Aggie Lane

The homeowners reached out over the winter with a simple goal: their daughter was getting older, and they wanted to give her and her friends a reason to hang out at the house instead of somewhere else. A pool was the perfect bait.

It's one of the smarter moves a family can make. Build something your kids actually want to use, and you get to keep tabs without hovering. The project started as a pool with a small cabana structure beside it.

The backyard access was the first problem to solve. We had three feet of clearance on each side of the house to get equipment, materials, and trades into the back. Add in difficult neighbors on both sides and the logistics got tight fast.

This is the kind of constraint that separates builders who plan from builders who react. We mapped out the access sequence before we broke ground — what goes in first, what can't be moved once it's placed, where the crane sets up. None of this shows up in photos, but it's the difference between a smooth project and one that stalls.

As the design evolved, so did the vision. A simple cabana became something more. A kitchenette was added so the kids wouldn't need to go inside for snacks. A full bathroom so they wouldn't track pool water through the house. Then a loft with a spiral staircase — a second-level hangout space that made the whole structure feel like its own little building.

The result was the perfect teenager retreat. Close enough to keep an eye on, far enough away that the kids feel like they have their own space. That balance is hard to design on purpose, but it happened naturally here because the homeowners knew what they wanted and we had the flexibility to let the project find its shape.

A pool house doesn't have to be basic. This one isn't. Every surface was chosen with intention, and the finishes give it a texture and warmth that most primary homes don't achieve.

The tile from Cle adds great texture and detail throughout — it's the kind of material that photographs well but feels even better in person. The Vasari plaster gives every wall depth and movement instead of flat paint. And the waterjet-cut steel panels serve double duty as privacy screens and architectural detail. Any design can be cut into them, and the value relative to the visual impact is hard to beat.

The family got exactly what they wanted. Their daughter and her friends use the pool house constantly. The parents can see the backyard from the main house. And what started as a straightforward pool project became one of the most distinctive spaces we've built.

That's what happens when you work with a builder who's comfortable letting a project evolve. Not every scope change is a problem — sometimes the best version of a project reveals itself along the way.