Location: Location: Tampa, FL, USA Hive Outdoor Living Wet Edge Pearl Matrix finish, Flagstone brick deck and coping, custom Tennessee flat rock waterfalls, outdoor kitchen with custom concrete countertops, stone Hardscape ledge stone, FireMagic grill and appliances.

Mark Boisclair

The entire deck, coping, and the wall’s façade are finished with a mixture of Palo and Rosa flagstone. A custom accent fountain with copper pipes was designed to provide a little privacy but keeping with the integrity of the neighborhood’s ambiance without destroying the bay’s view.

Complete natural stone outdoor oasis featuring pool, separate 10 person spa, koi pond, grotto, waterfalls, island and cabana. Featured on Discovery Animal Planets show The Pool Master.

The 25-by-15-foot reverse vanishing edge pool echoes the trapezoidal shape of the waterfeature and seat walls in the forecourt, while the leading-edge overflow reinforces the feminine curve of the seat walls introduced as one first experienced the home's front entry. The bold curve intentionally imparts a sensuous line to the otherwise masculine, angular framework. The planter walls behind the pool are cantilevered by 4" and create a sleek and distinct shadow line that underscores their form, levitating them above the water. michaelwoodall.com

Years ago, Exterior Worlds was contacted by a couple by the names of Rick and Susan Ashcroft. They asked if we could do something about the lagoon-style swimming pool that had been built behind their house in the late1940s. This style had been very popular at that time, and it is still a favored by some of the world’s more lavish resorts. However, ever since the day they had purchased their home, the Ashcroft’s had always been agitated by the ostentatiousness of the whole thing, and had finally decided to have it redesigned as a natural swimming pool. They wanted their back yard to retain the feeling of a tropical locale, but lose the touristic element in favor of that of a cozier, more private corner of paradise. We agreed with their sentiments wholeheartedly. Just a cursory glance at the property confirmed that a natural swimming pool design was a much better fit for the grade of the landscape and the surrounding opportunities for vegetation and lighting. The Ashcroft residence was located on the side of a hill that sloped down toward a ravine, and the house itself house was built 40 feet back from the road. The steep grade of the land posed construction challenges to any type of water feature, but there was a way to build a natural swimming pool here that would achieve the aesthetic the Ashcroft’s were seeking and create a lasting element that required only limited and very intermittent periods of maintenance. We began by stripping the pool down to its shell and building a retaining wall that offset the grade of the land. We shaped the surrounding earth around it into a much deeper basin that would allow water to collect naturally like it does at the base of a cliff. A series of interlocking pavers was laid around the perimeter to create a flat surface that extended from the back of the home to the retaining wall. This is a standard aesthetic used in most natural swimming pools, but it also served a special, practical purpose in this instance. Since this area was subject to heavy land erosion from runoff rainwater, pavers provided a very efficient way of reconstructing key elements of the structure every 5-10 years. The natural swimming pool now appeared as an inviting portal into a remote hill country getaway, just a stone’s throw away from the back of the house. We made it easier to reach by building two series of stone steps that led down to either side of the water’s edge. We were careful to avoid making them look too much like stairs. Instead, we designed them to closely mimic the layers of rock that often jut from the sides of mountains and dormant volcanoes on islands all over the Pacific. To further develop this theme, we placed a large flat stone to serve as a diving area, and we created a waterfall on either side of it by laying down stones in a manner that created varying speeds of water. Our construction methods here were very unique in comparison to those of our competitors. We took almost a month to consciously and deliberately lay each stone by hand. While this may seem painstakingly detailed to some, the rewards were astonishing, because our natural swimming pool mimicked Nature in such a way that it lacked almost all evidence of human engineering, and looked virtually identical to something you would stumble upon in the jungle of a tropical paradise. If you are interested in any high-quality landscape services, Exterior Worlds has been providing the high-end residential landscape services and garden design services discussed above for the Houston and the surrounding areas including memorial villages (Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hunter Creek Village), Tanglewood, River Oaks, West University and the greater Houston (Hou), area since 1987. Contact us at 713-827-2255 For more the 20 years Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's fine neighborhoods.

Formal, luxury style vanishing edge pool with tile deck, custom raised coping, built-in tanning ledge, and grass/tile patio.

Small space, but big impact in this gorgeous custom pool & spa combo!

Tricia Shay Photography

Pool with White Diamonds Pebble Sheen from Pebble Technology. Waterline tile is Sicis Colibri glass tile. Custom copper water feature with acrylic panels from 3form. Travertine decking. Color LED lighting. Photos by Scott Sandler

We provide award-winning pool, spa, landscape design, and construction services. Contact us here: https://creativeenvironments.com/contact-us/

The brick decking is in a herringbone pattern that creates dynamic interest. The grass strips break up the large expanse. We made sure to include traditional planters to inject some color to the scene.

American Heritage Pool Corporation