NOA outdoor living NOA outdoor living
Plan your experience (required)
03 October 2024 | Case story

When technical challenges become a garden’s greatest asset

After this house in Genk underwent a thorough renovation, the garden was also given a complete makeover with the pool, the lush greenery, and large-format concrete slabs by Schellevis as the eye-catchers.

This home in Genk (Belgium) was remodelled from top to bottom, turning it into the family’s own little paradise, with some help from the landscape architects of Plan Buiten, who managed to seamlessly combine a wide range of functions, plants, and outdoor spaces into a visually pleasing garden design on a challenging site. “Given that the garages are at the rear, we decided to create a long driveway along the left of the house, with no windows. The residents enjoy a lovely walk through their garden every morning and evening as they make their way to the car or house. The driveway has been hidden from view with lush vegetation,” says designer Frederik Pot.

NOA partner

“The kitchen and living area give out onto the large wooden terrace at the rear and to the right of the house. To the side of the house, we have added a patio garden, with large concrete retaining walls concealing the terrace from the street. Over time, these will be completely covered with greenery. Incidentally, they also act as a buffer between the two gardens on different levels.”

The significant differences in levels, particularly in the front garden, made the garden design even more challenging as the front door is one and a half metres above street level. “To compensate for this, we used different products from Schellevis. We installed a large rectangular slab, which serves as a visual divider and bench between the public and private spaces. A staircase with extra-large concrete slabs leads to the front door. The design feels light despite the concrete because of the floating stair treads,” says Pot.

Garden contractor Maarten Vanvoorden of Zwemplus.be planted a wide variety of plants in close consultation with the architect and the residents. “Most clients tend to go for a low-maintenance garden, but in this instance, it was the exact opposite. These clients love plants requesting many different species. They were also closely involved in the design process from day one,” says Vanvoorden. “They settled on plants with large leaves and the odd colour accent here and there in a garden set in a wooded area, with giant oak trees on one side and a new bamboo forest on the other.”

“The patina of the slabs will look more natural over time, so they blend in even better with the green surroundings.”

Tactile, warm look

The path along the pool adds perspective to the garden, forming the axis along which all the activities unfold. It is flanked by a lawn with a large border on one side and a swimming pool with a simple pool house on the other. There are lots of other places scattered around the garden where the residents can unwind. The team used Schellevis products for the path, and the pool copings with the hydrolysis system. “Although Schellevis makes pool copings, we decided to use large format slabs made of the same material that we used elsewhere in the garden. The fact that the surface is never slippery makes it uniquely suitable for use in this wet environment,” says Vanvoorden.

Designer Frederik Pot also enjoys working with the Dutch company’s products. “The textured surface of Schellevis tiles adds a more tactile, warm look. “What’s more, the patina of these slabs will look more natural over time, so they blend in even better with the green surroundings,” Pot adds. “They don’t have a separate finishing coat. Instead, the colour is added during the mixing process, ensuring the sides can also remain visible. Schellevis also has a wide range of sizes and shapes in the same colour, making its tiles extremely versatile and offering tremendous design freedom.”

About NOA:

NOA outdoor living is an experience park for outdoor design in Kruisem. In the theme gardens, you can find inspiration to decorate your garden. These gardens combine architecture, landscape, and interior, and welcome architects, landscape architects, designers, and contractors as well as private prospects. In this inspiration park, you will find luxurious garden furniture and designs by more than 30 high-end partners, who are happy to advise you as you bring your dream garden to life. Moreover, the park is the perfect professional networking location; the conference rooms, covered patio, spacious showroom, and plaza of NOA outdoor living are the ideal setting for your conference, product presentation, or product launch.


Plan your outdoor experience