Inside an Award Winning Pool House Inspired by Frederick Law Olmsted

The pool and pool house were built on the site of an asphalt tennis court that long ago fell into disrepair. Frederick Law Olmsted’s original landscaping did not have to be compromised.

The kitchenette island’s walnut top is made from a single slab of wood. The counter stools are by Richard Watson.

“There’s no front door,” says architect Catherine Truman. “The entire facade to the pool is permeable, with a view out to the ocean.” She chose easy-on-the-eye neutrals for furnishings, including an antique daybed sourced from 1stDibs and upholstered in a Holly Hunt fabric.

Below the pediment on the side of the pool house, an integrated louver serves an air circulation system that cools the building without air conditioning.

The mirror in the half bath is an antique folk art piece, while the vanity evokes an old flower table. Unlacquered brass door hardware from Frank Allart will rapidly patinate in the salt air.

Even from the rear terrace, a more sheltered spot for meals, the view remains at the ready. Folding chairs from Teak Warehouse, with custom cushions fabricated by Christopher Shelton of C Shelton Conservation, grace the dining table.

Designing a Pool House Within Historic Frederick Law Olmsted Gardens

How do you plunk a pool house into the middle of magnificent gardens designed more than a century ago by Frederick Law Olmsted? Very carefully.

“Our trucks couldn’t veer off by more than an inch,” says Jessica Griffith, principal of b+h Custom Builders, describing how her team had to navigate the narrow half-mile road that led from the home’s driveway through the gardens and over to the building site. “The moss at the path’s edges is perfect. The landscaping is perfect.”

As for the 1,000-square-foot pool house, architect and interior designer Catherine Truman opted for what she describes as “a modest building that defers to the landscape,” taking architectural cues both from the gardens themselves and the property’s historic structures. Arches in the pergola, a garden shed, and outbuildings, all designed by Olmsted, are reflected in the design of the pool house doors and windows. The structure was sited to preserve a pair of ancient trees and, of course, the ocean view.

Truman painted the pool house the same custom green that has graced the other pavilions on the property since the early 1900s; she opted for the same color on interior doors and kitchenette cabinetry, as well. It all looks inevitable, like a century-old conservatory or orangery. And it all resulted in a 2024 Bulfinch Award from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.

Landscape Architecture That Honors Olmsted’s Garden Rooms

Landscape architect Jon Pate paid close attention to the arrival sequence. “Coming from the main house, you go through a couple of Olmsted’s well-defined formal garden ‘rooms’ before arriving at the pool house,” he says. “The one just before you reach the pool is very colorful, very vibrant. We wanted a break from that feel. So when you enter the pool house area, the plantings are all meant to be tranquil and verdant with very few flowers.”

In other words, the aesthetic of strong horticultural thresholds that Olmsted used to create his garden rooms extends to this addition, making the new build look all the more like it has always been there. “People wonder if it’s an old structure, which is the greatest compliment,” Pate says.

Project Team
Architecture and interior design: Catherine Truman Architecture & Interiors
Builder: b+h Custom Builders
Landscape design: Pate Landscape Architecture