Douglas fir pavilion with lounge furniture at the edge of a pool

Oakville, 2022–2023

The Back Bar

A yard built for hosting: a reclaimed barnboard bar under the wisteria, a Douglas fir pavilion by the pool, and an outdoor kitchen.

The problem

The pool was already there. What the yard couldn’t do was host. The owners love having people over — good food, a proper drink, a long evening — and the back yard wasn’t built for any of it.

The decision

So we built it around the party, and kept what was worth keeping: the existing patio and the old wisteria over it. We pruned the wisteria hard the season before, then dug by hand around its roots and the pool and irrigation lines.

At a glance

Location: Oakville
Built: Spring 2022 (bar, patio, pavilion); 2023 (outdoor kitchen)
Bar: Reclaimed grey barnboard, black stone counters, TV shelf, fridge cabinet
New patio: 330 sq ft porcelain at the pavilion, laid on Gator Base panels, so it needed very little digging
Pavilion: Douglas fir on helical piles, cedar tongue-and-groove ceiling, black metal roof; under 108 sq ft footprint
Kitchen: Napoleon grill in grey stone, counters matched to the bar
Where we work: Landscaping in Oakville
Guide: Arbour, pergola, pavilion or cabana?
Services: Design-build, Pavilions and structures, Patios and walkways

The plan

Plan drawing of the pool, the trees and the hedge row — Our plan, and the finished yard.
Plan: Natural Landscape Group.

Overhead view of the pavilion and pool — Our plan, and the finished yard.
Plan: Natural Landscape Group.

Before and after

Patio beside the house with a wisteria pergola and an umbrella in the far corner — From the house: the umbrella corner is now the pavilion.

Same view with a timber pavilion in the corner by the pool — From the house: the umbrella corner is now the pavilion.

Kidney pool with lawn and loungers in the back corner — Across the pool to the back corner.

Pavilion with lounge seating beside the pool — Across the pool to the back corner.

Dining set under a wisteria pergola — Under the wisteria: the dining set became the bar.

Barnboard back bar with TV and bottles under the wisteria — Under the wisteria: the dining set became the bar.

The build

A back bar in reclaimed grey barnboard with black stone counters, a shelf for the TV and room for the bottles. Off the shallow end of the pool, a Douglas fir pavilion on helical piles with a cedar ceiling and black metal roof, sized to go up without waiting on a permit.