Summer Lovin'

Poolside living isn’t just about getting wet—it’s as much about dazzling the senses and entertaining in style

Zero Edge
Whether here, in St. Lucia or Italy, Skip Phillips designs pools with fire and water in mind. Owner of Questar Pools, Phillips says those are the basic elements to creating an extraordinary outdoor environment—one that captivates all the senses while remaining comfortable and inviting for friends and family. He looks to the natural environment and the architectural style of the home to inspire his designs, which are often punctuated with vessel-shaped fire pits and vanishing edges.

Calm and Collected
“My favorite part of this design is the calming effect of water flowing over the vanishing edge,” says Bob Cunningham, owner of Mission Valley Pools. “The surface is so clean, and the vastness of the pool is mesmerizing.”

Cunningham isn’t the only one mesmerized—the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals awarded Mission Valley Pools a gold medal for its design of this Rancho Santa Fe pool, which wasn’t an easy feat. The goal was to create a “very elaborate” pool while maintaining a natural feel that would complement a Tuscan-style estate. In addition, it would have to have vanishing edges, making circulation the top priority.

“This pool is over 1,800 square feet, while the average pool is just 500,” Cunningham says. “With a vanishing-edge feature this large, the challenge was to make sure we would have adequate volume of water to keep an even flow on top.” The result is a stunning vessel that holds 80,000 gallons of water—it’s in the top 25 biggest pools that have been designed by the 29-year-old company. The natural feeling is enhanced by a rock/water feature at one end of the pool. Mission Valley Pools added a control system that turns on a multihued light display with the touch of a button.

Roman Holiday
Homeowner Cindy Cavignac worked with architect Richard Bokal, AIA, and interior designer Janine Thierry Brown, ASID, to transform a 1940s colonial-style house in Mission Hills into a modern home that captures the feeling of an Italian Renaissance villa. Just as Italians do, the Cavignacs often entertain at home, so the outdoor rooms are as integral to their lifestyle as those inside.

The exterior dining room complements the home’s Old World charm, with a stone fireplace, views toward the pool and hillside, low-voltage lighting and aluminum furnishings upholstered in taupe and brown Sunbrella fabrics. Having hosted luncheons for the school board and a football party for 165 people, the Cavignacs are often poolside, so they brought in Mission Pools to resurface the existing pool and integrate a bigger Jacuzzi.

“We like to be around our kids and their friends,” says Cindy, who shares the home with her husband and three children, “so we designed this house—inside and out—for us and for them.”

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