Summer begins and the sail of the heart starts listing toward water. In this spirit, we offer a few of our swimming holes, created in conjunction with some magnificent Landscape Architects, and note some insight into their designs.

It’s not often you see a swimming pool immediately upon entering the house. This Mediterranean house, located in Nashville, Tennessee is a far cry from that sea of inspiration. Being welcomed home by crystal clear water seemed a requirement. Landscape Architects Page Duke worked with us to seamlessly integrate this pool into the entry courtyard sequence. Pleached trees flank the linear pool and a guest house serves as an axial witness.

The owner (and renowned Southern host) of this text book Georgian estate invited us to design a dining room addition to accommodate 200 guests. We decided to create an English conservatory to fill this grand request. The lacy glass structure was situated overlooking an existing formal swimming pool. At night, the body of water becomes a shimmering mirror, reflecting the glowing lantern-like building.

The owners of this contemporary Dallas, Texas house wanted an exercise lap pool that did not look like an exercise lap pool. This pool, designed by our collaborators at Kaiser Trabue Landscape Architects, was realized as a long, dark reflecting pool, paralleling the house and backdropped by the greenery of a modern steel arbor. A striking contemporary sculpture at the end acts as a visual punctuation mark.

Come on in. The water’s fine.