Rob Bramhall
Small modern backyard rectangular lap pool in Miami with a water feature and concrete pavers.

This Zen Water Feature With Small Pond in Boca Raton, Florida is the perfect highlight of a backyard oasis retreat!
This is an example of a small backyard custom-shaped natural pool in Miami with a water feature and natural stone pavers.

Exposed steel post and beam and walls of ceiling to floor windows, glazed corners, and oversized sliding glass doors open this Hollywood Hill Top home to the city beyond, the ocean and the Hollywood sign.

Andrew Pogue Photography
This is an example of a contemporary pool in Austin with a water feature and natural stone pavers.

Alan D Holt ASLA Landscape Architect This simple pool creates an inviting outdoor space for this home in WaterColor. Three large matching pots have a jet of water that creates pleasant white noise. The pool deck and coping is precast concrete pavers. The elevated decks are Ipe. Lounge chairs are shaded by a pool umbrella. This picture shows the gate latch that complies with Florida Pool Code integrated into the wood fence.

Photo of an expansive traditional backyard custom-shaped lap pool in Orlando with natural stone pavers and a water feature.

Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional backyard custom-shaped natural pool in Dallas with a water feature and decking.

Featured in the November 2008 issue of Phoenix Home & Garden, this "magnificently modern" home is actually a suburban loft located in Arcadia, a neighborhood formerly occupied by groves of orange and grapefruit trees in Phoenix, Arizona. The home, designed by architect C.P. Drewett, offers breathtaking views of Camelback Mountain from the entire main floor, guest house, and pool area. These main areas "loft" over a basement level featuring 4 bedrooms, a guest room, and a kids' den. Features of the house include white-oak ceilings, exposed steel trusses, Eucalyptus-veneer cabinetry, honed Pompignon limestone, concrete, granite, and stainless steel countertops. The owners also enlisted the help of Interior Designer Sharon Fannin. The project was built by Sonora West Development of Scottsdale, AZ.

Request Free Quote Beautiful swimming pool with various features including a sun shelf, and different types of water jets.

This is an example of a mid-sized beach style backyard rectangular aboveground pool in Bridgeport with natural stone pavers and a water feature.

Piassick Photography, Jazon Oleniczak
Design ideas for a traditional rectangular pool in Dallas with a water feature.

Traditional kidney-shaped pool in Baltimore with a water feature.

Cody Pools - Bland
Photo of a mid-sized traditional backyard custom-shaped pool in Austin with a water feature.

Building Quality Swimming Pools Since 1954. Quality. Dependable. Expertise. Tenure. For a free swimming pool and spa design consultation and estimate, visit http://swanpools.com/Swan_Pools_Company/forms/swimming-pool-company.html, or contact us at 1-800-FOR-SWAN (367-7926).

Rosanno Russo Photography
Photo of a large contemporary backyard custom-shaped lap pool in Toronto with a water feature and concrete pavers.

This project, completed for a client in Sugar Land, Texas, was authorized by the homeowner and the architect and was done in conjunction with the efforts of the builder. Its minimalist approach to vegetation, its custom swimming pool design, and its unique hardscapes offer the reader an excellent example of contemporary landscape design. There were a lot of challenges to designing a pool that worked with the architecture of the home and fit the available space in the back yard. To understand the unique nature of the pool, we have to take a closer look at the home. The house features a number of curved facades and unique angles. Instead of a traditional back porch, it features a custom stonework patio and an outdoor kitchen. The pool is elevated above the shrub palette to make it level with the floor of the house. This compensates for the drop in elevation on the way to a lake that is located just beyond the property line. The back patio is made from sandstone laid over a concrete base. It double functions as a deck and as a floor of the summer kitchen that leads straight to the water’s edge. Such a fusion of human architecture with natural elements is common in contemporary landscape design. It is further reinforced by custom water jets built along the patio’s edge using a special construction technique. Our design team predetermined the location of each stone. Intersections of the stones were marked, and the pipes which eventually fed the jets were installed before setting the stone in place. This creates the very powerful illusion that the water is springing from the stone itself. It is perhaps the most effective method of extending the geometry of manmade forms into the natural world beyond as if to establish the supremacy of mind over the raw elements of nature. To continue the home’s architecture, we had to build the pool in a rectilinear shape with a decidedly curved edge that reflected the unique facades of the home. This enables the pool to better connect with the landscape as it gently arcs through the vegetation. This works to establish the preeminence of home architecture over the entire yard. This is a common and very powerful theme found in most contemporary landscape designs. Guests standing on the back patio get the sense that the design of the home itself has been extended infinitely into the yard—making it appear as though it is an actual part of the home. The top of the coping slopes down to the water at a 45 degree angle, creating a marked aesthetic that mirrors the grade of the yard that slopes toward the lake in the distance. This is an example of curved facades and walkway surfaces. The upper story and windows overhang the front wall and the contemporary style front door. We accented the scene with a small birch tree and low growth boxwood shrubs, dwarf yaupon, agapanthus, and nandina. We also planted Bermuda grass, which looks very good cut very short and retains its color. Bermuda grass is often used in contemporary landscape design to line stone walkways and to contemplate small shrubs.

This outdoor water feature, a combination of a formal pond and waterfall provides a relaxing element for this outdoor living space. This water feature has blue stone caps and is finished with a combination of stone veneer and bricks.

Jack Coyier
This is an example of a mid-sized mediterranean backyard rectangular pool in Los Angeles with a water feature.

Large mediterranean backyard custom-shaped lap pool in Other with a water feature and natural stone pavers.