Beautiful shot of this pool house at night. Architecture by Flavin Architects LLC

The chance to build a lakeside weekend home in rural NC provided this Chapel Hill family with an opportunity to ditch convention and think outside the box. For instance, we traded the traditional boat dock with what's become known as the "party dock"… a floating lounge of sorts, complete with wet bar, TV, swimmer's platform, and plenty of spots for watching the water fun. Inside, we turned one bedroom into a gym with climbing wall - and dropped the idea of a dining room, in favor of a deep upholstered niche and shuffleboard table. Outdoor drapery helped blur the lines between indoor spaces and exterior porches filled with upholstery, swings, and places for lazy napping. And after the sun goes down....smores, anyone? John Bessler

For those that lean towards a more classic, upscale pool design, Van Kirk & Sons offers our Roman or Geometric style pools. The overarching elegance and practicality of this timeless style makes it the perfect choice for a customer looking for a pool that is more symmetrical in form.

Small plunge pool with uninterrupted wide ranging of Sydney harbour

ªSteve Chenn Photography

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.

Designed By Dan Ramos with Photography by Darren Edwards

This spa features an infinity edge, black porcelain tile, and view. Other surrounding features consist of raised hardwood decks, cantilevered umbrella, BBQ island, fire pit, covered patio, and drought tolerant landscaping.

Pool landscaping and hardscape with pergola and covered deck

Flat roof pool pavilion to rear of property housing living and dining spaces, bathroom and covered outdoor seating area. Timber slat wall hides pool pumps and equipment, a vertical wall and pool seating/storage units. Rendered retaining walls provide an opportunity for planting within the pool area. Frameless glass pool fence, outdoor/pool lighting. Outdoor and pool lighting.

The Barefoot Bay Cottage is the first-holiday house to be designed and built for boutique accommodation business, Barefoot Escapes (www.barefootescapes.com.au). Working with many of The Designory’s favourite brands, it has been designed with an overriding luxe Australian coastal style synonymous with Sydney based team. The newly renovated three bedroom cottage is a north facing home which has been designed to capture the sun and the cooling summer breeze. Inside, the home is light-filled, open plan and imbues instant calm with a luxe palette of coastal and hinterland tones. The contemporary styling includes layering of earthy, tribal and natural textures throughout providing a sense of cohesiveness and instant tranquillity allowing guests to prioritise rest and rejuvenation. Images captured by Jessie Prince

This resort style pool has a pergola canopy over the seating area and fire table. The pool has glass mosaic tiles and a spa with a shallow sundeck and plenty of space for lounge chairs and umbrellas. This Florida Modern Home in Lake Mary is designed and built by Orlando Custom Home Builder Jorge Ulibarri, a top custom builder in Orange, Seminole, Lake County, Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Lake Mary, Lake Nona, Sanford, Mt. Dora, Longwood, Altamonte Springs, and Windermere. Jorge Ulibarri custom homes is proficient in designing all styles of homes including modern, classical, traditional, Tuscan, and Spanish Mediterranean. For more go to https://cornerstonecustomconstruction.com