Illuminated polyethylene rocks (lit from within with incandescent bulbs, available at Lightology) provide a moody glow poolside, while a cozy wicker womb chair provides room to chill.
Illuminated polyethylene rocks (lit from within with incandescent bulbs, available at Lightology) provide a moody glow poolside, while a cozy wicker womb chair provides room to chill. Photo Gallery »

The Kays have multiple outdoor socializing spaces. Most eating takes place in the kitchen/dining area, near the pizza oven.
Get the Kays’ favorite sausage, tomato, and thyme pizza recipe »

Warm weather means one thing at the home of Greg and Kasia Kay: It’s time to party. And by that the Kays—he, the founder of Lightology, a lighting virtuoso who started his career in the 1970s as an electrician who wired roller discos, and she, an avid art collector and owner of Kasia Kay Art Projects Gallery—mean transforming their backyard into a sexy lounge and treating their guests to a water! lights! music! spectacle that rivals the famous dancing fountains at the Bellagio Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

“A party’s mood can be controlled with lighting,” says Greg, who has rigged up the yard with LEDs, strobes, halogen lights, and fiber optics hidden away in the ground, foliage, and pool. Other sensory devices, such as fog, fire (okay, it’s just a flame in a huge modern bronze sconce hanging on a stone fence), and, of course, music, help him work his magic. “I know it’s overkill,” he says with a laugh. “But it’s a great way to show clients what can be done.”

Greg spent two summers designing the space and many hours programming colored lights to dance to different types of music, from jazz to hip-hop to classical (the pool also has air jets to create fountain effects that add to the drama). To create their desired mood, all the Kays have to do is press a button on a handheld remote that’s set to “relax,” “dinner music,” or “show tunes.” And while it can feel like a light show back there, often the couple just chooses one dominant color (blue is a favorite) in which to envelop their guests while lounge music plays from the speakers and tiny amber dots of fiber-optic lights reflect off the pool’s surface.

“When it’s lit like that, it looks like there are stars in there,” says Kasia. Add some wine and pizza made on the spot in an outdoor wood-burning oven, and, frankly, who needs Vegas?

Kays’ favorite sausage, tomato, and thyme pizza recipe »
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Photography: Nathan Kirkman