ATLANTIC

OASIS

SAVANNAH

OASIS

GULF BREEZE

MANATEE

ATLANTIC

MANATEE

MANATEE

ATLANTIC

Brick decking surrounds this 16-by-40-foot pool and coordinates well with the nearby cabana.

Visual aesthetics aren't the only link between the pool deck and cabana. The structure is loaded with outdoor recreation amenities that complement the pool lifestyle-- a sauna, television, bar, and refrigerator. Plus, a hot tub sits on a wood deck on the far side of the pool (to the left of these photographs).

Walls made of boulders flank this 16-by-40-foot pool, enhancing the natural tones of the brick-like pool deck, as well as the cedar deck that connects the house to the pool area.

One thousand square feet of brick pavers form the lower patio, and the pool's brick coping helps to link the pool visually with its surroundings.

Meanwhile, a black aluminum fence keeps the area safe without detracting from the lush green view.

The pool itself features three curved steps in the 3.5-foot-deep shallow end and a convenient ladder in the 8-foot-deep deep end. A small bench on the opposite side of the pool provides another rest spot and access point.

STATISTICS Name SAVANNAH SHALLOW Location Lake City, Fla. Completed May 1999 Project Cost $ 34,000

Mixing business with pleasure is central to the lifestyle of this pool's owners. While running their home-based business, they can be close to their children frolicking in the 14-by-32-foot pool.

Among the pool's amenities are an automatic pool cleaner, a mineral-based purification system and the slide. While providing fun and an audible water feature, the slide is also a visual design element; it complements the blue trim on the family playhouse.

The pool is 5 feet deep below the slide , and 3.5 feet deep near its shallow end entrance, where entry is made graceful by curved steps. The steps are flanked by large benches for more mellow recreation.

At night, fiber-optic landscape lighting guides the way to the screened-in pool area.

STATISTICS Name OASIS Location Milford, Mich. Completed April 1999 Project Cost $ 48,000

Walls made of boulders flank this 16-by-40-foot pool, enhancing the natural tones of the brick-like pool deck, as well as the cedar deck that connects the house to the pool area.

One thousand square feet of brick pavers form the lower patio, and the pool's brick coping helps to link the pool visually with its surroundings.

Meanwhile, a black aluminum fence keeps the area safe without detracting from the lush green view.

The pool itself features three curved steps in the 3.5-foot-deep shallow end and a convenient ladder in the 8-foot-deep deep end. A small bench on the opposite side of the pool provides another rest spot and access point.

STATISTICS Name GULF BREEZE Location Ocala, Fla. Completed February 1999 Project Cost $ 65,000

Views of the pool needed to appeal both to people inside the home and golfers on the cart path just beyond the screened enclosure. The golfers' view includes an 11-foot-wide ceramic tile-faced water feature, which doubles as the catch pond for the 5,600-gallon pool's negative edge.

The catch pond's blue tile coordinates with the pool's waterline, as well as the raised wall over which water spills from the adjacent spa.

STATISTICS Name MANATEE Location The Villages at Lady Lake, Fla. Completed February 1999 Project Cost $ 42,500

Three 2-foot-long sheeting waterfalls send water cascading into this 14-by-33-foot kidney-shaped pool, adding the soothing sound of falling water to the pleasant setting. The water features are integrated into the three-tiered raised beam, forming a visual focal point from within the home. The tile used to face the raised beam continues along the waterline forming a nice accent against the light-colored patio.

The patio itself is cantilevered acrylic decking, which remains cool even under the hot Florida sun.

As for accessing the pool, wide graceful steps lead into the 3.5-foot-deep shallow end, while a ladder serves swimmers entering and exiting the 6-foot-deep deep end.

STATISTICS Name ATLANTIC Location The Villages at Lady Lake, Fla. Completed June 1999 Project Cost $ 51,500

Curves accent the raised beam on the far side of this 16-by-34-foot pool, lending a unique shape to the three-fall water feature.

As the tile that faces the raised beam continues around the pool's perimeter, it forms a unifying yet distinctive design element when set against the light-colored acrylic deck coating.

Underwater, a bench lines the curve along the deep end of the pool, and nearby ladder aids access to this feature. In the shallow end, three curved steps lead into the pool; the second one extending along the wall to form another bench.

Meanwhile, the 13,000-gallon pool is heated by a heat pump water heater.

STATISTICS Name MANATEE Location The Villages at Lady Lake, Fla. Completed February 1999 Project Cost $ 42,500

Three 2-foot-long sheeting waterfalls send water cascading into this 14-by-33-foot kidney-shaped pool, adding the soothing sound of falling water to the pleasant setting. The water features are integrated into the three-tiered raised beam, forming a visual focal point from within the home. The tile used to face the raised beam continues along the waterline forming a nice accent against the light-colored patio.

The patio itself is cantilevered acrylic decking, which remains cool even under the hot Florida sun.

As for accessing the pool, wide graceful steps lead into the 3.5-foot-deep shallow end, while a ladder serves swimmers entering and exiting the 6-foot-deep deep end.

STATISTICS Name MANATEE Location Bradenton, Fla. Completed April 1999 Project Cost $ 27,000

Walk through a set of triple sliding glass doors from the family room of the house, and you'll find yourself in this screened pool enclosure. Continue walking on the pool deck (with its cool cementitious topping) through the enclosure, and you'll wind up on an exterior, semicircular patio. Thus, the pool enclosure feels like an additional room on the house.

The 14-by-33-foot pool itself sports a built-in bench in the deep end, outfitted with four spa-like jets for a therapeutic massage.

In the shallow end, a handrail aids access via the three graceful steps.

STATISTICS Name ATLANTIC Location Laotto, Ind. Completed May 1999 Project Cost $ 36,000

Although the pool itself is free-form, it is surrounded by several geometrically balanced features. For example, the pool is centered on the property to align with a large window in the home's great room. Also, steps at each end of the expansive deck tier down from the master bedroom on one side and the guest entrance deck on the other.

Meanwhile, gray brick coping surrounds the 16-by-33-foot pool and was chosen to match the deck's gray stamped concrete pattern.

Within the pool, fiber-optic underwater and perimeter lighting combine for a dramatic evening display. And a bench that takes up one end of the pool provides a spot for relaxing any time of the day.