The homeowners had a keen eye for design, so the designers at Betz got helpful suggestions and input throughout the process. The architecture and construction materials of the cabana match the home to provide a seamless overall look, while the mature evergreen plantings helped to lend privacy right from the start.

A family in West University contacted us to design a contemporary Houston landscape for them. They live on a double lot, which is large for that neighborhood. They had built a custom home on the property, and they wanted a unique indoor-outdoor living experience that integrated a modern pool into the aesthetic of their home interior. This was made possible by the design of the home itself. The living room can be fully opened to the yard by sliding glass doors. The pool we built is actually a lap swimming pool that measures a full 65 feet in length. Not only is this pool unique in size and design, but it is also unique in how it ties into the home. The patio literally connects the living room to the edge of the water. There is no coping, so you can literally walk across the patio into the water and start your swim in the heated, lighted interior of the pool. Even for guests who do not swim, the proximity of the water to the living room makes the entire pool-patio layout part of the exterior design. This is a common theme in modern pool design. The patio is also notable because it is constructed from stones that fit so tightly together the joints seem to disappear. Although the linear edges of the stones are faintly visible, the surface is one contiguous whole whose linear seamlessness supports both the linearity of the home and the lengthwise expanse of the pool. While the patio design is strictly linear to tie the form of the home to that of the pool, our modern pool is decorated with a running bond pattern of tile work. Running bond is a design pattern that uses staggered stone, brick, or tile layouts to create something of a linear puzzle board effect that captures the eye. We created this pattern to compliment the brick work of the home exterior wall, thus aesthetically tying fine details of the pool to home architecture. At the opposite end of the pool, we built a fountain into the side of the home's perimeter wall. The fountain head is actually square, mirroring the bricks in the wall. Unlike a typical fountain, the water here pours out in a horizontal plane which even more reinforces the theme of the quadrilateral geometry and linear movement of the modern pool. We decorated the front of the home with a custom garden consisting of small ground cover plant species. We had to be very cautious around the trees due to West U’s strict tree preservation policies. In order to avoid damaging tree roots, we had to avoid digging too deep into the earth. The species used in this garden—Japanese Ardesia, foxtail ferns, and dwarf mondo not only avoid disturbing tree roots, but they are low-growth by nature and highly shade resistant. We also built a gravel driveway that provides natural water drainage and preserves the root zone for trees. Concrete pads cross the driveway to give the homeowners a sure-footing for walking to and from their vehicles.

Fotograf: Tomek Kwiatosz Architekt: Dr. Eric Schmitz- Riol

A rustic pergola provides a shady spot beside the pool. Robert Benson Photography

garden makeover and included the pool, deck walkways, boundary wall, plants and water features

TEAM Architect: LDa Architecture & Interiors Interior Design: Kennerknecht Design Group Builder: JJ Delaney, Inc. Landscape Architect: Horiuchi Solien Landscape Architects Photographer: Sean Litchfield Photography

David Cervera / Veronica Gloria

Request Free Quote This sport pool measures 14'0" x 28'0", and is 3'6" deep at each end, 5'6" in the middle. Featuring an automatic safety cover with a custom stone lid system and Indiana Limestone coping, this pool epitomizes basic elegance. The pool features "wedding cake" steps at one end and two corner benches at the opposite end. Photos by Rockit Projects

Interior of pool house with kitchenette. French doors open on two sides to bring the outside in. © REAL-ARCH-MEDIA

Aitor Estévez

The original pool had a small spa inside the main pool footprint. We moved the spa outside and to the east end of the rectangular pool, making it larger and surrounded by a tanning shelf. Entire yard was ripped out and redesigned with new cement, turf and a living/dining pavilion. Photo Credit: Henry Connell