I know nothing about theMCM or brutalistic style, but the clean lines of the Troxel house pool are much more pleasing to me.

The only thing I don't understand in the new plan is the step placement. If you mean to the left as your facing the hot tub, won't that make it very difficult to get in and out?

Thanks daisychain01. I totally agree. That makes me feel better, as sometimes I think I am over-reacting. I really like the look of the Troxell pool too.

Here is a very crude pic of the steps the landscape architect does not like (they are in grey on either side of the hot tub):

And here is where he would like to put them:

Oh yes, that makes much more sense.

Thanks! Even hearing one person's opinion that I am on the right track helps a lot!

Here's another pic. The dark square is the piece that will be removed. The space around it will either be concrete or an extension of the landscape to the left of it.

I agree that the current pool paving is too heavy looking for the house. Was it done right before you moved in.

I think it would be nice to subtly mimic the shape of the house on that side by doing something around the spa to create the "L" of the wing of the house adjacent.

Looks like a gorgeous re-design -- and I adore your house!!!

Here's a pin board full of inspiration photos that might add to your wonderful ideas! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Pinterest -- Modern Pool landscaping

I think your plan will be quite an improvement. And remember to spec out a concealed automatic cover. (Yeah, I know it would ruin the looks but you could maybe just cover it at night...)

Pamplisest - the L-shaped pool is a good idea but I think it would be too costly to change it. I think that would have looked the best. Unfortunately, I put this pool in after I moved in. I thought I did everything right. I paid an architect for the design. I used what I thought was a high end pool co. I am not going to get mad about it, though, I will just move forward. The price to change it is really not terrible.

teacats-those are some amazing pools! I hope mine will look like some of the rectangle lap pools they have profiled, although I think my favorite is the one by the timothy lee design towards the top. These pools give me inspiration to push ahead.

Thanks fori! I think I will not be able to afford the pool cover with all the landscaping, concrete and pool costs, but I will ask for sure.

Do you all agree that I should keep it at it's current width? I am afraid if I widen it, it will look like a big lake.

I don't think you have to enlarge the pool to create the L, I think you just need to reference it somehow in the design.

The width will LOOK good as you have it. It's slinky and sexy and sophisticated.

Is it ACTUALLY a good width, for swimming and stuff? Will it function well for water polo or teenage graduation shindigs? I dunno. Shouldn't matter. :)

Thanks pamplisest. I will see what I can come up with. It might have been best if the pool was closer to the house, than there could have been an "L" where the hot tub is the short arm. :( If you have ideas, please let me know. :)

The width is great for swimming, but it is somewhat narrow. I dont have kids (just three small noisy parrots) but I dont think it's wide enough for team sports. I think I prefer the form over function. But if both will look good, I will pay the money to widen it. I have to decide soon. The landscape architect said to widen it if I want, but he thinks it looks fine as is.

I could leave the peninsula of water in place, but take out the copings and pieces that jut into the water. I just dont know that I like how it looks.

I wouldn't widen it--and I have kids!

The plaster deteriorating after just 2 years is terrible. Ours was over 30 years old before we had to replace it.

I agree with you about the concrete things jutting into the pool, However, the current steps into the pool are in the area you are removing. Will you put new steps at one end?

Our pool is 18' wide, but the width is necessary for safety with the diving board. 14' should be fine for a lap pool even with a couple of people swimming at the same time, but will the steps cut into the width like in the Neutra Troxel house pool?

I like the looks of the plain rectangle pool.

The reason for having a non-rectangular section is often to be the entry and shallow area. That is the way it functions for our pool. When we replastered recently, we had the bottom of the shallow area raised and made into a platform because most of the old "shallow" area was too deep for me to stand in with my head comfortably above water. But we have grandchildren to take into account. That isn't so necessary for a pool mainly being used by adults for laps. Are you concerned at all about resale and buyers with kids who may want some shallow area?

I don't think yours looks like too much concrete decking. Our pool may have more. I think some furniture such as a table and chairs and perhaps some lounge chairs or other outdoor furniture under the patio roof would make it look more comfortable. You didn't mention so I assume you are keeping the roof. With all those windows in a hot climate it probably helps a lot to keep the heat gain of the house down. We don't have a roof but put umbrellas covering a lot of the patio area by the house in summer and doing that makes the family room next to the patio stay a lot cooler and more comfortable.

Here is our pool which I think goes with our MCM house but ours is a more organic, less rectangular, perhaps less pure, Northern Califormian MCM.

Thanks fori! I really dont want to widen it.

cloudswift, your pool is beautiful! Simply gorgeous! The rectangle piece was supposed to be a baja deck, but we changed it. It seemed wierd to walk across the baja deck to get into the pool. I was afraid people would slip and fall. I think the stairs will be similar Troxell pool above.

Do you think I should leave a portion of the squared out area? I hope not to have to ever sell this house, but if I do move, I would rent it. It is definitely built for a family with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths. I guess I'll explore other options to make sure I dont make any mistakes again.

I love the house and like the pool better as it is now. If you planted something appropriate in the planters and replaced the worn out bits it would look spectacular, much more interesting than a lap pool.

For me the issue with the pool isn't the shape but the (lack of) landscaping. I think it looks so hard and brutal (for lack of a better term) right now because all the concrete is unsoftened by desert landscaping. Personally I'd take all the $$ I would have spent on reshaping the pool and pour it into xeriscaping, including something along that back fence.

Please note: I have zero clues about desert landscaping.

I must say I can definitely see your point about the concrete blocks sticking into the pool. In an already slim pool they look like real headbonkers.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Tue, Jun 24, 14 at 9:17

Visually, I like the shape being just a rectangle with the steps in it like the Neutra Truxel house. Swimming lane width is about 7' so one swimmer can swim laps on the side without the steps.

I could also see a smaller bump out than you currently have for the steps to come in from the side.

We got Wet Edge Pearl Matrix and with the embedded pebbles it isn't at all slippery to walk on. It is supposed to hold up well too. I think that should be true of the pebble sheen too. But I don't see the point of baja self thing. If I'm going to lounge, I'd just as soon do that in the shade by the pool. Our shelf is about 2 and a half feet deep. I'd worried that that was a bit too shallow and it should have been around 3 feet, but so far (2 years now) it has worked out well for us.

Did your contractor have any explanation for why your plaster didn't hold up? If they did the plaster wrong last time, what will they do better this time? The pebble surfaces take a bit of skill to get the right exposure of the pebbles.

I guess I am the only one who likes the pool as is. I like the pieces of concrete jutting out into the pool breaking up the rectangle, very interesting. I like how the shape there is repeated in the spa and visually connects the two and the house. I really like it as is.
I think landscaping would make the difference. Your home and location are beautiful.

There are three of us now who like the pool as is, who think landscaping is all that's needed, and five for the change, if you're keeping score. :-)

I, too, like the current shape of the pool. I think your Baja deck turned seating area is a fantastic feature. It gives you two spas, one warm and one cool :)

I do agree with you about the coping being ugly and that the two slabs jutting into the pool aren't right with your home. What if they were changed out to something more fitting. Maybe teak slat lounge decks or benches?

Something like this using cushions the colors of your new cabinet would be great (especially if you go with the blue)!

You guys are so helpful!!!

cloudswift - he did not have an explanation. They think the crack can be fixed by draining the pool and repairing it. However, the plaster is terribly mottled. I will never use plaster again. I need to check on whether the same co. is doing the pebble sheen. Maybe it is not too much concrete after all. Your patio and pool look fantastic!

I think I like the rectangle better, but I will look at what keeping the water peninsula and getting rid of the pieces that jut into the pool look like. Maybe I can map it out on a program somewhere.

I definitely think the coping needs to go though.

Errant - good memory! I did get that piece refinished. I need to update the post with pics of it. I still havent hung it yet...

I think the pool as it exists with the heavier ledges in some areas would be nice somewhere--it's nice looking--but it just doesn't seem sleek enough for the house, to me.

I also think, that for me the peninsulas that stick out and the steps as they exist would be mildly hazardous. I could see catching the corners of those peninsulas when swimming and tripping on those steps. But I am clumsy.

Here it is with the teak sunning decks and without the brutal concrete peninsulas :)

Errant, those look great. Do think that would be custom made. I need to explore your idea some more. The only thing that might save money, is the pool ctr. said he could depress the pieces that jut into the pool so that they are underwater. I still think they might look funny. To get rid of the entire water piece will cost the same as getting ride of the concrete pieces that jut into the pool, although I guess the demo would be less for the latter.

I really need to think about this, because I do like that look. If I redo the coping, Maybe I could change the size of the pieces to a slimmer profile.

Rockybird, thank you. I don't think you have too much concrete. That will be fine once it's accessorized with plants in the dirt areas and some furniture. It is hard to tell in the picture because it was taken from the far side of the pool and because the pool fence obscures some of the area, but I think we have at least as much concrete area.

Main patio by the family room door is ~ 34' wide and over 20' between the house and the nearest edge of the pool. That area has a table and chairs and some benches. For parties we add a couple of more tables and it's a very nice size for a gathering - like an outdoor living/dining room area. The concrete continues at least 4' wide and sometimes much wider on 3 sides of the pool and about 3' wide on the side near our back fence.

The plants by the light post are in a planter with another big rock and the concrete goes behind it so you can see how having some planters breaks up the concrete mass.

There is another good sized patio area by the master bedroom. It's behind and to the right of the perspective of the picture.

Perhaps instead of having the area marked artificial grass as all grass or all lawn, you could make a part of it a lawn for relaxing on and part low water with some higher plants which softens and breaks up the visual mass of the concrete.

I agree that the current coping on the pool seems heavy and I don't like the blocks sticking into the pool. I don't think it would be good to submerge them because then swimmers may be more likely to run into them. It is surprising that it costs almost as much to remove them as to reshape the pool.

The downside of all the concrete is that over the years (it dates from the 70's) some cracks have developed and my husband thinks that someday we may need to have it redone.

I am a regular lap swimmer and I would LOVE to have the pool in your design. I don't know if you have the space, but would you consider making it exactly 25m in length? That's a standard short course lap swimming length and would make a swimmer like myself very happy. I would be just fine with the proposed width and simple rectangular design. The current peninsulas would be head bumpers for me when I'm on my back, so I like your new design much better. Regardless if you are able to make it just a little longer, I think it's a great design and I look forward to seeing pictures when you're done.

Thank you cloudswift. It sounds like I will have a similar amt of concrete...maybe a little longer where it approaches the raised deck on the right. I think you are right on - planters will be really important.

I do think that I will tear out the coping and blocks. I am just waiting for the final quote. One part about the pool that I dont like is that there is a long bench stretching along the left side of the pool. This takes up someone of the useful space. The bench is not very comfortable.

So you think I should put tiles in the floor like for a lap lane?

The pool contractor dropped off a tile he used on another mcm project. I will post pics. I really like it and think it will go good with the hot tub tile.

pricklypearcactus- I WISH I could lengthen it, but I think it might be too costly. There really isnt enough room. :( I agree with you also that I need to take those penninsulas out. Can you believe the architect had made them even longer???The pool co. said that they would interupt swimming and shortened them.

I don't think you need tiles along the floor like for a lap lane, but they might help a swimmer who is doing laps and is less familiar with the pool stay away from the steps. It seems like knowing where the non-step edge of the pool is would be enough for that, but I'm not a lap swimmer. I was just noting that 14' is two lap lanes wide to say that it isn't too narrow.

Our concrete goes all the way to the back of the pool too. That's more than another 30' from the house. You just can't see it in the picture because it goes behind the planter with the lamp post. The trees past the lamp post are in a planter that goes around the back of the spa waterfall and the concrete goes between the pool planter and the spa planter.

Here's a picture taken from the other end of the pool where the patio widens out again behind the spa:

The master bedroom patio area is behind the grassy knoll on the far side of the pool which hides the concrete of that patio in the picture.

I thought I saw a bench in your pictures between the end of the pool and the first jut. I assumed that that would go away to be where you would put the steps if you made the pool a rectangle.

Do you mean that the bench also goes along the length from the other jut to the end of the pool? I can see what you mean about not wanting to waste that space on it, but won't it be very expensive to remove? I think they would have to dig out and re-build the whole side of the pool.

We have a bench in the pool. It is along the curved end at the near side of the picture. It gets used quite a bit. Sometimes people will sit there to take a breather from swimming. When the grandkids were too little to stand in the shallow end, sometimes one would play with an adult on the bench. Even now, the kids like to swim to the bench and play there. So we like it but I wouldn't want one the whole length of the pool.

We also have a very small bench - just one seat wide near the diving board (at the side of the pool to the left of the photographer in my first picture). Mostly it is used as an easy way out of the pool to the diving board.

Beautiful pool, cloudswift. The bench stretches along the length of the pool. It really is not comfortable. I think to take it out would be a huge expense. I am going to really look at pool designs on houzz this weekend to make sure I consider all options.

Bench:

Tile:

New tile would replace tile at waterline. I'm thinking of leaving the mosaic in the hot tub. The new tile matches one of the tiles in the mosaic.

I agree with you I do not like the jutting out area. I like the sleek clean look of the Troxel house and like the stairs placement at one end. Can your stairs into the pool be done the same way at the far end of the pool or is that your deep end?
Why the drastic change in levels in the concrete? has the concrete sunk in? That is a real trip hazard. I would definitely want it all the same level old and new all the way around.
I do not really care for the stair placements in either of the plans you mentioned, at the hot tub or the end. Are these the steps to get to the hot tub or the steps for getting into the pool?
IF for getting to the hot tub I like the ones the architect prefers not the ones at the hot tub.
I have the bench the full length of my pool also and it gets used a lot especially when there are younger ones around and at parties. I would keep it.
I think I would put the steps into the pool at the near end if that is the shallow end between where it looks like you have 2 skimmer openings, those may need to be moved and I would do the steps the full width of the end. It would give a really clean line look. If the shallow end is the other end same thing just on that end.
I personally like the darker blue tile the first one you posted it will make the water bluer not greener. I like blue tints I don't like greens it makes me think algae.
And I think the pool size is fine as is.

I still love your house, of course since mine is MCM I am a fan!

Rocky, I really like that tile. It will harmonize nicely with the mosaic tiles in the hot tub so no need to change those.

If your main use of the pool is swimming laps, the bench doesn't get in the way of that. On the plus side, the bench makes the water volume a bit less so less water to treat and circulate. Do you use the pools for parties or something where you want to be able to use that width?

If you ever rent the house to a family with young children, they may see the bench as an advantage. I wonder what makes yours uncomfortable. Is it too deep or two shallow to comfortably sit on and lean against the pool edge? Is the bench edge rough against the back of your legs? Can something be done in finishing the pool to make it more comfortable such as rounding the edge of the bench?

Taking the bench out shouldn't cost more than widening the pool by 3' which also removes the bench but it might cost nearly as much, If you decide to take it out, you might compare costs for that vs. adding 3'..

Raven, I think it was the same tile in all three pictures - just different exposure/lighting making the color look different. One can see that the first two pictures have the same label on the tile.

Stairs across the end would look nice but get in the way of swimming laps. I think stairs on one side near the end like in the inspiration pool would be better for keeping the full length of the pool for the lap swimmer.

Thanks ravencajun! I think I will copy the troxell design for the steps. The pool ctr. did say he has an idea for pool steps but we forgot to discuss it when I last saw him. But I think the troxell design is best. I could also add a ladder at the opposite end.

The steps to the top of the deck in the proposal are moved to the right. Does that look okay? The back deck and hot tub are raised to get better views of the mtn. and city. I tried to recreate it in photoshop below.

Yes, cloudswift is right. It is the same tile. The light was really bright and interfering with the photo. It looks like the first pic.

The bench is rough and the angles are steep. I think maybe the bench is too low in the water? I think I will keep the pool bench, but not extend it? I dont want to pay to take it out unless I am widening the pool. Maybe I am being too picky about the bench anyway.

Thank you so much cloudswift and Cajunraven. :)

I agree with the redesign, I think it is more elegant.

I love our pool but it is designed to our landscaping and Koi pond. I think the pool and your house along with some different landscaping (and changes you like) will look beautiful. The clean lines fit your home.

The steps in your drawing don't run the same way as those for the Troxel pool. Did you mean to do that?

Our bench is at a depth where my torso is mostly submerged when sitting on it. The bench in our spa is contoured so the depth varies depending where one sits and that doesn't seem to make a difference to comfort as long as it is high enough for one's head to be out of the water. (At the deepest point on the spa bench my head isn't comfortably clear of the water.)

Since the pool is being resurfaced, they should be able to give it a more smooth surface. You don't want it to be so smooth that it is slippery, but that should be possible while making it smooth enough to be comfortable. Also perhaps they could round the corner a bit so it isn't sharp to the back of your knees.

Here is the bench in our pool:

The ends taper so there isn't a corner to run into. If the bench is going to not be extended, think about asking them to taper the end into the wall or at least rounding off the corner of it.

Do you need a ladder at the opposite end? Can the bench be used when one wants to get out there?

Thanks Charberry and mtnrdeux. I agree with you guys.

Cloudswift, the bench also is at a height to cover the torso. I am hoping the pebblesheen is more comfortable to sit on than plaster. It is just so long and narrow and in an odd place, but I dont think it can be changed now. I think your bench looks more comfortable, to be honest. Btw, it looks like they did a good job on your concrete!

Good catch! I accidentally drew the steps the wrong way. LOL I drew that late at night and did not pay much attn. to the steps.

I got out the measuring tape to check. Our bench is about 18" front-to-back and 19" below the top of the tile.

Pebblesheen probably isn't more comfortable than smooth plaster but it sounds like your plaster wasn't very well applied. There is a bit of bumpiness to the pebble surfaces but done right it isn't enough to be uncomfortable but is just enough to provide some traction.

Our surface is Wet-Edge Pearl Matrix which is Wet-Edge's bumpier surface - a bit larger pebbles. Wet-Edge Satin Matrix is smoother with smaller pebbles and is supposed to be equivalent to Pebble Sheen so your surface should be smoother than ours and we find the benches comfortable.

Are the benches in your spa reasonably comfortable?

They did a really nice job on our pebble surface. Exposed the pebbles enough that your don't see much of the plaster but not so much that they pop out.

This post was edited by cloud_swift on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 14:21

I like your new drawing a lot. I agree it will be much more sleek and clean.
I think it would be very easy to have them fine tune the bench when they are redoing the surface of the pool just tell them to smooth it over and no sharp edges.
My bench when sitting on it the water was below my shoulders so a good depth for smaller children to stand on and sit.
My steps were corner so had access from both edges where the steps were. I had a ladder and rail at the deep end basically for emergency use and it came in handy when one of the grand children was not looking and fell into the deep end! We were all panicking but she grabbed the ladder rail and hung on. Whew!

I also like the re-design, rockybird. But I'm curious to know at what cost. if some of the less desirable things about the current layout can be minimized with some landscaping, removing the coping, etc, I'd be inclined to spend less for a quick fix than rip up and re-do everything, as I don't think it is bad as is. It just needs a little sprucing up and I think some good landscaping and some cleverly placed furniture could make a huge difference.

Btw, I thought of you this weekend as I was in the desert and saw some fab MCM homes...I will post some pics in a separate thread so as not to hijack this one.