Residential Pool and Patio Installation

Introduction

In many parts of the country, homeowners are adding swimming pools and patio areas as extended living spaces. Today’s patio trends go beyond the expected exterior spaces and styles with pool and patio designs that intentionally merge the indoor and outside spaces for cohesive style and functionality.

Homeowners Brian and Yvonne wanted to extend their existing outdoor living area by adding a kitchen, sunken fire pit, pool, and spa. When starting the conversation for this space with Southernwind Pools, Brian and Yvonne had difficulty picturing their backyard’s possibilities because the space seemed tight with just a 51′ x 19′ footprint to work with. During a discussion with the homeowners, the design team quickly realized that careful planning was critical to maximize the area.

With a 51′ long by 19′ wide area, the design team wanted to create each “room” of the yard to function as intended yet also exude style. The homeowners wanted to create a lounge-focused environment without the pool filling the entire yard. Additionally, the surface materials on the pool, kitchen, and sunken seating area would need to highlight and accentuate the home’s interior color palette, creating a seamless flow from the interior to the exterior.

The drive to create a statement for this project lay in the specific material selections and creating a layer of depth in a fairly small space, giving it a larger feel.

Full-Size Outdoor Kitchen

The design team began the project by extending their existing outdoor living area enough to create a living/dining space with a full-size outdoor kitchen. It was important to complement the contemporary style of the home by carrying out the color palette from the interior to the exterior. The home’s interior features white marble countertops, white marble decor, and bright white furniture with blue accents. When selecting the surfacing for the outdoor kitchen, the team chose Crossville’s Shades 2.0 porcelain tiles to complement the interior kitchen design.

The team chose Shades 2.0 porcelain tiles for the kitchen in the Frost colorway, a stunning off-white hue. The Shades 2.0 collection offers a modern take on a neutral color palette, and the tiles provides the aesthetics and durability desired for an outdoor installation. The team installed the 6” x 24” porcelain tiles diagonally on the exterior sides and front of the island and grill surround to add a visual element.

Fire Pit

With the design for the kitchen area finalized, the team could now focus on an expanded and upgraded seating with fireplaces and a fire pit. Their vision was for an oversized sunken tiled fire pit area that would appear connected to the pool. This intimate entertainment space would be at the end of the pool, drawing attention to the other end of the yard and allowing guests to gather inside and outside of the swimming area. The team again chose Crossville porcelain tile for its style and performance in exterior spaces in this specially designed fire pit that is large enough to fit 8-10 people comfortably.

The feature wall, tile beam, and sunken fire pit all feature Crossville’s Shades 2.0 porcelain tile collection in Midnight, providing a bold blue color coordinating with the home’s interior accent colors. The team again installed the 6″ x 24″ porcelain tiles on an angle, providing interesting visual elements in the small space.

The feature wall begins on the right side of the yard and continues through the waterfall columns at the pool. The design team created a layer of dimension and detail by installing the tiles at a 45-degree angle on the feature wall set six inches from the coping. The designers intentionally specified a contrasting grout color to highlight and accentuate the tile’s pattern at that angle.

After designing the primary outdoor living environments, the pool and spa perfectly fit into the surrounding spaces. The team added a unique design water feature with three waterfalls centered on the home’s main windows and visible as soon as you walk through the front door. The design team chose Crossville Porcelain Tile Panels by Laminam® to clad the three waterfall columns. The porcelain panels from the I Naturali collection have a classic, timeless look that answers the aesthetic demands of the focal point and provides a more consistent appearance than other natural stone materials. Additionally, the stunning panels in the Statuario Venato color with a polished finsh perfectly matched the natural marble in the home’s interior.

The three columns were different sizes, which created the need for unique-sized porcelain tile pieces that most manufacturers don’t make. With specific sizes, the design team ordered the porcelain panels custom-cut to fit each face of the column perfectly.

The Laminam porcelain panels offer a beautiful look for the pool area and are durable enough to withstand the harsh Texas elements. The panels are innately resistant to UV rays, highly scratch-proof, and resistant to deep abrasion.