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We may have wrapped up the project discussed here more than five years ago, but I still see this backyard almost every time I take clients around to see examples of our work. The way I figure it, there's no better way to start a portfolio tour than by knocking prospects' socks off. There's lots of cool stuff going on here, some of which can readily be seen: the sweeping, Lautner-style perimeter-overflow edge around much of the free-form pool; the glorious water-on-water vanishing edge overlooking a large pond; a nice, full-featured spa; and the floating
These days, using LED lights to illuminate rectangular or kidney-shaped pools is pretty simple: You just space the fixtures out at proper intervals on a wall facing away from prime viewing spots inside the house and on deck, specify the appropriate wattage, hook them up to a suitable control system and step back to bask in the warm nighttime glow. But that sense of routine quickly disappears when
I love it when a project teaches me a lesson about my design process. In this case, it was just a smallish insight - but it had a profound effect on the outcome just the same. I'd seen this property for the first time while the home was under construction. It was a large building, about three-quarters complete, that occupied most of a fairly large parcel. The clients were happy to show me around, let me figure things out and come
'We water and landscape professionals literally shape the outdoor environments in which we work - cutting grades, building walls, planting trees, installing pools, ponds and fountains and preparing patios, decks, planting beds and lighting systems.' 'In designing these outdoor-living spaces,' noted Bruce Zaretsky in kicking off his On the Level column in
In my career, I've applied lots of fine finishes to swimming pools, spas, fountains and other types of waterfeatures. Most often we work with glass tile, but we also keep our hands in a variety of ceramic or porcelain tiles, various mosaics and, generally, what most would call classy, top-flight materials. No two projects are ever quite the same, but the procedures we follow are: In every case, we at Rock Solid Tile (Calabasas, Calif.) end up having to work through imperfections in the concrete shells left for us by builders and their concrete crews - and that's true even if they're experienced and have
Every once in a while, a project comes along that gives you a chance to step up and demonstrate your company’s capabilities. The construction of the swimming pool seen here was just that kind of exercise for our firm. Located in Potomac, Md., the property is just west of Washington, D.C., in an exclusive neighborhood remarkable for the outstanding caliber and quantity of its watershaping and landscaping projects. We became involved here through a custom homebuilder who was remodeling the property and wanted to do something special in the backyard. This represents a perfect example of how our firm, Alpine Pool & Design of Annandale, Va., thrives in this market. Through the years, we had already worked not only with the homebuilder, but also with the architect as well as the landscape architect. When it came time to consider watershape construction, all three recommended us for the job – testimony to the fact that ever since we opened shop in 1986, we’ve done all we can to establish a reputation for high-value collaboration as part of a community of like-minded designers and contractors. We pride ourselves on being able to execute the most challenging designs and
