Swimming Pool Landscape Design

For a Houston landscape, a swimming pool landscape design is often the pièce de résistance. Our climate invites the presence of a pool and people are naturally drawn to it. The creativity applied to the attendant landscaping only heightens the impact. Not merely the glue that holds everything together, a pool and its landscaping are the jewels atop the crown.

Exterior Worlds offers luxury designs that take the basic elements of swimming pools and give them sophisticated élan, creating a special atmosphere for all your festive occasions. Our swimming pool landscape designs allow you to move seamlessly from the interior to the exterior with the pool area functioning as a continuation of your living space. Because it serves as this linkage, it is imperative that the swimming pool design properly complement the architecture of your house. Our professional landscape designers will help you achieve all the prerequisite demands.

There’s even good news for homeowners of older residences with pools designed and built in, say, the 70s and 80s. If you’ve been looking with desire at the latest shelter magazines with their exquisite spreads of swimming pool landscape designs, a swimming pool restoration or swimming pool remodeling project from Exterior Worlds could be your solution.

A restoration project is the least involved of the two projects. Perhaps the pool’s shell could use re-surfacing to achieve a particular aesthetic that is available with today’s product offerings. Or it could mean updating the pool decking with more current material choices.

With a remodeling job, however, a complete re-do is required. It is a project that involves reconsidering your pool area and tailoring it to your specific site, including terrain, tree elements, drainage and all structural architecture, and complying with your specific needs and desires. Since no two remodeling jobs are ever alike, an Exterior World’s professional design team is best suited for this extensive venture. Bottom line, though, both re-do options are viable alternatives to consider.

Items to consider in your swimming pool landscape design:

• In conjunction with your swimming pool designer, you will first need to ascertain the best location of the pool, a choice driven by the space available and the spatial relationship of the house and yard. You want it to be eye-catching and inviting. At the same time, you want it to fit the space without overpowering it.
• Another major element is the patio, the wonderful and much-used outdoor space is often the “living room” of your backyard. Common construction types include flagstone patio, wood patios and patio pavers.
• One feature of the pool to pay close attention to is the pool coping. Coping is the masonry product that sits on the edge of the pool’s shell, often rising above the patio and is the hard surface on which you sit when you dangle your feet in the water. Coping material choices are driven by two functions: compatibility (it should be coordinated with other material choices made for your home and landscape) and safety (it needs to be a non-slippery surface like brick or stone).

For more than 20 years, Houston has turned to Exterior Worlds for high-end landscape design and services, including custom swimming pools. 713-827-2255.

Houston Pool Remodeling

When is pool remodeling required?
If your pool clashes with your home’s appearance, or it is too large our small for your yard, you need pool remodeling. Remodeling should also be done when the pool is beyond the scope of basic service and repair work.

If I wanted a complete pool remodeling, what am I looking at in terms of the basics?
We have to change the shape, depth, and style of the pool to match your home and surrounding landscape master plan. New patio design will be required too, consisting of custom tile, stone, brick, or masonry. Amenities like diving boards, diving rocks, or kid slides may also be built into the new structure. We also resurface and lay new tile.

What are some options for pool remodeling Houston homeowners should consider?
We strongly recommend that you consider adding additional water features. A spa is one of the most popular and useful features. It adds dimension and luxury to the swimming pool, and it can be heated and constructed with water jets that offer therapeutic conditioning for muscles and injuries.

Spa jets, heating, and lights can be manipulated with digital controls that provide the homeowner with the ultimate in convenience.

Another water feature you may want to add to your pool when remodeling it is a waterfall. Waterfalls create unique areas of interest. They can be designed to pour down steps to lend a sense of drama and formal effect, or they can be created to pour over rocks to look like natural elements that soften the stark geometries of human architecture.

A rock wall rising up at one end of the pool can also host a waterfall, creating both an endpoint and a focal point that frames activities in and out of the water around a central gateway of illuminated fluidity—almost like a monolith rising up out of the Houston landscape.

What unique structural changes can you incorporate into pool remodeling?
To create a sense of perspective, have our team build you a pool with a negative edge. A negative edge makes it look like the water is mysteriously disappearing over the side with no apparent boundary around the pool.

Rock formations are an excellent way to lend a sense of nature to certain pool designs. For those who prefer something more resort-like, tanning shelves, swim-up bars, spas, and benches are ideal.

Another thing we do in pool remodeling is custom mosaic work. Many different patterns and scenes can be created with expert tile workers creating the mosaic by hand.

Is lighting a part of pool remodeling?
Yes. People cannot enjoy their pool at night without illumination, nor is it safe to use without lighting. Lighting creates decoration and interest. Many different types of lights can be installed in a remodeled pool, including colored underwater lights and fiber optic lighting that can punctuate the details of waterfalls and spas.

Landscape Pool Design

The first thing to consider in landscape pool design is the size and shape of the pool. It must be constructed in the complex of a larger and more comprehensive landscape master plan. Home architecture must be respected above all things. Next, softscape elements and outdoor buildings must appear appropriately complimented by the pool’s appearance.

What is my first consideration in landscape pool design?
You want to decide on the size and shape of the pool. It is always better to talk to a professional landscape designer about this than the pool contractor. This is because the pool itself is going to fit into the context of a larger landscape master plan. The geometry of the pool must respect the architecture of the home and proportionally compliment the hardscapes and softscape elements of your yard.

How large should my pool be?
Think about your lifestyle and your plans for future events. If you have children, or if you plan to host parties around the pool, you will need a larger swimming pool than you will if you only plan to use it as a couple or entertain a handful of close friends.

Where should I have the pool built?
Landscape pool design is all about relationships to other points of interest. You not only want the pool to look good when you look at it from the home, the arbor, the outdoor kitchen, or the morning garden, but you also want these same features to appear unique and clearly visible when you look out into your yard from the vantage point of your swimming pool patio.

Should special safety features be included in my landscape pool design?
If you have children, yes. If you plan to invite elderly guests or people with disabilities to your home, handrails and special steps that lead down into a shallow part of the pool need to be built into its design.

What recreational features can be incorporated into landscape pool design?
One of the most popular features that we often build into our pools is a spa. Spas are normally heated and lit so people can feel a blend of comfort and luxury when reclining within them. Spas can also be designed with special jets that will help those with arthritis or other physical challenges get safe and healthy water exercise.

If you have such a physical challenge, get your doctor to describe in detail what you need in terms of water exercise and share it with our design staff. We have all sorts of custom designs we can adapt to your needs.

Do you recommend special water features?
That is a matter of personal preference, but the decision to incorporate special water features needs to be made at the onset of landscape pool design. Waterfalls add excitement and vertical impact to pools, and when lit with underwater lights, a sense of magic. Water jets can also add drama and impact to both daytime and nighttime pool activities, as well as giving children something to play in.

What type of patio should I have built around my swimming pool?
You can have anything from decorative concrete to something as elaborate as cut stone that is hand-laid and made to imitate something in the natural world. The shape of your patio should aesthetically compliment both the pool and the surrounding landscape. The size of your patio should reflect your anticipated number of guests for planned outdoor events.

Outdoor Kitchen and Pool

A family named Pesek decided that their swimming pool had too much of a “1970s look.” They wanted an entirely new swimming pool designed for them, and they wanted an outdoor room built that would allow them to enjoy a view of the surrounding Houston landscape.

After carefully surveying their yard, we recommended a design based on classical geometry and proportional right angles. This would add a touch of elegance that would uphold the conservative design of the home and distinguish the property as a unique keynote in Houston landscaping design.

The house itself spoke of a simpler, more absolutist time in history. The fixed constants of the 1950s were clearly evidence in its architectural motifs, which provided us with a template of linearity and deliberate movement true to Classical design principles.

We began by rebuilding the swimming pool near the rear entrance of the house.
We completely abandoned the original lagoon-pool design. Not only did had it clashed from the beginning with the architecture of the home, but it looked cliché, to say the least, in relation to the greater Houston landscape in general.

The new swimming pool was built as a perfect rectangle distinguished with an innovative type of coping that raised perpendicular to the stone patio surface. We used the natural surface of the Houston landscape to create another perpendicular right angle at the end of the pool, where we installed a waterfall that spilled into a heated spa.

The spa was built with something of an optical illusion in mind. Though the water came from within the spa itself, it appeared to be coming from within the pool. This generated a new sense of visual “ebb and flow” that causes the earth to appears to rise up first into an illuminated pool, then onward into the steps of the home.

We built an outdoor room at the end of the pool opposite the home. We followed the same principles of simple conservatism and right angles that distinguished the home and the pool. This is not to say that we abandoned modernity by any means. Within the conservative linearity of its framework we created a fully functional outdoor kitchen complete with a smoker, a refrigerator, an ice maker, and a water heater

There was even special seating with a flat-screen plasma TV that provided state of the art fun for adults and children alike. When we were finished, there was never any need for the Peseks to return to the house once the party begins. Every amenity is available in a simple, yet also very sophisticated outdoor building. Pure luxury and a serene view of the Houston landscape are just a few steps away in a luxury pool and spa.

Landscaping Ponds

Where should I have my pond built?
A landscaping pond should be built in full sunlight so that aquatic plants will get enough light to flower. It is also best to have it built in an area of the yard that, from any vantage point, appears equidistant from major points of interest. By this we mean that if you are standing in the doorway of your summer kitchen located at the back of the yard looking at your landscaping pond located more toward the center of the yard, that your pond will appear proportionally related to nearby gardens, trees, fountains, your swimming pool, and your home in the far background of the scene.

What you do NOT want is a pond that appears to be crowded up against another landscape element or outdoor building. If a pond is part of a larger garden design, then an exception to this rule applies, but you will need a professional landscape designer to develop it in order to make it work with the surrounding landscape.

Does the shape and design of the pond matter?
Yes. A landscaping pond is part of a master landscape plan that is based on several things. The most important factor in the creation of this plan is the style of your home architecture. Since the intent of professional landscape design (not to be confused with rudimentary basic lawn services) is to create an outdoor living space equivalent in the quality of life to the interior comforts of a home, there must be a sense of reflection and congruence between the two realms these two realms blend into a singular expression of personal lifestyle.

You should therefore be aware that a pond can be a beautiful addition to your landscape regardless of the size of your home and your property. However, the size and shape of that pond will need to be designed proportionally as one of many elements in order to create the feeling of harmony and freedom you seek in Houston outdoor living.

Should I have lighting installed in my landscaping pond?
Yes. Without lighting, your pond can only be enjoyed during the daytime. Special lighting fixtures will transform it from a dull shadow on the nighttime Houston landscape into a magical realm of color and dancing shadow. Both general lighting for visibility and special effects lighting are now possible with underwater, low-voltage LED lights that are very cheap to operate and safe to use in submerged locations. They will not harm fish or aquatic plants and pose no threat to humans and pets when installed correctly by a licensed professional.

If you plan to stock your pond with fish, the most important kind of plant to install is oxygenator plants. You must be cautious not to install any plants that are toxic to fish. The list is too long to enumerate here, but just a few of these include amaryllis, bottlebrush, boxwood, caladium, dapne, hydrangea, and bird of paradise. If you have any questions about what should or should not be planted in your landscaping pond, it is best to confer with your landscape designer and let him or her recommend aquatic species with aesthetic value that will also be good for your fish.

What species of fish can I have in my pond?
That depends on the size and depth of your landscaping pond. Koi are a favorite fish, but they may not do well in just any type of pond. You may need a more formal koi pond like we often build in order to give them an appropriate environment. Goldfish and other species of carp will live in almost any type of water. If your property is big enough for a large landscaping pond of significant depth, you can even have it stocked with sun perch, catfish, or bass.

Three-Level Pool Patio

When they work only with softscape elements like lawns, gardens, trees, and shrubs, it is sometimes very challenging for Houston landscaping design specialists to create special zones of comfort and interest. Vegetation is good for magnifying space, but to build a sense of structure into the landscape, architectural structures and custom hardscapes have to be introduced into the master plan that will scale down the Houston landscape into deliberately proportioned spaces that create a sense of amenity for people.

One phase of a multi-phase Houston landscaping project recently done for the Friedman family illustrates this truism. The home and yard were of such monumental proportions that outdoor elements had to be designed in proportionally large dimensions. Along with a custom swimming pool, we had to build a 2,000 sq. foot patio pool deck that could host events number up to-50 people. The challenge was to design the patio with an aura of uniqueness and significance to avoid generating too much of a stage effect.

Houston landscaping designers eventually determined that three elevation changes could be built into the hardscape that would effectively create three distinct areas of interest and assembly. One area would surround the pool itself. A second area, higher area connecting to the summer kitchen of the home would overlook the pool fountain and the spa. A third area at the opposite end of the pool would lead up to an arbor that offered a superb vantage of the surrounding Houston landscape.

We constructed the patio out of Pennsylvania blue stone. Using a dark colored stone like this is one way to scale a large property down in perspective. It creates a focal point that draws the eye away from the vastness of the Houston landscape and draws it into a new realm of refined poolside comfort and special water effects.

Houston landscaping experts designed the patio with custom drains and special water jets that helped create these water effects. At night, water shot out from these jets into the lighted depths of the pool.. Stairs leading up to the terrace were built broad and wide so people would feel like they were gradually descending to the water or ascending into a higher realm.

We also used Pennsylvania sandstone to continue the aesthetic theme of the patio. This terrace offers first time visitor and returning guests alike a superb choice between the spa and the arbor above. Rocking chairs provide comfortable seating from an ideal vantage point just in front of the arbor. A retaining behind the terrace built to hold back the grade of the soil also serves a decorative function by framing the entire upper patio with border and emphasis.

Houston Swimming Pool Contractors

Are you dreaming of new landscape plans, one that includes a swimming pool in your back yard? If so, Exterior Worlds is one of the best regarded Houston swimming pool contractors and we’d be happy to help with your project.

The process starts with the design. As longtime Houston swimming pool contractors, we are experts in the design aspect. Your choices range from lagoon pool designs to waterfall landscape designs to site-specific designs—and just about everything in-between.

Our swimming pool discussions always include safety. Areas for your consideration:

• Non-slippery surfaces in the immediate wet area.
• Depending on your lifestyle, a pool fence to safeguard who has access to the water, such as an ornamental iron fence.
• Night lighting. The lighting for your pool should be viewed as part of your overall residential landscape lighting plan with the intention of making it seamless with the whole.

If you are landscaping for entertainment, you might want to think about putting in additional water elements that elevate the design impact. Examples of these head-turners include pool water fountains and fire and water fountains.

For those of you considering landscaping remodeling, Exterior Worlds is a particularly smart choice as your Houston swimming pool contractor due to our willingness to go the extra mile in getting the job done right. While a swimming pool remodeling project certainly can be done and often is something that needs to be done, it is a complex job that requires the most from your swimming pool professionals. In other words—no time for a cookie-cutter frame of mind.

Once the design is nailed down, then as your Houston swimming pool contractor we will do the following:

• We schedule a pre-construction meeting to let you know what to expect, when and by whom.
• Simultaneously, we will begin the permitting process.
• Once the necessary approvals are in place, then comes the grading and excavating of the site.
• Rebar is then installed in the shell, as well as the plumbing and electrical work is completed.
• The pool will be sprayed with a concrete-like substance called gunite.
• After the gunite cures, comes the installation of the coping, specialty features such as outdoor fireplaces or retaining walls, and the pool deck.
• As the last step, the gunite is plastered, often using upgraded materials such as quartz finishes in a wide range of textures and colors.
• Then add water and the fun begins.

As you can tell, it is no small task to undertake the building or restoring of a swimming pool. Therefore, it may be in your best interest to hire us as general contractor, also known as a project designer. In this capacity, we bring two important assets to the table. The first advantage is that we can look at your entire landscape design to ensure that the pool integrates with the total picture and that all your landscaping zones flow together.
The second benefit is financial—we will schedule the different subcontractors, thus keeping the work progressing in a logical and timely manner, which, in the end, saves you money and aggravation.

Since 1987, Exterior Worlds has provided upscale landscape services, including project management for swimming pools construction and remodeling to the Houston area. Call 713-827-2255 for a consultation.

Pool Deck Remodel

Is your swimming pool area looking dated or rundown—or has it even become unsafe? If so, call Exterior Worlds for a pool deck remodeling project.

Let’s begin with a quick primer on swimming pool construction terminology and the finishes involved. The interior shell of a pool is covered with plaster that hardens like concrete and seals the interior of your pool. Popular upgrades used today include quartz finishes in a wide variety of colors and textures.

Next comes the pool coping, which is the area that immediately surrounds the pool. The coping locks in the pool plaster on one side and seals the deck on the other. Because you want to ensure a non-slippery surface in the immediate wet area, preferable choices are tile, stone or brick.

Then—the pool decking that encircles your luxury swimming pool. It is usually made of some kind of masonry and connects the pool to the rest of the spaces. It becomes a special dimension within your landscape design, creating usable, safe spaces that are visually pleasing.

Before you make a decision about your decking material, consider your total landscape design. You can integrate your swimming pool design into its surroundings by creating smooth transitions between the pool, yard and general background. A swimming pool adds texture to an otherwise blank and flat yard, so be creative. If you have small yard, a pool turns it into an oasis. For wood decks or flagstone patios attached to the house, you can use your pool decking choices to coordinate or contrast with them. In general, you don’t want a very dark color for your pool deck because it will absorb heat. Likewise, you don’t want it too light because of the higher maintenance.

You have a marvelous range of materials to choose from with a pool deck remodeling project. A pool deck remodel project gives you the opportunity to coordinate material choices in your landscape, something that can get out of balance in older homes that have undergone many home projects. Keep in mind that you want the tones used in the house and landscape to be complementary. Our clients’ choices include tinted and stamped concrete, brick and stone. One example of a design conscious choice would be to use a darker stone with a light grout or rich dark grout with a lighter stone color.

In discussing a pool remodeling project, all decisions should factor in safety. Now may be a good time to think about installing a fence around your swimming pool. Exterior Worlds will be happy to discuss different options. For example, you may want to highlight the fence by using custom ornamental iron fencing or, conversely, you may prefer to make it unobtrusive by having us weave bushes around its perimeter.

Some of our clients find that once they start a pool renovation project, such as pool deck remodeling, they uncover additional problems beneath the deck that need to be updated, such as the plumbing, the pool lighting and the general electrical system. Once the decking is ripped out, you have an opportunity to address those issues, too, a decision that usually saves money in the long run.

Limestone Patios, Architecture, and Décor

What architectural theme does this best support?
All architectural themes and Houston landscape designs can benefit from limestone forms. Limestone is a soft stone that can be easily crafted into almost any style shape or form. This makes it easy to match the resulting form to the specific architecture of houses and outdoor buildings.

Limestone can also be polished, which makes it very good for creating ornamental or decorative elements. There is very little that we cannot do with limestone.

Are there any negatives to limestone?
Limestone’s only negative attribute is that it is highly porous, so any surface that requires resistance to water should be built from something else. Aside from this very narrow and singular limitation, it can be used to build virtually any type of hardscape.

Where is it mostly used?
While it works with any type of architecture, its most powerful expression is found as a compliment to very strong architecture. There is a cultural and historical association that all of us share in that links limestone to antiquity.

Classical buildings and porticos were commonly built of this stone, so any work we do on today’s Houston landscape can convey that same feeling of grand drama and regal authority that we associate with our own heroic, historical origins.

English and French landscape designs both convey a strong sense of presence due in part to the their deliberate incorporation of classical materials and their insistence on symmetry and geometry that trace their way back to Rome, Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia—cultures that all used limestone to build their monuments, temples, and great works of art.

What if I could care less about ancient culture?
Then you can enjoy limestone’s modern application. Because of its malleability, limestone is a timeless material to work with. It is easily molded to human intent, and it works just as well in contemporary and modern Houston landscapes as it did on Appian vineyards and Greek hillsides 2,500 years ago.

You can go forward with limestone just as easily as you can go backward. The choice is yours.
What are some decorative objects that you can build out of limestone?
Many decorative Houston landscape design elements can be made from limestone. These elements include custom fountains, walls, arbor columns, urns, and planters.

What garden design does this work well with?
It works best with Mediterranean, French, and Italian themes. Limestone makes ideal material for building architectural walls, retaining walls, garden stepping stones, and linear planters to set the boundaries of garden space.

Will just about any outdoor building benefit from a limestone patio?
Yes, because we can shape the stone to match the architecture.

Houston Pool and Lanscape Project

A Houston family by the name of Friedman was adding an outdoor summer kitchen and screened-in dining room to the rear of their home. Their home was a traditionally style home residing on an enormous lot. They hired us to develop a master plan that featured a pool and Houston landscape concept that would connect to the new addition and extend the semi-outdoor space of the screened room into fully open space.

Our assignment was to create movement, interest, intimacy, and a controlled sense of drama that would ultimately help this enormous property appear inviting and intimate through carefully constructed, special points of interest.

The design we created, in many ways, introduced the theme of the entire Houston landscape. Since the view of the backyard was by nature panoramic, and because we were dealing with an enormous yard to begin with, we wanted to create a controlled sense of drama that you were coming into a yard whose plane dropped down. Grade change was the key here. By varying elevation and step width, we could make even the largest of forms on the Houston landscape feel intimate and inviting.

One of the two most prominent elements on this vast expanse of Houston landscape was the ornate custom swimming pool that we designed for the Friedman’s. It consisted of a two-level structure, with a fountain on one end. In the fountain there were three bubblers that shot water up into the air. The bottom of the fountain was completely covered in blue glass tile and lighted from within. Although small in comparison to the rest of the pool, the uniqueness of the fountain’s design made it one of the most prominent areas of interests, ideal for pulling chairs around its perimeter.

The fountain also adds something of a spa element to the pool. The lower end is 18 inches deep-deep enough to sit in, and the water is both heated and lighted. People can actually recline here much like they do in the spa, and dangle their feet over the edge of the waterfall.

This waterfall was one of the most unique features we added to this traditional Houston landscape. We had a quarry cut a slab of stone in a radius design and cut runnels in it with a diamond saw. We then thermal finished the slab and covered the front end with a custom blend of glass tile. The various colors and hues in the glass are intentionally reflective of surrounding vegetation and water patterns. There is also a deliberate copper hue to the design to help reflect pool lighting.

This further develops the sense of controlled drama that creates interest and intimacy on such a large tract of Houston landscape. The variation of colors, especially when catching either sunlight or pool lights, especially mirrors the elegance of the adjacent parterre garden and various flower species planted to the side of the arbor entrance.

Both the upper and lower portions of the patio were made of Pennsylvania full color sandstone. The coping of the pool is a lighter colored material known as Leuders Limestone. It has a rich hue that provides a superb compliment to both the architecture of the home and the surrounding foliage. Water rises up from jets covered by custom stone covers for water jets. This adds scale and sound to the patio, and provides special effects when illuminated at night.

It is very relaxing to pull up a chair by the water jets and watch the kids run in and out of spurting water as it arches into nighttime sky above the Houston landscape and lands in the lighted water of the pool.

Infinity Pools

An infinity pool is a swimming pool or reflecting pool with a negative edge. It is also called a zero edge pool or disappearing edge pool. The intention of this design is to suggest that the water extends beyond the horizon to and vanishes into an indeterminable point beyond—literally into infinity.

Infinity pools are among the most challenging elements of landscape architecture to construct. It requires a great deal of skill on the part of the swimming pool design specialist to create the effect of vanishing water. It also requires adapting the pool to geological formation surrounding the structure. In the Houston landscape this can be particularly challenging due to the fact that we have such flat terrain.

Infinity pools here must be constructed at a high enough elevation to allow water to drop into the unseen realm at the edge of the structure. In actuality, this so-called unseen realm is really a concealed catch basin hidden beneath a weir over which the water flows. The water pours into this basin and is recirculated into the pool by silent pumps.

In order to generate the flow of water necessary to create this silent disappearing act, we have to build the weir at least one-half to one inch lower than the required water level. We also have to build a separate circulation system for the edge flow. Sufficient momentum must be present in the water in order to cause it to run over the weir into the catch basin below.

We also have to be very careful to take into account inconsistencies in flow caused by swimmers. When people swim in an infinity pool, they will naturally displace more water into the edge than normal flow will produce. The catch basin must large enough to withstand this displacement, and the pump must be sturdy enough to return the water to the upper pool.

Without exception, edge pumps in infinity pools are larger and more powerful than the main pool pump for this reason. They also feature very sophisticate filtration mechanisms to prevent the debris that flows over the weir from clogging the pump. A great deal of mathematical calculation goes into designing these edge pumps and catch basins, which might be another reason that the word “infinity” is used as a descriptor for these very special water features.

Beyond the sophisticated engineering they feature, infinity pools create some of the most magnificent scenery in all of landscape design. This is because they are always built in relationship to other points in the scenery. They can function as giant mirrors reflecting the overhanging branches of trees. They can point toward a pond or natural stream, or they can stretch toward open sky and appear to blend blue vastness with water and fluid movement with rainbows and clouds.

Small Swimming Pools

Small pools are very popular in urban areas where there are very small lots and little room for landscaping. Many of these lots have exceptionally large houses on them and tiny backyards. Others have patio homes and townhomes with a predominantly hardscape backyard landscape. Garden designs must be highly customized to home architecture and proportional to the limited space at hand. Swimming pools must be smaller but still provide the amenities and comforts of their larger equivalents on more expansive estates.

This is not as difficult as it may seem to the experienced expert in custom swimming pool design. Small pools are no different than large swimming pools or custom swimming pools. They are shaped just like other pools but are built to a much smaller scale. They can look like luxury spas, geometrically proportional forms, or even giant fountains. The benefits that they offer are anything but small, however.

A small pool can be heated so people can enjoy it year round. Many doctors recommend that arthritis patients invest in these pools because it helps soothe aching joints. Physical therapists also recommend them to patients in recovery from knee injuries and back injuries. Although a small pool may lack the area of a custom swimming pool or luxury swimming pool, it can nevertheless be constructed in a manner that facilitates good, hardy exercise.

The way we accomplish this is to construct small pools with swim jets that create strong currents in the water. The swimmer can face into the current and swim half-laps to the other side, then return to the other side to repeat the process. In fact, many people find that they get better exercise in a small pool than a larger one due to the pressure of the water and the challenge it presents to their muscles.

Small pools are also very decorative additions to a small backyard behind a cottage or townhome. They look tranquil and idyllic when surrounded by a custom garden design or small custom patio. Adding a water feature to an otherwise limited amount of greenery predominated by hardscape is typically all that one needs to alleviate the sense of having too much inorganic form in one’s yard. Water, though not technically organic, is the very stuff of life whose fluidity conveys a sense of movement, dynamism, and even mystery at times.

One way to enhance all of these unique attributes of water is to add a fountain features to a small pool. A custom fountain of any style can be built in a pool provided its dimensions remain in proportion to the pool itself and surrounding structural architecture. One of the most popular styles is the waterfall fountain. Waterfalls can be constructed in any number of forms ranging from the traditionally natural to the deliberately contemporary and modernesque.

They can also be built either at the end of a pool or along the sides. Building a waterfall along the side can actually add a safety factor to your small pool. Since we discourage the use of diving boards due to the hazards they have been known to create, a diving rock can be substituted next to a roaring waterfall that gives a swimmer a much safer way to get into the water and also allows him or her to directly experience the falls firsthand. This can make a small swimming pool look and feel much bigger, and in many instances, magnifies the dimensions of the backyard as a whole.

Reflecting Pools

A reflecting pool is a shallow pool with a very calm surface. It is normally built near another structure or element in order to reflect its form like a mirror. It can be part of a garden, a courtyard, a centerpiece for a backyard, or a standalone feature in a park or urban plaza. More famous reflecting ponds include the reflecting pool in Washington DC, The University of Western Australia, Planalto Palace in Brasilia, and Hermann Park in Houston, Texas.

The remarkably calm water that characterizes these solemn, still masterpieces is created by a simple trick of physics. The edges of the pond are made slightly deeper than the center. This inhibits wave formation and keeps the water very still even when the wind is blowing. In residential landscape design, reflecting ponds are used to link divergent landscape elements into a unified aesthetic of contemplation. The surface of the water acts like a mirror to inorganic and organic forms alike, bringing them together in a single moment.

Reflecting pools are commonly built near large garden sculpture or fountain. This has the effect of magnifying the element and making it appear more prominent on the landscape. They are also popular elements to add to areas populated by outcroppings of trees. When there are only a handful of trees on the landscape, a reflecting pool makes it appear as though there are many more than their actually are. While some areas of Houston, such as the Memorial Area, have an abundance of trees, other parts of town have smaller lots and have fewer trees. Building what amounts to a landscape mirror will make any back yard look larger than it actually is and more like a park area when you walk outside.

Reflecting pools are also built near homes and commercial buildings. This has the effect of extending the edifice of a structure forward into space. In parts of Houston where the new trend is to build up instead of out, reflecting ponds can be a valuable addition to a high-rise apartment community. The vertical presence of the buildings can be brought toward the center of a courtyard build around a reflecting pond that converges in a mirror of angles and shapes in the center of urban living space.

Reflecting pools in these environments are often done with vanishing pool edges. An infinity edge makes the water look like a true mirror in every sense of the term. In the absence of a visible shell or coping, all you see is the water’s edge and the forms that the water reflects. Generally, more contemporary settings call for this effect because of the mathematical connotations it conveys and the sophisticated aesthetic it generates in landscape design.

Landscape architects prefer to build reflecting pools with very dark basins. This prevents the basin itself from reflecting light back out of the water. Only the light that strikes the surface is reflected back toward the eyes—creating the mirroring effect we have been discussing in this analysis. The remainder of the light that penetrates the water is absorbed by the darker hues of the pool basin.

Pool Coping

Pool coping is a masonry product that sits on top of the pool beam structure. It provides transitional space between the patio proper and the surface of the water. People often sit on the coping and dangle their feet in the water. Others prefer to stand on it and peer into the water at night when pool lights illuminate the water from below. Coping should therefore be strong enough to support the weight of a person.

Pool coping is one of those hardscape designs where there is a wide range of choice in what you can do. It can be made from many different materials. Common materials include slate, travertine, concrete, brick, and stone. Material selection is based upon pool style and upon what best compliments patio build out and home architecture.

In one very unique project, we had a couple in River Oaks request that we not build a patio at all, but simply install a coping around the pool that would separate the water from the lawn. We call this our grass patio pool project and it is one of our more famous creations here in the Houston area.

Luxury pool coping is commonly made from either travertine or limestone. Both look amazingly refined when polished and work well with a number of home architectural styles—particularly Italian and Mediterranean.

The texture of the material used is determined by two things. One is how the particular material itself is formed. If it has been sawn, it will appear segmented. Honed surfaces create a more contiguous look. The other factor in creating texture is finish. Coping can be thermal finished, which means that it has been heated with a flame until it appears slightly pebbled with a medium relief.

Pool coping can also be polished to a high level of reflectivity to catch sunlight or underwater pool lights. It can also be chiseled to have a rough-cut look and appear more rugged and natural in collusion with stone patio work.

Pool coping is a major point of focus in our pool renovation projects. It is one of the most significant aspects of pool design because coping can be adjusted to correct elevation issues when lowering or raising the pool patio is not an option.

Pool coping can be either thin or thick. Thin masonry is often used to remodel a pool with insufficient elevation to create a sense of height that was previously absent. This eliminates the need to try to figure out how to lower the deck or pool shell in areas where buried cables or tree roots prevent such alterations in patio design.

Pool coping can be the keynote to your custom patio design as well if you have it done by a professional firm who knows what they are doing. Far more than simply a boundary around the water, the coping rises up to establish presence, geometry, color, and style as a prominent work of hardscape in backyard landscape design.

Swimming Pool Designer

Acting as general contractor and project design specialist, Exterior Worlds works with the best swimming pool designers in the area to help you make your dream for a custom swimming pool—from the simple to the elaborate—a reality.

The list of landscape possibilities for pools is nearly endless and varied. Maybe you want a plush entertainment area. If so, then we can devise a plan that might include a deck design with outdoor gazebo, retaining walls that double as seating, an outdoor room or an outdoor kitchen around a poolscape that was especially designed for you by your selected swimming pool designer. If your dream is for more of a private retreat, we can set the scene with a pool and spa, verdant greenery and a suitable privacy fence, perhaps embellished with antique ornamental iron flourishes.

Following are the broad steps we usually follow as project design specialists in working with you and swimming pool designers:

• As the project design specialist, Exterior Worlds takes an overview of the entire job. This position entails listening to your desires and needs, accounting for the site’s potential and limitations, integrating the pool into your overall landscape design, scheduling the workflow and adhering to budget requirements. Part of this job means recommending the appropriate swimming pool designer and, with more than two decades in this business, we know the true players in this region.
• Our team will visit you at your home to gather information about what your goals are. How will you use the pool? What do you want the pool to look like, the rest of the landscape? We will also assess what is feasible, including measuring the yard and noting sunlight patterns. Our goal is to incorporate your ideas and preferences into a seamless layout that is both elegant and functional.
• The pool designer will then submit the pool’s design for your approval. We will also make sure that you understand what to expect during the construction phase—of the pool and any other elements you have requested. After you have signed off on the plans, we begin construction. Most luxury swimming pools take about two to three months to build, depending on weather.

One team member that Exterior Worlds offers its clients is a designated project coordinator. It has been our experience that pool construction projects that do not have a dedicated coordinator drag on and go over budget. There are numerous steps to constructing a pool and they must be done in a logical order. A tight rein over those steps saves you money.

If your poolscape is older and looks outdated, a remodeling job by Exterior Worlds can breathe new life into it. We can make it look young again, which has the side benefit of increasing your property’s value.

As experts in remodeling jobs, we highly recommend using a general contractor or project design specialist. Remodeling jobs are more technical than new pool construction and require agile problem-solving skills. Additionally, we employ our expertise to keep the pool in scale and relationship with your existing landscape elements.

Call Exterior Worlds at 713-827-2255 for project management of pool construction or pool remodeling.

Swimming Pool Builders

Swimming pool builders are the specialists you call upon for the actual building of the pool’s structure. Their work begins with the groundwork—digging the hole into the desired shape and installing the rebar that becomes the supporting foundation of the pool. The next steps require applying the gunite to the shell and plastering it.

For more than 20 years, Exterior Worlds has served as general contractor and project designer for swimming pool construction. Our expertise includes pools for existing homes, new home construction and pool remodeling. We provide the essential, and often money-saving, service of scheduling the various contractors, such as the swimming pool builder, the mason workers and electricians, so that the project is completed on time. This oversight also ensures that the work flow is logical to avoid having to tear out completed work and start over because one step was out of sequence.

An additional benefit of using our project design services is that we take your dreams and desires for your pool and integrate them into your overall garden design. For instance, you may want to situate the pool so that your summer kitchen opens onto it. Or perhaps your patio design has an outdoor fire place that creates a secondary focal point. We work hard to make sure that all the zones of your landscape design are in proper relationship with each other.

Before you get to the point of needing a swimming pool builder, we will help you go through the decisions of the pre-construction phase, which includes these considerations:

• Material choices. Pool decking, usually some kind of masonry or stone, surrounds the immediate area around a luxury swimming pool. For pool decking, the choice of materials varies depending on personal preferences, preferred budgets and design considerations. We recommend surfaces like stone, brick and concrete as beautiful and durable options because these non-slippery products are good for wet areas. We also encourage our clients to coordinate their selection with any existing materials, as in a mature landscape and on the exterior of their home.
• The extras. Landscape lighting creates additional pleasure—few elements in a landscape have quite the visual power created by the interplay of water, light and shadow. Thus, good landscape lighting allows you to enjoy the pool at night even when you’re not in it. It also makes the pool safer for nighttime swimming. Speaking of safety, we also discuss with our clients the option of a pool fence. An ornamental iron fence around the pool is often a sensible—and attractive—provision.
• Pool options. There are scores of add-ons you can put onto your pool to increase your overall enjoyment of it. For example, spas, caves, natural falls, a pool water fountain, slides, diving boards and vanishing edges. We help our clients think through how they intend to use the pool and what features would be practical, yet enhance their pleasure.

Custom swimming pools turn a backyard into a perfect entertainment area, whether your lifestyle involves business entertainment or creating a fun center for children and teens. Let Exterior Worlds find the right swimming pool builder for you.

Exterior Worlds has been providing landscape services, including project management for swimming pools construction and remodeling, to upscale neighborhoods in the Houston area since 1987. Call 713-827-2255 for a consultation.

Houston Swimming Pool

What can Exterior Worlds tell us about the advantages of a luxury swimming pool?
A luxury swimming pool completes the design of your home because it is a natural extension of your indoor living space. For an upscale home, it is a necessity. When it comes time to sell your home, it is an expected amenity and also distinguishes your property from others.

Additionally, luxury swimming pools are great for entertaining whether your party is for business associates or for the grandchildren and their friends. Pools provide healthful exercise and, in this part of the world, they supply an enjoyable place to cool off during our intense summer months.

A source of lifelong enjoyment, a luxury swimming pool creates a backyard sanctuary or family center and is for those people who want to maximize their leisure time. You will want to work with a landscape architect or landscape designer to ensure that your other exterior spaces, such as an outdoor room, outdoor kitchen or garden structures, integrate well with the swimming pool design.

What design questions do I begin with?
Here are some of the issues you’ll want to discuss before taking the plunge:

• How will you use the pool? Will it be a play pool for children or are you planning to swim laps? For daily use or for entertaining?
• Do you want it heated?
• Do you want add-ons such as diving boards and slides, underwater benches, a sun shelf, a spa, waterfalls and negative edges?
• Where will you store your swimming pool equipment?
• What about a salt system? There are pros and cons to this popular choice. We tell our Exterior World clients to be aware of the surrounding material choices if they select a salt system since salt has a corrosive effect and can negatively impact soft decking materials.
• What about safety? One suggestion we make is with the use of fences. We like to hide pool fences and gates by weaving them among shrubbery. This method makes the pool area safe, up to code and aesthetically pleasing.

What materials are people using these days for pools?
Quality materials include:

• Your first choice is plaster which usually means marcite, Georgia or Canadian marble that has been crushed to a fine powder. It hardens like concrete and seals the pool’s interior. You can upgrade your look with quartz finishes—Diamond Brite™ and 3M™ Colorquartz, to name two—that come in a wide range of colors and textures. Or a different upgrade is exposed aggregate, a tumbled rock that is slightly larger than quartz. Pebble Tec® and River Rok are well-known brands.
• For the color of your plaster, we suggest a neutral palette that provides a timeless look. If you want something more daring, you can choose from a long list of colors, including dramatic black or green.
• The area that immediately surrounds the pool is called coping. Care should be taken to make it non-slippery, so good choices are tile, stone and brick. Your coping material should work well with the colors of your home’s exterior.

Houston Pool Design

We are thinking about putting in a swimming pool. What can Exterior Worlds tell us about Houston pool design services?
Exterior Worlds excels at working with a discriminating clientele and all their landscape design needs, including the design and build-out of a pool. A major plus in hiring Exterior Worlds to handle your Houston pool design is the overall vision and concern we would have for your project. In general, pool contractors aren’t concerned with the whole landscape design project and make errors, such as setting the pool elevations too low or too high, and disregarding the home’s architecture.

These days, a luxury swimming pool is a necessity for any upscale home in our area. When it comes time to sell your home, it is an expected amenity. Additionally, the pool and all its components complete the design of the home and extend your living space. Swimming pools are great for entertaining, whether you do casual get-togethers, family gatherings or business entertainment. And best of all—as anyone who has endured our long hot summer season will agree—pools provide a natural place to cool off.

As for the design element, you can choose from any number of interesting shapes, materials and plantings. Whatever suits your tastes and needs—from a dramatic play of water to the simple fun of playing in the water. A water-park for children, a cocktail pool, an Olympic-sized pool or a water work of art are just a few examples of pool designs.

What materials are people using in building a swimming pool?
It is an exciting time in pool design, which has seen an explosion of quality finishes. With plaster, the standard is still marcite, which hardens like concrete and seals the interior of the pool. You can find upgrades in a full spectrum of colors and textures. Popular brand names for a Houston pool design include Diamond Brite™ and 3M™ Colorquartz™.

You can also have fun with the color of the plaster. Manufacturers now offer an array of colors for pool finishes—blues, greens, even black. Of course, a neutral palette is always appropriate and provides a timelessness that avoids a dated look when fashion changes.

Coping is the area that immediately surrounds the pool and blends the pool area into your total landscape architecture. Our clients like tile, stone and brick because of their non-slippery surfaces, something that is essential in a wet area.

By the way, if you have an existing pool that needs updating, you can use these materials for that purpose, too.

What are some of the other choices we’ll be facing when thinking about our Houston pool design?
Just to name a couple:
You might want to look into the salt systems, which have both pros and cons. The main thing to be aware of concerns the surrounding material choices since salt has a corrosive effect and it can cause soft decking materials to deteriorate.

Pools are an excellent place to work in a spa or an outdoor water fountain. You’ll not only enjoy them, but get the benefit of eliminating the maintenance of an additional body of water.

Outdoor swimming pool design

Outdoor swimming pool design is a very exciting aspect of landscape architecture. When guests visit, they invariably want to go to the pool. Regardless of whether or not they plan to swim, tan, or gather around the patio for conversation, it is essential to get the pool installed correctly. As an almost immediate extension of the human living experience, swimming pool design must, above everything else, respect home. Its size must be proportional to the house, and its surrounding patio must likewise compliment the surrounding yard. In order to get so many things right, it is best to have professional landscape architects conceptualize, initiate, and develop outdoor swimming pool design from start to finish.

This is because the professional landscape architect has higher criteria for outdoor swimming pool design than the ones pool companies typically specify. There are a number of details that can only be addressed by a landscaping company that visualizes the entire property as a unified whole. Considerations such as the elevation of the water and the depth of each can only be made accurately estimated by the professionals who sculpt the terrain itself. Pool contractors have not been trained in landscaping will often lower these specifications to save clients money on outdoor swimming pool design. This does not pay off in the long run. While costs are saved in the short term, aesthetics are compromised in the long term.

Landscape architects would rather people they ultimately want rather than take financial shortcuts that will ultimately lead to a dissatisfied homeowner. We work with many people with a sense of outdoor luxury, for example, who want to have their swimming pool designed with more than one water feature. Such things as water jets, fountains, artificial waterfalls, and even heated spas can all be incorporated into the design specifications of a swimming pool. This actually saves the client money because installing all these water features as separate elements requires additional materials and contract labor than it does to incorporate them into the pool.

When a professional landscape design services firm oversees and manages outdoor swimming pool design, everybody wins that the end of the day. The landscaper will draw up detailed plans for the pool and show the homeowner exactly how it will function in the new landscape. The pool company will then apply its expertise to building a structure that functions reliably and safely without mishap or mechanical failure. When the finished product is complete, the new custom swimming pool, lit brilliantly with underwater lighting, will look superb in relation to trees, gardens, statuary, arbors, and outdoor rooms.

Flagstone Patios

We want to do something to our patio’s design that will both increase our pleasure in it and enhance the value of our property. Does Exterior Worlds think a flagstone patio is a good choice?

Nothing completes the look of a patio better than flagstone. A flagstone patio denotes hardiness, security, wherewithal and permanence. It is durable. It provides a neutral palette. Its bluish coloring expresses a cool beauty, which is particularly welcoming during Houston’s hot summer months. It’s easy to see why flagstone is a popular choice for patios.

Discuss patios, in general.Patios are a type of hardscape, the term used by landscapers to describe the non-plant material in your landscape design. You will want your material choices within that entire group to be coordinated and also complement the architecture of your house. Because of its hardiness and beauty, flagstone also works well for a retaining wall, built-in seating and planters.

A patio serves as a transition space between your home and the rest of your landscaping, playing a critical role in your garden landscape. By enlarging your living space, patios make the house feel bigger and unite the interior and exterior spaces. It gives you an opportunity to display your own aesthetic, both from the yard and from the view out the windows of your home. And they give you an opportunity to better enjoy the out-of-doors.
Patio designs can be worked into the classical features of a formal landscape design or the rampant abundance of an English garden design. They can include a vine-covered garden arbor or a well-appointed outdoor room. You want the design of this personal and private space to reflect your personality, whatever different elements you choose. In this vein, we would recommend a landscape designer or landscape architect—someone who can make your patio completely functional, but also custom design the space just for you and your family.

How can we integrate a flagstone patio into the rest of our landscape design?

Since flagstone creates an impermeable surface, you need to think through its impact on your yard drainage system. Exterior Worlds works with some of the best drainage contractors in the Gulf Coast area.
Flagstone is especially suited as a material choice for pathways. Garden pathways are important to landscape design because they lead your guests out into the rest of the landscape. They also help direct the eye across the green expanse of a yard.

A focal point will draw the eye to it and will be the highlight of your patio. An outdoor water fountain works beautifully on a flagstone patio because the water element becomes the center of attention and gives the eye a place to rest amongst all the stone.

What exactly is flagstone?

Sometimes called bluestone or freestone, flagstone belongs in the sandstone family. It possesses a hardness, but, at the same time, is relatively thin, making it perfectly suited for out-of-doors flooring. Its fine-grained surface contains specks of mica, which glitter and glimmer when the sun’s light catches it just right, producing texture and interest in an outdoor setting.

Outdoor water fountains

Our landscape needs a special focal point. What does Exterior Worlds suggest?

Outdoor water fountains make a stylish statement about your home by creating a refined ambiance. Typically, each fountain is different and therefore an original. It is like building a working piece of art into your landscape. You can use them to enhance the architectural style of your house. They can be designed to be played in, thus providing welcome relief during Houston’s infamous summer season. In these technological times, fountains are quite functional, serving as camouflage for annoying traffic and loud air-conditioning units.

While there are many ways to design and build a fountain, during the typical design process, the scope of the work is defined and a budget developed. Cost factors include material choices, ongoing maintenance contracts, and integration with hardscapes such as custom patios, seat walls, retaining walls, steps etc..

We advise our clients that building a custom outdoor water fountain appears to be like building a swimming pool, but is actually more difficult. It takes practical know-how and experience to avoid common mistakes when designing or constructing one. We work with our clients to provide as much information as possible to insure that their fountain is the success they deserve.

What are some of the designs outdoor water fountains come in?

You can find them in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles, such as Roman, Moorish or Asian-influenced. Additional features can be added, such as a waterfall or a contemporary wall fountain. Whatever style you prefer, be sure to pick a fountain that fits your home and garden landscape.

Designing your own fountains may be more expensive than choosing a prefabricated ones, but our clients have enjoyed these long-term benefits:

• A common problem of ready-mades is “over-spray” or water coming out of the fountain. This malfunction creates subsequent problems, such as the area near the fountain becoming slippery or moldy, the fountain running out of water, and discoloration of the adjacent materials due to chlorination.

A custom-built fountain addresses these problems during the design process.

• Custom-built fountains can be constructed with special features, almost none of which are available on prefabricated fountains. Enhancements include overflow release valves to drain excess water, auto-fill lines to maintain the water level, skimmers, filters, lights, auto-chlorinators and backwash lines (for easy cleaning).

• Custom-built fountains can be built much bigger than prefabricated ones, which is important when working with the scale of some homes and buildings.

What can Exterior Worlds tell us about the materials they are made of?

Many outdoor water fountains are constructed with tile, marble, rock, natural stone, and polished. Other popular choices include stone masonry products such as sandstone, limestone, brick, and concrete blocks. The basins that act as a reservoir are typically made with gunite and rebar, and then plastered—as found with a swimming pool. These interior surfaces are sometimes re-surfaced with stone, pebbles or mosaics. Your process of selection should begin with materials that work in the Houston area. These materials need to handle our climate’s extreme sunlight, rain and other natural elements.

Hardscape Design

When we use the term hardscape, we are referring to landscape structures that are made from inorganic materials.. These structures include many things such as driveways, patios, walls, fencing, and drainage and intertwine with organic elements to contribute to overall landscape design. Hardscape must always be treated as a very critical and precise science. Because the human mind is naturally drawn to order and system, nay man made structures on the landscape has to be carefully engineered to compliment organic essence and resident architectural style. It must always work to develop the aesthetic of the home and the terrain; it must never clash with its surroundings.

Professional hardscape design requires careful choices in material selection. Different materials will create different states of mind when viewed by residents and guests. The sense we get from a brick walkway is not going to be the same as the impression we receive from a concrete sidewalk. Materials should be used in hardscape design that will ultimately unify the home with the landscape and work to establish a corresponding theme between the two. Wood is often used to contribute a simple, traditional sensibility in structures like outdoor rooms. Concrete patios are often used to establish the stark sense of contrast that characterizes contemporary design. Various types of stone work ranging from cut stone to limestone and tile are used to suggest any number of thematic connotations ranging from a formal Old World entryway to a sense of wilderness in the spaces that surround a natural swimming pool.

Drainage is another important element of every hardscape design project. Every structure built in a front yard or back yard will act like a dam for rainwater, so we must build a mechanism of some sort that will prevent water it from encroaching into the structure or collecting around its walls. Drainage design must accomplish this at a functional value while simultaneously upholding the aesthetic. Different techniques are used to balance these two demands, such as hiding drain inlets and building custom decorative drain grates that conceal their function behind ornamentation. In some cases we may need to pitch drains in order to lessen the number drain inlets. In instances where it simply will not work to have any visible drain built into the hardscape itself, (such as we see in certain patios, walkways, and motor courts), then we will have to build these structures a very subtle slope (albeit unnoticeable slope) that causes water to drain without impediment.

Hardscape design also includes the construction of other structures such seat walls, retaining wall, columns, and curbs. These elements are built either as components of irrigation systems, or barriers to water encroachment coming from areas outside of the landscape proper. Again, building these features must be done very carefully so as to maintain balance and harmony with their surroundings. This usually results in hardscape design becoming the most expensive line item on an invoice due to its complexity and high demand for only the best of materials. This being considered, this is definitely one element of landscape design you never want to contract yourself or leave in the hands of anything other than the very best and most experienced landscaping architect. Any attempt to take a shortcut will only result in poor results that cost more money down the line to go back and do over again.

Pool and Patio

Pool and patio design starts as a relationship of duality that expands in all directions into the rest of the outdoor space. Respect to home architecture is a priority for pool and patio design, because it places these elements in proportion to the remainder of the landscape. It also provides a focal point around which to build any number of patio styles that extend architecture into green space to create new form through functionality.

The sizes of pools and patios size are based on the lifestyle of the residents and the way they intend to use these new structures. Many people want a custom pool just for family use. Other people intend to use the pool and patio to host outdoor events and large gatherings. For such clients, we have to take the time to clearly understand their future plans in order to create something that will effectively accommodate the number of people estimated to attend the average event. Some patios can be massive in size, taking up a large portion of the yard to accommodate many different activities and interests. It is not uncommon for us to construct other structures near the pool that are also used to host outdoor entertainment events. Such things as outdoor kitchens, fire pits, and outdoor fireplaces are often located at the end of a custom swimming pool.

Pool patios can be constructed using any number of materials. Ideally, these materials should be selected according to their ability to support key architectural elements the overall theme of the landscape. For instance, over the past few years, we created a number of contemporary landscapes in the Memorial Area. Concrete pool patios worked very well for these environments because they supported a clean look with stark linear forms. In French and Mediterranean landscapes, we built stone patios that allude to the rocky cliffs of the Riviera, Italian Coast, and Greek Islands. On one project, we used actual rocks to create special patios around natural swimming pools built to emulate woodland ponds or waterfalls. Still another project involved creating a pool with no patio.

As diverse as these many projects were, all pool patios we have created over the years share certain basic elements. No matter what materials we use to construct them, we make construct patios as flat as possible so that they can comfortably and safely support foot traffic. We also build them with some sort of drainage system that allows water to quickly run off before it forms a hazardous, slick surface. We can incorporate any number of unique drainage systems as either integrated or concealed elements of the patio itself.

Keep in mind too that Exterior Worlds not only develops the plans for pool and patio construction, but we actually find the best possible pool contractor to install the materials and handle the construction end of the project under the strict management of the landscaping plan we develop in partnership with the homeowner.

Houston Custom Swimming Pools

When we use the term “custom swimming pool” we are using it in a slightly different way than pool construction companies use it. In our mind, a custom swimming pool is one that has specifically designed as an integral component of the landscape, home, and the lifestyle of the resident. In all honesty, we also are very up front with the fact that this means spending more money than you normally would if you went directly to a pool contractor. Due to the higher level of detail that goes into planning a custom swimming pool as part of a master landscaping plan, a higher investment will be required. However, you will ultimately be satisfied when you realize your return on investment in the form of a higher level of functionality and aesthetics relative to the appearance of the home, additional outdoor structures, gardens, and special vegetation forms.

Creating a custom swimming pool takes more than just picking out a style. When landscaping architects work with pool contractors, they actually act as liaisons between homeowners and pool specialists. They create a master plan for the whole property, and then they develop the pool around the topography, needs of the homeowner, and pay close attention to the need to respect the architecture of the home. A great deal of our consulting process involves taking a very close look at your intentions and desires for outdoor space in general. Getting a clear picture of how a swimming pool can play a role in fulfilling these specifics helps us to better communicate a clear picture of value to the pool company that more tightly focuses their expertise and streamlines it into ours.

This is much more to your advantage in the long run, because the highly specialized nature of custom swimming pools requires pool companies to focus on the pools themselves, not necessarily how those pools reflect and compliment surrounding landscape design. We are not saying that pool companies only think of their own benefit, but instead that pool companies only of its benefit often lack the background in architecture and landscaping needed to fully integrate their work into the surrounding exterior designs.

We therefore set criteria very high for custom swimming pools. We consider details like the elevation of the water and the how deep each step is as it relates to surrounding terrain, patios, structures, and vegetation. Our intention is to create a smooth transition from outdoor space to pool space, be it in the water or out of the water. Many times contractors will not be so precise in their designs. They will try to meet the homeowner at a point of budget by lowering these types of specifications.

However, in the long run, we believe that the interests of the homeowner are better served by placing cost at a level of secondary importance to the overall quality of the pool, its many elements, and its ultimate impact on the landscape. Every factor such as rebar spacing, wall thickness, and the professional installation of lighting to minimize glare luminance are factors we carefully assess, specify, and meticulously bid. Other custom swimming pool elements are developed in accordance with personal preference and homeowner lifestyle. Many designs are very innovative, such as natural swimming pools and pools surrounded by grass patios. Some feature unique elements like fountain jets, cut stone drain covers, and spas.