This house sits off of a busy street, giving the pool area virtually no privacy. The clients asked us to come up with a design that gives screening through a fence and planting without completely cutting off interaction with their neighbors. At the kick plate of the fence, a steel retaining wall and planters control the drop in grade at the east side of the pool. The threshold is highlighted by a semi-transparent perforated steel gate breaking up the expanse of the fence. We screened the pool equipment in the same language as the vertical cedar fence, which we made modern by lopping off the dog ears, sanding, and sealing. Bunch grasses and flowering perennials act as a slope stabilizer and visual interest on one side of the pool; turf grass gives access to the long side.