That is stunning! I love the recessed lighting you have..provides great ambient lighting. Are they on a dimmer? I absolutely love the beams and the planks. The only thing I see missing is some accent lighting/uplighting in the area. Other than that, it is perfect!

Wow, what a wonderful for your family and friends to hang out! It's really nicely done!

Love it, wish I had one.

That is so beautiful, and will be totally gorgeous with a fire! Did you design it yourselves? Are those storage cabinets you have too? Do the things you keep in there stay bug free?

Thanks for all the compliments. It was just finished last week, so not very many people have seen it. I'm glad you all like it.

Susan1404, those are storage cabinets you see. The ones on either side of the fireplace have one shelf in it as well as an electrical outlet. I plan on putting stereo equipment in there and I've already ran speaker wire. (You can see it hanging down in some of the pics.) The cabinet under the sink gives me access to the plumbing as well as the outlet for the refrigerator. Since we don't plan on running the fridge all the time, we put a switch right by the door that controls that outlet so we can easily turn the fridge on and off without having to unplug it. The other cabinet is just small storage area. It will either house a trash bin or, if I can find one the right size, an ice chest. I'm not sure if they will all be bug-free, but they are completely closed and the door fit pretty well. So, I am hopeful.

Also, I did design it myself. I spent hours and hours sifting through images on the internet. I didn't really want a kitchen, but I wanted a sink, fridge, and area to make Margaritas. lol I was interested in a fire pit, but not sure where to put. I ended up combining several ideas I got online. I drew out the plans using Microsoft Visio and hired a contractor to make to happen. The only thing I would change is that I would move the fireplace back about 10 inches. I would have kind of bowed out the back of the wall instead of building the whole firebox on this side. That might not make much sense, but basically, the fireplace stuck out much further than I had anticipated.

Love it...you will live out there. Enjoy!
Judy

It's beautiful. I'm so jealous!

I just love it, and the storage cabinets with a serving/merchandising surface on either side of the fireplace are just stunning. Great job. Plus I bet the light stone color complements your Blue Lagoon pool very well. Super job! Where is your furniture from, and is it weather resistant?

Very nice.
Only Phase II huh?

Thanks again for the comments. I'm never quite sure if people want to see the things that come after the pool build or not. I love to see what everyone does with the landscaping and hear about how people are using their pools.

gina171, I think the rock looks really good with the Blue Lagoon water. It matches the rock on the raised beam and I've been very pleased how it turned out. I just can't wait to get the landscaping done. It should really be the icing on the cake and bring it all together. BTW, the furniture is very inexpensive stuff from Walmart. It is weather resistant. I originally had the dining set under there, but the table took up too much room and I moved the conversation set under there instead. It fits just perfect. I put the dining set under my covered porch. I am looking to get some Grosfillex loungers to go in the patio area to the left of the cabana. I need a place for people to sit that are wet out of the pool. I'll have to take a picture that gets some of the pool in the shot as well. The cabana sets about 10 feet away from the edge of the water.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Pool Build

We just bought our outside furniture at Home Depot...they had a huge end of summer sale. 50% off.

Very nice! That turned out a heck of a lot better than the example photo you posted in the other thread! I'd love to see a pic or two of it in context with the pool!

I LOVE IT! That really turned out nicely! Good job!

Hey tresw and smbnobles, I'm glad you liked it. It's going to look SO much better when we get the fence and landscaping in. Here are a few more pics where you can see the pool as well. It is kind of a dreary day, so the pics aren't very exciting, but I'll take some official "portraits" when the project is more complete.

barco, I'm going to check on Home Depot for some possible deals. I'm still looking for some chaise lounges and "wet" seating.

Love your pool area. I too have a pool house type set up. Not sure where you are located but we have outdoor cabinets and stereo stuff in them. Warning.. it got too hot in the cabinet for the equipment. Installed a small desk like fan on a timer to cool down. Also no bugs but had a problem with mice going after the warmth of the stereo equipment in the spring but after we "caught" them we have not had a problem since.

How Beautiful Stonesmama! I am so very glad that everything turned out so well for you!
So what time do we start wastin away in Margaritaville......? :)

Hey susannap2, I am so ready for Margaritaville. The problem is that we are having a VERY unusual cool spell for August in Texas. Yesterday I went swimming after staying out of the pool for 3 or 4 days. BRRRRR!!! The water was only 78 degrees where it's been between 88 and 92 all summer. It was refreshing, but plenty cool, that's for sure. I think it's supposed to do some warming up by the end of the week. Maybe we can have a labor day party.

Wow, we are in the hill country and ours has stayed at around 86-88 all summer. I keep hearing about other pool hitting over 90 but ours never does, odd. It has rained for 4 days straight now so I am sure it will be cooler but still swimmable. I am sooo ready to jump in.
Labor Day sounds good....

Just a quick update if anyone wants to see the latest pictures. Everything is done except for sodding the yard which we are putting off until Spring. It just got too late in the season and we are sodding St. Augustine. The plants will take a little time to grow and fill in, but we are very proud of it. We love traveling to New Mexico, Arizona, & Utah, and the desert plants remind us of those places. All feedback is welcome. Thanks.

The fence is finally in:

Our first fire:

Landscaping's in:

Simply gorgeous!!! Congrats on being done. I love it!

Katherine

Hi stonesmama!
Awesome!!!!! Everything looks so inviting! I can't remember where you are; are you still swimming?
We finished the bulk of our build 11/19 at nearly midnight. The pool was swimmable by late Aug, got our decking and patio in on 11/3 then finally our pool enclosure was installed by 11/19. We had to winterize our pool due to the cold weather here in CT back in early Nov so even though our structure is up, it's just too cold to try to start things back up again. We're hoping for a Feb start up. Feel free to check out our pics at 'attempting to post pics joanneswimsct pool build'...
joanneswimsct

well, now i'm jealous! We finished our pool a year ago and were supposed to start our outdoor kitchen this fall. I had plans drawn up and was ready to do it until I looked at my kitchen in my house that i use everyday. I realized that i just could not start an outdoor cooking area when my indoor area is from out of the 80's. So, I will put off my outdoor kitchen for now. We just started on our indoor kitchen today. They managed to get the brick flooring out and the subfloor down. They even nailed down alot of the wood planks. There is alot left to do.

your outdoor area is great. Thats what we want too, more of an outdoor living room with a fireplace and cooking area. Before you know it, you will be planting that St. Augustine.

The other example.