Pool and Landscape

A Houston family hired Exterior Worlds as design consultants on a project that involved the installation of a new pool and the construction of an arbor, and outdoor kitchen, and a new landscape drainage and irrigation system. Each of these individual elements was built by contract professionals who came in on this project as partner companies. Each contributor invoiced their part of the project separately, but based on the homeowner’s request, followed the essential elements of our landscape and pool master plan.

The original swimming pool had been built considerably lower than the surrounding landscape and had a step leading down from the patio into the water. Apparently it had been installed to contribute a sense of elegance to the original design. In reality all the steps did was divide functional space in much the same way that a wall does.

We removed these steps and built a new pool at the same elevation as the surrounding landscape. This opened up all four sides of the structure for more patio area, seating, and decorations. We built the coping out of limestone and installed glass tile along the side, under the coping. We built a travertine stone patio around the pool out of travertine blocks. The travertine blocks were cut with Groutless joints that fit together with no space between them. On one side of the pool we built a heated spa with a spillway, underwater lights, and controls that allow the homeowner to regulate water flow, temperature, and lighting levels.

Between the spa and one corner of the pool, we built an arbor out of rough cut pine. We chose rough cut pine because it is much less expensive than cedar, and it lasts 3-5 times as long. We wanted the arbor to be one of the most comfortable and prominent gathering spots on the entire landscape, so we built it with a number of amenities and decorative features that made it more than just a place to sit and talk.

Speakers connected to an indoor audio system were concealed within the structure so that sound seemed to be coming from within the wood. Special lighting and lighting controls were also installed to allow for adjustable visibility and mood-altering effect. A custom stone floor was then built irregular, rectangular stones laid over a slab and fitted together by jointed edges that required no mortar.

To create a feeling of truly comfortable living space beyond the immediate vicinity of the pool, we planted a row of Japanese yew trees behind the arbor and up lit with special landscape lights. This created something of an emerald-colored backdrop that set off the warm tone of the furniture and added an extra layer of illumination to that of the pool and the arbor.