The warmth of dark composite decking, coupled with lush greenery and minimalist pool give this outdoor area a tropical jungle vibe.

A Sympathetic In-between Positioned at the edge of the Field of Mars Reserve, Walless Cabana is the heart of family living, where people and nature come together harmoniously and embrace each other. In creating a seamless transition between the existing family home and the distant bushland, Walless Cabana deliberately curates the language of its surroundings through the Japanese concept of 'Shakkei' or borrowed scenery, ensuring its humble and respectful presence in place. Despite being a permanent structure, it is a transient space that adapts and changes dynamically with everchanging nature, personalities and lifestyle.

Landscape design & construction by Bayon Gardens // Photography by Tim Turner

This stunning pool has an Antigua Pebble finish, tanning ledge and 5 bar seats. The L-shaped, open-air cabana houses an outdoor living room with a custom fire table, a large kitchen with stainless steel appliances including a sink, refrigerator, wine cooler and grill, a spacious dining and bar area with leathered granite counter tops and a spa like bathroom with an outdoor shower making it perfect for entertaining both small family cookouts and large parties.

This Bradford Spa which are made with stainless steel and tile inlay. The inside dimensions of this tub are 12-ft by 8-ft and 14-ft 8-in x 9.5-ft outside dimension.

E.S. Templeton Signature Landscapes

Peter Koenig Landscape Designer, Gene Radding General Contracting, Creative Environments Swimming Pool Construction

This project, by Houston based pool builder and authorized Ledge Lounger Dealer, Custom Design Pools, features multiple seating areas, both in pool and out of pool, making it ideal for entertaining and socializing.

Photo by Scott Pease

landscape design by merge studio © ramsay photography

The client's came to us wanting a design that was going to open up their small backyard and give them somewhere for their family to enjoy and entertain for many years to come. This project presented many technical challenges due to the levels required to comply with various building regulations. Clever adaptations such privacy screens, floating deck entry and hidden pool gate behind the raised feature wall were all design elements that make this project more suitable to the smaller area. The main design feature that was a key to the functionality of this pool was the raised infinity edge, with the pool wall designed to comply with current pool barrier standards. With no pool fence between the pool and house the space appears more open with the noise of the water falling over the edge into a carefully concealed balance tank adding a very tranquil ambience to the outdoor area. With the accompanying fire pit and sitting area, this space not only looks amazing but is functional all year round and the low maintenance fully automated pool cleaning system provides easy operation and maintenance.

Request Free Quote This hot tub which is located in Glen Ellyn, IL measures 7'0" x 10'0" and is raised above the deck level. The water depth is 3'0". The tub features 8 hydrotherapy jets, an LED color-changing light, an automatic pool safety cover, Valder's Limestone coping and natural stone veneer on the exterior walls. Photos by Larry Huene.

The homeowner of this traditional home requested a traditional pool and spa with a resort-like style and finishes. AquaTerra was able to create this wonderful outdoor environment with all they could have asked for. While the pool and spa may be simple on the surface, extensive planning went into this environment to incorporate the intricate deck pattern. During site layout and during construction, extreme attention to detail was required to make sure nothing compromised the precise deck layout. The pool is 42'x19' and includes a custom water feature wall, glass waterline tile and a fully tiled lounge with bubblers. The separate spa is fully glass tiled and is designed to be a water feature with custom spillways when not in use. LED lighting is used in both the pool and spa to create dramatic lighting that can be enjoyed at night. The pool/spa deck is made of 2'x2' travertine stones, four to a square, creating a 4'x4' grid that is rotated 45 degrees in relation to the pool. In between all of the stones is synthetic turf that ties into the synthetic turf putting green that is adjacent to the deck. Underneath all of this decking and turf is a concrete sub-deck to support and drain the entire system. Finishes and details that increase the aesthetic appeal for project include: -All glass tile spa and spa basin -Travertine deck -Tiled sun lounge with bubblers -Custom water feature wall -LED lighting -Synthetic turf This traditional pool and all the intricate details make it a perfect environment for the homeowners to live, relax and play! Photography: Daniel Driensky

Jeri Koegel

We were contacted by a family named Pesek who lived near Memorial Drive on the West side of Houston. They lived in a stately home built in the late 1950’s. Many years back, they had contracted a local pool company to install an old lagoon-style pool, which they had since grown tired of. When they initially called us, they wanted to know if we could build them an outdoor room at the far end of the swimming pool. We scheduled a free consultation at a time convenient to them, and we drove out to their residence to take a look at the property. After a quick survey of the back yard, rear of the home, and the swimming pool, we determined that building an outdoor room as an addition to their existing landscaping design would not bring them the results they expected. The pool was visibly dated with an early “70’s” look, which not only clashed with the late 50’s style of home architecture, but guaranteed an even greater clash with any modern-style outdoor room we constructed. Luckily for the Peseks, we offered an even better landscaping plan than the one they had hoped for. We proposed the construction of a new outdoor room and an entirely new swimming pool. Both of these new structures would be built around the classical geometry of proportional right angles. This would allow a very modern design to compliment an older home, because basic geometric patterns are universal in many architectural designs used throughout history. In this case, both the swimming pool and the outdoor rooms were designed as interrelated quadrilateral forms with proportional right angles that created the illusion of lengthened distance and a sense of Classical elegance. This proved a perfect complement to a house that had originally been built as a symbolic emblem of a simpler, more rugged and absolute era. Though reminiscent of classical design and complimentary to the conservative design of the home, the interior of the outdoor room was ultra-modern in its array of comfort and convenience. The Peseks felt this would be a great place to hold birthday parties for their child. With this new outdoor room, the Peseks could take the party outside at any time of day or night, and at any time of year. We also built the structure to be fully functional as an outdoor kitchen as well as an outdoor entertainment area. There was a smoker, a refrigerator, an ice maker, and a water heater—all intended to eliminate any need to return to the house once the party began. Seating and entertainment systems were also added to provide state of the art fun for adults and children alike. We installed a flat-screen plasma TV, and we wired it for cable. The swimming pool was built between the outdoor room and the rear entrance to the house. We got rid of the old lagoon-pool design which geometrically clashed with the right angles of the house and outdoor room. We then had a completely new pool built, in the shape of a rectangle, with a rather innovative coping design. We showcased the pool with a coping that rose perpendicular to the ground out of the stone patio surface. This reinforced our blend of contemporary look with classical right angles. We saved the client an enormous amount of money on travertine by setting the coping so that it does not overhang with the tile. Because the ground between the house and the outdoor room gradually dropped in grade, we used the natural slope of the ground to create another perpendicular right angle at the end of the pool. Here, we installed a waterfall which spilled over into a heated spa. Although the spa was fed from within itself, it was built to look as though water was coming from within the pool. The ultimate result of all of this is a new sense of visual “ebb and flow,” so to speak. When Mr. Pesek sits in his couch facing his house, the earth appears to rise up first into an illuminated pool which leads the way up the steps to his home. When he sits in his spa facing the other direction, the earth rises up like a doorway to his outdoor room, where he can comfortably relax in the water while he watches TV. For more the 20 years Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's fine neighborhoods.