Inspired by the desire to connect the cozy contemporary interior with the natural desert landscape, this project created an inviting outdoor kitchen and pool area. With split-faced limestone cladding, a gray-toned countertop, and large-format vein-cut limestone pavers, the design seamlessly bridged the indoor and outdoor spaces. Windowed cutouts on the feature wall framed picturesque sunsets, offering an open feel while ensuring privacy. Through innovative design elements and careful material selection, this desert oasis surpassed expectations, providing unforgettable moments of outdoor dining and relaxation in a harmonious and stylish setting.

Mid-sized backyard rectangular lap pool in DC Metro with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Pool in Parkland with Custom Wet Edge Spa, Bar Area, Designed by Kevin Van Kirk Photographed by Lawrence Mansell
Inspiration for an expansive modern backyard rectangular natural pool in Miami with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

www.jacobelliott.com
Photo of an expansive contemporary backyard rectangular lap pool in San Francisco with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Sometimes, the weather is just too nice to not bring a little of the outside in! With these doors, you can have the best of both worlds.
Expansive transitional backyard rectangular infinity pool in Dallas with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

My client for this project was a builder/ developer. He had purchased a flat two acre parcel with vineyards that was within easy walking distance of downtown St. Helena. He planned to “build for sale” a three bedroom home with a separate one bedroom guest house, a pool and a pool house. He wanted a modern type farmhouse design that opened up to the site and to the views of the hills beyond and to keep as much of the vineyards as possible. The house was designed with a central Great Room consisting of a kitchen area, a dining area, and a living area all under one roof with a central linear cupola to bring natural light into the middle of the room. One approaches the entrance to the home through a small garden with water features on both sides of a path that leads to a covered entry porch and the front door. The entry hall runs the length of the Great Room and serves as both a link to the bedroom wings, the garage, the laundry room and a small study. The entry hall also serves as an art gallery for the future owner. An interstitial space between the entry hall and the Great Room contains a pantry, a wine room, an entry closet, an electrical room and a powder room. A large deep porch on the pool/garden side of the house extends most of the length of the Great Room with a small breakfast Room at one end that opens both to the kitchen and to this porch. The Great Room and porch open up to a swimming pool that is on on axis with the front door. The main house has two wings. One wing contains the master bedroom suite with a walk in closet and a bathroom with soaking tub in a bay window and separate toilet room and shower. The other wing at the opposite end of the househas two children’s bedrooms each with their own bathroom a small play room serving both bedrooms. A rear hallway serves the children’s wing, a Laundry Room and a Study, the garage and a stair to an Au Pair unit above the garage. A separate small one bedroom guest house has a small living room, a kitchen, a toilet room to serve the pool and a small covered porch. The bedroom is ensuite with a full bath. This guest house faces the side of the pool and serves to provide privacy and block views ofthe neighbors to the east. A Pool house at the far end of the pool on the main axis of the house has a covered sitting area with a pizza oven, a bar area and a small bathroom. Vineyards were saved on all sides of the house to help provide a private enclave within the vines. The exterior of the house has simple gable roofs over the major rooms of the house with sloping ceilings and large wooden trusses in the Great Room and plaster sloping ceilings in the bedrooms. The exterior siding through out is painted board and batten siding similar to farmhouses of other older homes in the area. Clyde Construction: General Contractor Photographed by: Paul Rollins

The backyard for this prestigious Toronto home was sloping at the rear, so retaining walls were built to create a level area for the pool and deck. The simple elegant design features full-width entry steps, and at the deep end, an elevated Brazilian Ipe hardwood deck with lounge area. The pool's gray Armorcoat interior is framed by the Indiana limestone coping and deck. An adjoining cabana features a washroom and change room, while the pool equipment is discreetly hidden behind the shrubs at the back. (16 x 36, rectangular)

Landshapes offers the exclusive line of San Juan fiberglass pools and spas. As a San Juan regional dealer, we can provide our customers with the highest quality fiberglass pools and spas available on the market. These pools are so strong that you can actually freeze them and turn them into ice skating rinks. Most pool installations are completed in under a week. We can also design your pool equipment so that you have a maintenance free pool. By adding a salt water chlorinator, a UV light, and an Intelchem monitoring system you will never have to add chlorine or chemicals to keep your pool water clean.

Glenn Weiss
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern backyard custom-shaped aboveground pool in Brisbane with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Glenn Weiss
Photo of a mid-sized modern backyard custom-shaped aboveground pool in Brisbane with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Pool house Photo by Michael Lee
Design ideas for a large contemporary backyard rectangular natural pool in Boston with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Design ideas for a mid-sized tropical backyard custom-shaped infinity pool in Hawaii with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

This is an example of a large contemporary backyard rectangular lap pool in San Francisco with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Contemporary indoor rectangular lap pool in New York with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Jonathan Edwards Media
Design ideas for an expansive beach style backyard custom-shaped natural pool in Other with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Our client had a large property in Warrandyte with Yarra frontage and wanted a pool for relaxation and entertaining that would reflect the natural beauty of their land. There was an existing mud brick hut with character that was being used as a woodshed. The hut provided an opportunity to design the pool around, with it being transformed into a studio/pool house. A natural billabong style pool was designed to complement the existing landscape. Finished were all selected to blend with the natural colour palette. The pool is tiled with Bizassa Dehli glass mosaics that creates a natural dark green coloured water that provides a brilliant mirror to reflect the surrounding trees. Bluestone paving was hand cut and bull nosed on site to suit the unique shape. Natural rocks were used in between the coping to add dimension and enhance the rugged look of the landscape. One of the rocks included a feature that incorporates the sound of water running over the rock to add a tranquil ambience. The pool has a large shallow ledge area at one end, the perfect spot for lazing in the sun, with several ledges scattered throughout the pool creating spots to sit and relax. The mud hut and paving are connected by a timber decking that has a lounging and outdoor dining area, making this space not only look amazing, but highly functional for the client. Further outlining the level of detail undertaken the pool fence was hand crafted from natural timber and wire mesh to create a farm style fence. The pool is fully automated with an infloor cleaning system added to reduce maintenance for the client. It features and automatic salt chlorinator with chlorine and pH control to keep the water in balance. One of the main challenges that presented itself with this project was due to its location there was a high volume of protected trees. Although a unique challenge, the team knew this project would look its best with the original landscape preserved, therefore gaining construction access required town planning permits and careful research and consideration of the trees root zones determined the shape and location of the pool.

Backyard pool and cabana
This is an example of an expansive traditional backyard rectangular pool in Chicago with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

This is an example of a large country backyard rectangular lap pool in San Francisco with a pool house and natural stone pavers.

Photo of a large country backyard rectangular lap pool in San Francisco with a pool house and natural stone pavers.