A terrace that steps down to the pool

The bottom of this garden took water every spring, which is exactly where the owners wanted to swim. So the house sits on a stone terrace a metre above the old lawn, and five wide steps run the full width of it down to the pool.

The steps are deep enough to sit on, and the terrace has become the room the family uses most.

The steps are deep enough to sit on, and the paving falls gently away from the house towards planting beds that soak up the run-off. The pool stays clean, the ground floor stays dry, and the terrace has become the room the family uses most from May to September.