Pool & Play

Shaun Lockyer Architects gives a timber-and-tin cottage in Brisbane a sophisticated mullet renovation that responds to the subtropical climate.

In this Australian project, a resort-worthy swimming pool sits beside the industrial-chic kitchen and living area. It's a joy to swim in, of course, but the body of water also provides evaporative cooling for the courtyard.

In addition to an expansive rooftop terrace, the home also includes a sparkling plunge pool.

The guest house and pool

"The generous nearly half-acre lot presents a secluded park-like setting with mature trees, and hillside nature trails leading up to Loma Linda Drive above,

The firm envisioned the pool as a spot where water floods the stone, "almost in a way of a pond remaining after the turning tides."

Just outside the studio, Ground Studio Landscape Architecture created a natural courtyard with a meadow and an edgeless pool that mimics a pond.

Two locally manufactured loungers from Panda Beanbags provide a comfy place to relax after a swim. The vibrant tank near the fence sits over a borehole from which groundwater is pulled and used as gray water on the property. The homeowners tapped local street artist and media designer George Mars to pain the tank.

1805 Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg, California, is currently listed for $4,950,000 by Jessica Wynne and Sherri Morgensen of The Wynne Morgensen Group of Sotheby's International Realty, San Francisco Brokerage.

On the hillside site, the triangular pool is on the same plane as the house.

10 apertures of different sizes arranged above the pool illuminate the front yard with natural light.

A lap pool fills the expanse between the music studio and the house.

The backyard is one of this home’s best features. With a lot that nearly equals the square footage of the home itself, there was plenty of room to play with landscaping.

An expansive lap pool.

The final, layered look of the pool and its surroundings—which mitigates a 30-inch drop from house to guesthouse—was completed in 2008.