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Drakeley Pools images in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens

Water's New Edge

By Katherine Lagomarsino
Photographs by Robert Grant, James Scott, Chichi Ubiña and courtesy Drakeley Pools and James Doyle Design Associates

WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF NEW STYLES AND MATERIALS, THE BACKYARD POOL HAS EVOLVED INTO A WORK OF ART

The backyard pool has been moving in a slow, purposeful direction that might best be described as Darwinian. They've become longer and narrower for a sleeker appearance. They've shed railings, fiberglass slides and yes, even diving boards, resulting in a shallower bottom. They've sprouted underwater speakers, fiber optic lighting and even automatic pool covers that can be unfurled with a Blackberry. Aside from a few unfortunate glitches along the way-above-ground eyesores and cheap vinyl lining-pools have evolved into beautiful, user-friendly luxuries.

So, what has been prompting this change?

"People are traveling more and they're seeing pools in other areas that are more sophisticated," says James Scott of Group Works, a pool design firm in Wilton. He also says the array of materials available for pool construction rivals the variety of those available when building a house. When it comes to decking, options go far beyond local bluestone, brick and granite.

"We have a client in Westport who is using what we call Getty Stone, the remnants of the stone used in the Getty Museum in California," Scott says. "The stone was originally from Italy and was then shipped here from California."

Still, Scott advises that no matter how sexy the material, if it doesn't fit in with its environment, it should be nixed.

"Typically bluestone looks good in the Northeast," says Kathryn Herman of James Doyle Design Associates in Greenwich. A problem, however, is that its dark color absorbs heat and can scorch bare feet in the summertime. To prevent this, Doyle and other landscape architects install sprinkler heads to wet the patio every hour and cool it off.

Herman insists that a pool's interior finish reflects its surroundings. "I think the turquoise pool looks great in Florida, but it's not in keeping with the vernacular in the Northeast," she says. Indeed, the Greenwich pool has evolved in a much different manner as one in, say, South Beach.

"Because of the historic nature of Connecticut and its properties, people are looking at gray plaster or aggregate for that darker, aquamarine blue," Scott says. "Plus, the darker the surface, the more reflective it is." Traditional plaster is also being replaced with the latest aggregate, Pebbletech. It's more durable and, unlike plaster, it doesn't mottle over time. Plus, it just feels nice when you step down into a pool.

Aside from building materials, the way the water itself is treated has gradually changed. "We're no longer thinking of the pool as a static level," Scott says.

"We look at how it moves, how it spills over. Something that's become popular over the last five years is using elevations of the water." The infinity pool has become almost ubiquitous, and some say overused. But a negative edge that surrounds all four sides, called "wet coping," is a new take.

"What happens is the coping is slightly beveled away from the pool on all four sides," Herman explains. "The water sheets over all the sides and then goes into a hidden gutter around the pool, and then the water is recycled." This creates a look of abundance. As Scott says, the higher the water level is, the better a body of water looks.

Pools have also been serving double duty as water features. Inspired by the water show at the Bellagio in Vegas, many have requested similar dancing jets of water for backyards.

"For a rectangular pool, you would have water shooting from the sides of the coping into the center," says Roberto Fernandez, a landscape designer in Greenwich. "It's a beautiful focal point. But when Sunday comes, you can switch off the jets and the kids can go into the pool."

In the end, a pool should meet its owners' needs. For a family with children, Fernandez recommends surrounding it with as much lawn as possible, as well as narrow decking. "The more open space around the pool, the better," Fernandez says. "And don't overcrowd the poolside with too much furniture." Like any other evolving thing, it needs room to breath.