Amazing Room: Pools and pool structures

Home and Garden

Amazing Space photos: Landscape architect David Bennett, president of Bennett Design & Landscape in Atlanta, has been designing custom pools for luxury homes in the metro area since 1996. These are his recommendations on how to create the perfect pool environment.

Landscape architect David Bennett, president of Bennett Design & Landscape in Atlanta, has been designing custom pools for luxury homes in the metro area since 1996. He said adding a pool and supporting structures to a home can cost anywhere from $60,000 to $150,000, depending on the design, features and materials. These are his recommendations on how to create the perfect pool environment.

CONSIDER SIZE: "You should design the scale of the pool to the area of placement," Bennett said. This means leaving enough room around the water for other activities such as lounging or picnicking and not putting a huge pool next to a cottage, even if the property is large enough to accommodate it.

CONSIDER COORDINATION: The architecture and construction materials of the pool and its surrounding structures should match, mimic or complement those of the house it serves. A modernist pool complex next to a Victorian home would diminish the aesthetic appeal of both. Think of the pool as an extension of the house rather than a separate project.

CONSIDER USE: Will the pool be a summer playground for children or an outdoor entertainment zone for adults? The style of the pool should be guided by the needs of the people it will most often host. "There are a lot of different layouts," Bennett said. "You can use formal or informal."

WORDS OF WISDOM: Be clear about your needs and tastes when talking with your pool designer.

In creating a pool design, be sure to account for the way people move between activity nodes in the pool area. "Circulation patterns are important," Bennett said.

PLUS: Include only the features you will really use. Too many features will detract from a calming aesthetic appeal. Sometimes simple is best.

POPULAR NEW DESIGN OPTIONS: Salt water purification rather than traditional chlorine. "It's a great new product because it's good for your skin," Bennett said.

ALSO POPULAR: Seating inside the pool, creating gathering spots, "sun shelves," and nooks to rest and relax.

ALSO POPULAR: "Infinity edge" designs that make pools seem to meld with the landscape rather than being separated from it by lips or ledges. Bennett cautions that these designs should be used only when the surrounding vista supports the illusion, such as a nearby body of natural water or a picturesque view. "You need something to make it useful," Bennett said.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENT #1: Movement of water: Waterfalls, fountains or tiered levels provide extra visual appeal. "Just to give it a little bit of drama in the landscape," Bennett said.

MORE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS: The pool house should be designed around its function with comfortable seating, a bathroom and/or shower and food service facilities. In addition, the shape and materials of the pool, patio and outbuilding should provide a pleasing extension of the house and the surrounding property.

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Landscape architect David Bennett, president of Bennett Design & Landscape in Atlanta, has been designing custom pools for luxury homes in the metro area since 1996. He said adding a pool and supporting structures to a home can cost anywhere from $60,000 to $150,000, depending on the design, features and materials. These are his recommendations on how to create the perfect pool environment.

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