sloping lot

Swimming pool designs have come a long way in recent years, says design and project manager Ron Yavis of Sunshine Pools & Spas – particularly when it comes to the high-end, custom-designed, vinyl-liner pools the company specializes in designing and building for some of the continent’s most spectacular settings. To make his case for ‘custom vinyl,’ he profiles a recent project perched high above the bright waters of Canada’s Lake Okanagan.

A True Cliffhanger

For years, we at Sunshine Pools & Spas have provided high-end, custom swimming pools to a mostly affluent clientele in and around our base in Kelowna, British Columbia. Unlike many readers of this magazine, however, we specialize in satisfying those clients with vinyl-liner rather than gunite or shotcrete pools. To be sure, pools and spas of any sort are not the first things that come to mind when you think about our area, which is closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to the Sunbelt. But many residents around here do enjoy the good life and want

The pool and spa are simple in shape, says builder David Tisherman, but the project was anything but: Built on a wildly unstable Southern California hillside and intertwined with extensive remodeling of the clients’ home, the serene finished product contrasts starkly with tales of change orders and complicated decision-making processes – not to mention a desire on the part of client and designer to strive for nothing but the best.

The Art of the Rectangle

This really wasn't a job for the timid. The ground was unstable, access was limited, and the customer could afford to make massive changes along the way. Other than that, of course, the project was a piece of cake. The truth is, I enjoy a good challenge. People who know me well are aware that I revel in tackling jobs that test my mettle - and this was definitely one of those cases. Ultimately, it turned out to be one of the most satisfying and beautiful projects I've been involved with in a long while. The site is located on