Urban Living Redefined: An outdoor retreat in the heart of Dulwich
Ellicar, award-winning designers of natural swimming pools and garden landscapes, have recently built an outdoor urban retreat in Dulwich, South London.
The centrepiece of the garden is a large, chemical-free natural swimming pool, designed to support their clients’ outdoor-living lifestyle and to enjoy dining, lounging, relaxing, and entertaining.
Our award winning Brimstone ash surrounds the urban natural swimming pool.
Design that delivers both style and function
A major design feature is the expansive wrap-around decking, created using our Brimstone Ash, which not only frames the pool beautifully but also defines key garden zones and provides essential access throughout the space. The decking offers dedicated areas for dining and sunbathing, creating seamless indoor-outdoor living.
Functionally, the deck conceals the pool’s hydraulics and biological filtration system. The decking design system incorporates a set of large, discreet access hatches, up to 1.3m wide, which can be easily lifted by one person using manhole keys, making ongoing maintenance practical and safe.
"We chose Vastern Timber’s Brimstone Ash for a number of reasons. Being UK-grown, and thermally modified, its a great sustainable alternative to chemically treated or tropical wood, which aligns with or ethos on sustainability and minimising our carbon footprint. We love how durable the product is, our team love working with this material, and the fact that it is relatively knot free lends it a contemporary feel to our projects.
"
Working with the landscape
The site posed significant challenges: tree preservation orders (TPOs) and root protection zones meant our team had to hand-dig every post hole following strict arboricultural guidelines. We developed a construction method that protects the timber structure from moisture, using pool liner, plastic deck packers, and deck tape to prevent water ingress and ensure longevity.
The finished result is a striking and functional outdoor living hub that the Ellicar’s clients are thrilled with. The deck is central to how they use and enjoy their garden, turning it into a calm and contemporary oasis in the city.
The landscape posed a number of challenges which were overcome by clever design decisions.
"Vastern are incredibly helpful and make the ordering process smooth for our time-poor installation managers, always helping if we have any queries relating to the product, delivery or custom orders.
"
Ellicar have specified our products on multiple Natural Pool projects before, and tell us that they love the way they perform during installation, and the way they weather to a soft silvery finish if left untreated. We are delighted to report that Ellicar believe them to be the perfect fit for a Natural Pool!
We would have to agree, of course!
To find out more about Ellicar’s stunning natural swimming pools, please visit their website: ellicar.co.uk
Client: Ellicar
Garden Designer: Sarah Murch
Product: Brimstone Ash Decking
Photography: Ellicar
