Photo of a mid-sized eclectic indoor custom-shaped pool in New York with a hot tub and brick pavers.

outside living area
This is an example of a large eclectic backyard custom-shaped natural pool in Austin with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

V.I.Photography & Design
Design ideas for an eclectic front yard custom-shaped pool in Orange County with natural stone pavers.

Design ideas for an eclectic backyard custom-shaped pool in Los Angeles with a hot tub and natural stone pavers.

An existing handcrafted natural sandstone pool and terrace provides cool relief in the hot Australian summer. The dramatic view across Pittwater to Lion Island is filtered by palms and Eucalypts - native to the area.

Outdoor Pool & Landscape Lighting- Fiber optic lighting strands are one aspect of the pool lighting that creates the violin's strings and also defines lap lanes for swimmers. The NJ Cipriano Landscape Architecture office utilized fiber optic rope lighting to accent the custom shape of the violin.

Sergey Kuzmin
Inspiration for a large eclectic indoor custom-shaped pool in Moscow with a pool house and tile.

South Tampa Pool Home, modern, bohemian, beautiful and functional space.
This is an example of a mid-sized eclectic backyard custom-shaped pool in Tampa with with a pool and natural stone pavers.

Our client constructed their new home on five wooded acres in Northern Virginia, and they requested our firm to help them design the ultimate backyard retreat complete with custom natural look pool as the main focal point. The pool was designed into an existing hillside, adding natural boulders and multiple waterfalls, raised spa. Next to the spa is a raised natural wood burning fire pit for those cool evenings or just a fun place for the kids to roast marshmallows. The extensive Techo-bloc Inca paver pool deck, a large custom pool house complete with bar, kitchen/grill area, lounge area with 60" flat screen TV, full audio throughout the pool house & pool area with a full bath to complete the pool area. For the back of the house, we included a custom composite waterproof deck with lounge area below, recessed lighting, ceiling fans & small outdoor grille area make this space a great place to hangout. For the man of the house, an avid golfer, a large Southwest synthetic putting green (2000 s.f.) with bunker and tee boxes keeps him on top of his game. A kids playhouse, connecting flagstone walks throughout, extensive non-deer appealing landscaping, outdoor lighting, and full irrigation fulfilled all of the client's design parameters.

Design ideas for a large eclectic backyard custom-shaped natural pool in San Francisco with a water feature and natural stone pavers.

Photos by Eric Delaforce
Photo of a large eclectic backyard custom-shaped natural pool in Raleigh with a water feature and natural stone pavers.

Dennis Mayer Photography
Inspiration for an eclectic custom-shaped pool in San Francisco.

A tropical breezeway leads from the main house to this indoor pool house. Custom lighting, fans, fiber optic palm trees, mosaic tiled pool floor lend to the Floridian theme.

Inspiration for a large eclectic front yard custom-shaped infinity pool in Other with natural stone pavers.

This view from the home's main balcony reveals the scale of this pool, spa and waterfall / grotto. The lazy river is separated by native grasses. Design and Construction by Caviness Landscape Design, Inc. Photography by KO Rinearson PhotoArt Studios

Photo of a small eclectic indoor custom-shaped pool in Philadelphia with tile.

The Cipriano Landscape Architecture office used LED and fiber optic pool & landscape lighting to bring out all of the violin pool's characteristics. The entire pool and spa are finished in a unique glass tile gradient which beautifully reflects the pool lighting. Landscape lighting finishes out the nighttime scene for this luxury property.

Our client constructed their new home on five wooded acres in Northern Virginia, and they requested our firm to help them design the ultimate backyard retreat complete with custom natural look pool as the main focal point. The pool was designed into an existing hillside, adding natural boulders and multiple waterfalls, raised spa. Next to the spa is a raised natural wood burning fire pit for those cool evenings or just a fun place for the kids to roast marshmallows. The extensive Techo-bloc Inca paver pool deck, a large custom pool house complete with bar, kitchen/grill area, lounge area with 60" flat screen TV, full audio throughout the pool house & pool area with a full bath to complete the pool area. For the back of the house, we included a custom composite waterproof deck with lounge area below, recessed lighting, ceiling fans & small outdoor grille area make this space a great place to hangout. For the man of the house, an avid golfer, a large Southwest synthetic putting green (2000 s.f.) with bunker and tee boxes keeps him on top of his game. A kids playhouse, connecting flagstone walks throughout, extensive non-deer appealing landscaping, outdoor lighting, and full irrigation fulfilled all of the client's design parameters.

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.