When architect Jon Kukk first walked this Port Royal lot in 2020, he noticed its slanted back edge tapering away from the street—a geometry that can easily flatten a view. But the Kukk Architecture lead saw an opportunity: Long, horizontal lines and distinct angular zones would create a rhythm, guiding the eye toward Naples Bay.
Instead of centering the home on the lot, Jon worked with Pat Trefz, of Outside Productions Inc., to align the 10,000-square-foot project with the shoreline. The move opened unexpected vistas and organized the backyard into a clean-lined peninsula of greenery, water and sky. “The property was really sneaky,” Jon says. “I don’t think anybody realized how good the view was going to be.” With the house angled to the street, twin driveways flare outward, breaking the property’s geometric rhythm. To counter the effect, landscape architect Pat added an oval courtyard that pulls the eye inward and unifies the facade. “We wanted geometry that would pull all of the angles together,” Pat says.
Photography by Diana Todorova
port royal outdoor space naples aerial view pool deck
To work around the slanted lot, architect Jon Kukk aligned the 10,000-square-foot home with the shoreline rather than centering it. He and landscape architect Pat Trefz used angular zones and clean lines to open up water views and nearly 1,000 square feet of outdoor living space.
In the front and back, he chose an understated palette of palms, bougainvillea shrubs and spiky silver agave that matches the home’s modern angularity and adds privacy without obstructing views. He wanted the plantings to enhance, not compete, so he kept them to a minimum everywhere, except for an outdoor shower off the home’s primary suite, where walls of UV-resistant faux ferns, boxwood and creeping fig provide the privacy of a garden without the maintenance.
Designed as a series of unfolding parallelograms, the nearly 1,000-square-foot outdoor living space creates a comfortable cadence for entertaining. Large, sliding glass back doors open to the primary gathering point—a multi-use lanai, featuring a generous, sports bar-style kitchen, dining table and seating area. Two flat-screen TVs flank the grill, while an adjacent seating area overlooks the knife-edge infinity pool, providing a front-row seat for the bay views.
Photography by Diana Todorova
port royal outdoor space naples aerial view house front
An oval courtyard pulls the eye inward and unifies the facade, countering the visual disruption of twin, curved driveways.
Above, the lanai’s vaulted pyramid ceiling adds a feeling of expansiveness. Its stair-step architecture carries the home’s modern, linear feel into the exterior and conceals rectangular heaters and motorized roll-down screens for integrated climate control. To make room for the dimensional ceiling, Jon reduced the home’s second story, pulling it back to let the ceiling soar.
“The homeowners wanted a rock star pool,” Pat says, and he delivered that with an integrated—nearly invisible—spa and sunshelf with lounge seating. The pool’s assortment of dark blue, black and gray-hued glass tiles glisten in the late afternoon sun, giving it a resort-like feel. In the evening, conversation pit-style bonfire seating and a lit water feature in the pool’s lower basin add to the rock ‘n’ roll feel, reiterating the home’s striking, contemporary drama.
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Photography by Diana Todorova
port royal outdoor space naples patio view pool deck
UV-resistant faux greenery provides evergreen privacy in the outdoor shower off the primary suite. Elsewhere, plantings are kept minimal to preserve the Bay views.
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Photography by Diana Todorova
port royal outdoor space naples outdoor shower
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Photography by Diana Todorova
port royal outdoor space naples patio view
A vaulted pyramid ceiling adds architectural presence to the lanai while concealing integrated climate controls. The linear motif carries through the metal hood, the 15.5-foot-long island with bar seating and the angular RH furnishings.
Checkerboard turf sections bookend the outdoor living space, continuing the exterior’s distinct zone layout. Instead of the traditional diamond hardscaping common in Port Royal, Pat created a checkerboard of turf and stone that adds softness to the decking while echoing the home’s geometric design.
The continuity and satisfaction of repeated patterns make the refined, clean-lined space feel welcoming, Pat adds: “Repeating elements are the thread that holds the design together.”
Photography by Diana Todorova
port royal outdoor space naples pool deck view
Dark glass tiles in blue, black and gray hues give the infinity pool its resort-like character. Checkerboard turf pads create a focal point and soften the hardscaping.