spa

Natural Revision
This is a story about turning an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. It starts with a couple who had recently purchased their ideal home - one with room for them, for horses and for serenely rustic outdoor living.  But the reality as they found it was somewhat different:  The entry from the street was boring, the house was bland, the backyard space was disorganized and the
2016/11.2, November 16 — Rustic Remake, Easement Squeeze, Ancient Inspiration and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS November 16, 2016 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
Access Excess
It's a small backyard with a Texas-size easement - and a good thing that I like challenges, because designing a project for this outdoors-loving family in Katy was an exercise in making a whole bunch of ideas fit comfortably within an unusually constrained space. As we learned, their gated-community property is separated from the street directly behind it by a tall boundary wall.  This meant that there was no backing parcel to share
Defined by Details
Even after years of operation in the tile-application business, we still find fresh challenges and new sources of pride in what we do.  I think it's primarily because we spend so much of our time focusing on fine details - the little touches that turn routine work into creative exercises and repetitive tasks into ongoing sparks of inspiration. A case in point is the huge job on display in this article:  The three watershapes encompass vast square footage that includes fields of
2016/10.2, October 19 — Tile Detailing, Pond Themes, Storied Fountains and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS October 19, 2016 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
MegaChlor Chlorine Generator from ControlOMatic
ControlOMatic (Grass Valley, CA) manufactures MegaChlor, a salt chlorine generator for swim spas and swimming…
Slices of Heaven
Working on a wide range of projects in a wide range of locales for a broad range of clients is an interesting way to make a living, I have to say, but in some cases the projects we participate in are so high end that we know we'll only ever experience the finished product in pictures. A case in point is the Ani Villas, a resort property in Dikwella on the southern edge of Sri Lanka, a large island off the southern coast of India.  It's a water lover's paradise, with 270-degree views of the Indian Ocean as well as grounds dotted by multiple watershapes:  two large main pools, numerous small private plunges for certain guest rooms, a pair of pools for kids, a weeping wall to greet visitors and a river/cascade system through portions of the property. It's an amazing place, and I'm proud to say we
2016/10.1, October 5 — Distant Beauty, Pond Liner ABCs, Shotcrete’s Place and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS October 5, 2016 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
RenoSys Supplies PVC Pool Shell Liners
RenoSys (Indianapolis, IN) offers PVC liners for pool shells. Designed to deal with structural cracks…
Trash to Treasure
This is the story of the rebirth of a pool - and then some. It all started when I was contacted by a homeowner who was in what I'd call perfectly reasonable distress:  His swimming pool was a mess, he told me, surrounded by cracked decking, a crumbling slide structure and a deteriorating fireplace.  He'd already spent a bundle on piers and other fixes recommended by engineers, hoping to