Mark Boisclair Photography
Inspiration for a mid-sized modern backyard stone and custom-shaped pool fountain remodel in Phoenix

Resort Modern in Frisco Texas Photographer - Jimi Smith
Pool - huge modern backyard rectangular pool idea in Dallas

Project Developer MJ Englert https://www.houzz.com/pro/mjenglert/mj-englert-ckbr-udcp-case-design-remodeling-inc?lt=hl Designer Alex Hubbard https://www.houzz.com/pro/ahubbard77/alexandria-hubbard-case-design-remodeling-inc Photography by Stacy Zarin Goldberg

bethsingerphotographer.com
Alcove bathtub - contemporary master gray tile and porcelain tile porcelain tile alcove bathtub idea in Detroit with a trough sink, flat-panel cabinets, quartz countertops, a two-piece toilet and gray walls

Small minimalist backyard concrete paver and rectangular hot tub photo in Dallas

Design Consultant Jeff Doubét is the author of Creating Spanish Style Homes: Before & After – Techniques – Designs – Insights. The 240 page “Design Consultation in a Book” is now available. Please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com for more info. Jeff Doubét specializes in Santa Barbara style home and landscape designs. To learn more info about the variety of custom design services I offer, please visit SantaBarbaraHomeDesigner.com Jeff Doubét is the Founder of Santa Barbara Home Design - a design studio based in Santa Barbara, California USA.

The owner had several requirements when we started the design of this pool, including: negative edge, Tuscan style to match the house, raised outdoor living area adjacent to pool and a large reef step. The Tuscan style was easy to match, by using the stone similar to the house on the decking, patio and wall; and similar flagstone on the tiered stone spillway. The stone wall on the raised patio also provides great privacy from neighbors. The negative edge and outdoor living area adjacent to the pool required more creativity and coordination to work. This lot was completely flat, making it difficult to give a negative edge look and the owner did not want a raised pool. We were able to achieve the negative edge look by lowering the soil level down behind the pool and only having a short drop from the negative edge to the water basin. We added the decorative concrete balls to give an artsy look to the pool. The outdoor living area is a unique raised deck to take advantage of the view and includes a freestanding-latticed patio. The patio footings were integrated into the pool, while leaving enough space for a water trough and plumbing for the tiered spillway that flows down from the raised patio. We incorporated the large reef step around the raised patio with the pool entrance at the far end. At just under 600 SF, this Tuscan-style pool provides a great view, lounging area and plenty of space for swimming! This is a Toll Brothers model home pool in the Marbella Collection, Avalon Model in Irvine. California.

@ ShadesofGreen
Inspiration for a farmhouse patio remodel in San Francisco

The owner had several requirements when we started the design of this pool, including: negative edge, Tuscan style to match the house, raised outdoor living area adjacent to pool and a large reef step. The Tuscan style was easy to match, by using the stone similar to the house on the decking, patio and wall; and similar flagstone on the tiered stone spillway. The stone wall on the raised patio also provides great privacy from neighbors. The negative edge and outdoor living area adjacent to the pool required more creativity and coordination to work. This lot was completely flat, making it difficult to give a negative edge look and the owner did not want a raised pool. We were able to achieve the negative edge look by lowering the soil level down behind the pool and only having a short drop from the negative edge to the water basin. We added the decorative concrete balls to give an artsy look to the pool. The outdoor living area is a unique raised deck to take advantage of the view and includes a freestanding-latticed patio. The patio footings were integrated into the pool, while leaving enough space for a water trough and plumbing for the tiered spillway that flows down from the raised patio. We incorporated the large reef step around the raised patio with the pool entrance at the far end. At just under 600 SF, this Tuscan-style pool provides a great view, lounging area and plenty of space for swimming! This is a Toll Brothers model home pool in the Marbella Collection, Avalon Model in Irvine. California.

Photography by Meredith Heuer
Mid-sized ornate master multicolored tile and ceramic tile marble floor and white floor claw-foot bathtub photo in New York with flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, white walls and a trough sink

The initial inspiration for this Powder Room was to have a water feature behind the vessel sink. The concept was exciting but hardly practical. The solution to a water feature is a mosaic tile called raindrop that is installed floor to ceiling to add to the dramatic scale of the trough faucet. The custom lattice wood detailed ceiling adds the finishing touch to this Asian inspired Powder Room.Photography by Carlson Productions, LLC

The owner had several requirements when we started the design of this pool, including: negative edge, Tuscan style to match the house, raised outdoor living area adjacent to pool and a large reef step. The Tuscan style was easy to match, by using the stone similar to the house on the decking, patio and wall; and similar flagstone on the tiered stone spillway. The stone wall on the raised patio also provides great privacy from neighbors. The negative edge and outdoor living area adjacent to the pool required more creativity and coordination to work. This lot was completely flat, making it difficult to give a negative edge look and the owner did not want a raised pool. We were able to achieve the negative edge look by lowering the soil level down behind the pool and only having a short drop from the negative edge to the water basin. We added the decorative concrete balls to give an artsy look to the pool. The outdoor living area is a unique raised deck to take advantage of the view and includes a freestanding-latticed patio. The patio footings were integrated into the pool, while leaving enough space for a water trough and plumbing for the tiered spillway that flows down from the raised patio. We incorporated the large reef step around the raised patio with the pool entrance at the far end. At just under 600 SF, this Tuscan-style pool provides a great view, lounging area and plenty of space for swimming! This is a Toll Brothers model home pool in the Marbella Collection, Avalon Model in Irvine. California.

The home is situated on a hillside property that slopes about 25 from the back to the front, so we had a lot of grade to play with, in the design of the project. The majority of the slope of the backyard was handled by cutting into the slope and creating the 8-13 boulder cliffs across the back of the pool. Incorporated into these cliffs are such features as a grotto cave, with a waterfall over its entrance; an eight-foot tall slide, curving through its own cave; a seven-foot high diving precipice; and numerous waterfalls cascading down the face of the cliffs. Meandering pathways of Oklahoma flagstone lead the way, up the hillside, to a secluded 10 personspa, nestled in tropical vegetation, half way up the cliffs, and continue on to the top of the slope, to access the slide and diving platform. From the covered patios across the back of the home, one has an up close view of the pool overflowing large boulders into a lower trough, set at patio level. This trough then appears to feed the natural creek, running into the Koi pond, although this is only an illusion. Boulder slabs act as a bridge across this body of water, and mask the separation between the pool water and the Koi pond. This bridge leads the way, up to the pool elevation, 18 above the patio. A palm island sits in the middle of the pool as a play area or place to lounge in the sun. Additional boulder steps lead up to the pavilion area, raised four feet above the pool. One fun feature of the pavilion is discovered at the push of a button. We plumbed a ring of water at the peak of the corrugated steel roof, so that when the pump is turned on, water runs down the roof and falls over the edge, as though its raining. The rain water is captured in a dry creek bed that encircles the pavilion, and flows into the pool. Also from the raised platform of the pavilion, a handy rope swing allows an exciting entrance to the pool below. With areas for swimming laps, diving, sliding, swinging, water volleyball, relaxing, and so much more, this project came together as the Disneyland paradise that our clients were looking for, and their children have grown up with a vacation get-away right in their own backyard!

Contemporary exterior home idea in Boston

Inspiration for a huge modern desert and partial sun courtyard stone formal garden in Phoenix for spring.

Yoshikawa The granite slab is cantilevered which gives the heavy granite a weightless appearance. The water trough is carved into the granite to give the appearance of water emanating from a stone.

This garden was created for entertaining! Utilizing reclaimed bricks, painting a neighboring wall and providing clean lines and large spaces with the hardscaping this garden is modern and retains some of the old character.

Richard Herman is in the hospitality business and owns several upscale hotels in Florida and in other states as well as cattle ranches in both Florida and Missouri. Their farm in Ocala is by farm their most unique. The property serves as a 4-H demonstration project for the purpose of children’s education. They have been working with the Academy Prep of St. Pete which is dedicated to inner-city youths that are selected on the basis of need and achievement. Wife Diane spends her time on the farm raising Gypsy Vanners, a diminutive draft horse named after the job they did in Eastern Europe, pulling the wagons (vans) for gypsies that wandered across the continent. On the Ocala farm, there are several mules with a unique profession. Richard had visited the Hearthstone display at a Log & Timber Home Shows at the Orlando Convention Center many years ago. He was impressed that Hearthstone had stayed in touch with him over the years by mailings, invitations to shows, and periodic phone calls. When the time came to start serious consideration of the design of barn, Hearthstone responded promptly and professionally to Richard and Diane’s requests for information and a review of their ideas for their barn, which would serve as the centerpiece for their new farm. They wanted a multipurpose facility that could accommodate an educational environment and a large hall suitable for the fundraising events for his charities. Richard wanted a barn that reflected the look and feel of barns built at the dawn of the 20th century. Besides the rustic chicken houses and vegetable gardens, they have completely renovated a 1020’s era farmhouse to be as historically correct as possible and serves as the entry to the farm. “They very careful to feel us out, get comfortable with our capabilities, and be convinced that we could perform as promised,” said Project Manager John Ricketson of Hearthstone. Design Process There were some initial drawings that gave us a start on the basic shape and size of the barn. From there, it was a process of narrowing down the uses of each area and the spans that could be achieved. The barn was going to have the traditional “board & batten” exterior siding and a metal roof. There is a cantilevered ‘hay hood” on the north gable end above the large sliding barn doors that open into the foyer and horse stalls. The wings house a combination of areas, beginning with the large restrooms to accommodate crowds for events. Other parts of the wings have garage areas for the farm vehicles, feed room, tack room, wash rack, storage, offices, and smaller restrooms. Keeping with the look and feel of the turn of the century, Hearthstone developed a process for giving the timbers a surface texture that mimicked the circular cuts of timbers that had just come out of an old sawmill. This was easier said than done. Randy Giles guided his millwright (Wolfgang) in designing a machine that would do this effectively. The barn was delivered in October of 2014 and was erected over the course of two weeks, thanks to a hardworking crew (Eric Foster) and near-perfect weather. After the Hearthstone crew completed the erection and roof dry-in, it was time for the local carpenters to step up and install some light conventional framing on the gable ends before applying the roof fascia and exterior board & batten siding. Next came the big sliding barn doors, plumbing, electrical, heating, and cooling. Large rustic fixtures were hung from the great hall roof timbers. Exterior The board & batten siding was cypress and allowed to turn color naturally as rain hit it and the sun started working on it with UV rays. This method causes a much grayer look closer to the ground and less so where the roof overhang provides protection. The North end has some large limestone boulders and planters arranged around the pad with tall pampas grass. The planters provide casual seating before events and during outside receptions. The entire area was sodded with lush St. Augustine grass and split rail fences were added to enclose the barn area. The corrugated metal roof was a special order material that immediately rusted after being exposed to moisture. The layer of rust protects the metal from the elements. Interior The board & batten theme was carried throughout most of the interior with the timbers left natural to show off the circular saw texture. All of the tongue & groove decking was shipped in advance to allow the local painter to pre-stain it with a dark brown transparent stain that is a beautiful background to the light color Eastern White Pine timbers. “Everything was unique in this project” said Project Manager John Ricketson. “The setting on a small demonstration farm close to Ocala, the multipurpose design, the circular saw texture on the timbers.” The Hermans are very proud of their farm’s outcome. Richard sent a note to Randy Giles, owner of Hearthstone: “The Barn is fantastic, not a single problem, period. Next month, we have Jo Dee Messina coming in to help with a fundraiser for a local center for abused kids. Folks love the farm, ...... but that barn gets all of the attention. I would encourage you to use me as a reference for your sales team, feel free to extend my cell phone to any prospective purchasers.”

Photo Credit: Andrew Beasley
Inspiration for a contemporary landscaping in London.