Pools and Spas: An Outdoor Retreat
to Increase Your Home’s Value

Many of Mariani’s clients ask us to create a unique outdoor experience. With more and more of our clients integrating pools and spas into the landscape’s design, Mariani offers endless possibilities for a unique design both showcasing the beauty and increasing the value of a home.

“Not all homes have the space for both a pool and spa, but combining the two can create great effects,” says landscape architect Tony Lobello. For a home in Barrington Hills, Mariani carved away nine feet of hillside to install a pool and spa featuring a dramatic waterfall dropping from an upper terrace that appears to naturally occur. “Infinity edge pools also create a great visual effect for the landscape,” says Lobello. For a residence in Wilmette, Mariani created an infinity edge, which makes the pool appear to be suspended in mid-air when viewed from certain angles.

When selecting the stone or coping to surround a pool or spa, we recommend working with the architecture of the home. “For the Barrington Hills residence, we were going for a more rugged feel and decided to use free-form Tennessee Crab Orchard Stone, which is lighter in color,” says Lobello. Limestone and bluestone are also very popular materials. Limestone has a smoother texture and is easier on swimsuits when exiting the pool, while bluestone is commonly used because of its darker, contrasting color. “The downside of using bluestone is that it absorbs heat and is more rough in texture,” says Lobello. “Because of the rough texture, we typically create a rounded, bullnose edge surrounding a pool or spa.” Options are not only limited to the coping and decking of a pool or spa. “Typically we use standard plaster for a pool’s interior, but in some cases we use upgraded plaster with gem stones, create a mosaic pattern and even include LED lighting, which uses less energy than conventional lights,” says landscape architect Sara Furlan.

Selecting a pool depends on a client’s needs. “Play pools for families are popular now,” says Lobello. Play pools typically begin at a depth of four feet, reach a depth of five feet and allow for light play. For those looking for more intense exercise, lap pools and pools with more depth are also an option.

Spas enable you to enjoy the outdoors well into the fall. Shooting water effects can transform a pool into a water feature when not used for recreational purposes. “The time to start installing a pool or spa is now,” says Lobello. “It’s better to start construction of these spaces as soon as possible because it usually take two to three months to install.”

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