

Inside, the pool is finished in a quartz water colour. The surrounds are terrazzo — a finer-grained finish than the pebbled paving that suburban pools sometimes get stuck with. Terrazzo holds up under bare feet, drains well, and reads as part of a finished home rather than a pool-shop default.

The fence is frameless glass set tight to the perimeter. Equipment is hidden behind the home in a service area. From the kitchen, the deck, the dining room, the pool always reads as part of the renovation.

Completed January 2023.

IN PICTURES