This once-outdated backyard was transformed into a relaxing retreat: The scalloped-edge pool was made over as a more-modern rectangle and the brick pool house was dressed up with a metal roof, redwood posts, and French doors. A tropical scenario plays out inside where Indonesian architectural pieces are used as sculpture.

We used to jokingly call it the pro shop," says designer Murray Woodall about the 1970s-era pool house that sat at the end of an expansive green lawn in the backyard of Jennifer and John Eagle's Dallas home. "It was a plain brown-brick building, but it was just the right size and shape to renovate," he adds.

Though the structure may have seemed more appropriate for a golf course than a home garden, the interior floor plan, including a kitchen, bathroom, and living area with a fireplace, offered everything the Eagles needed for poolside entertaining. A spacious 700 square feet, the pool house was large enough to consider using it as a guest suite. And when they started thinking about guests and poolside parties, island inspiration struck: Why not create such a comfortable, inviting retreat that they could feel like they were on vacation in their own backyard?

"Our house is very contemporary with white walls and light floors, and we wanted this space to still have a modern feel, but to be a departure from the house, with earthier and warmer tones," Jennifer says. "We enjoy vacationing in the islands--we gravitate to an island way of life when we want to relax."

The Eagles turned to interior designer David Cadwallader and project designer Woodall to take the pool house off the golf green and into the islands. The team's first step was to update the exterior, which included cladding the metal support columns with redwood and reroofing with standing seam metal. Both of these elements are more in keeping with the main house. The designers also installed a bank of wood-frame doors and windows that better define the entry, replacing sliding glass doors that were awkward and hard to operate.

Inside, the pool house was not only outdated, but "cold and uninviting," says Woodall, "with white-painted walls, plastic-laminate counters, and red brick pavers used on the floor and fireplace surround." Keeping the floor plan intact, the design team began adding layers of island-inspired warmth.