At 20 by 40 feet, this pool in Brentwood, Calif., is a standard size, but there is nothing standard about its beautiful tile bottom, designed and painted by Sergio Furnari, a New York-based artist originally from Caltagirone, Sicily, Italy.
Furnari's skills, which he has honed since boyhood when he worked at the Caltagirone Sculpting Foundry, are evident in this amazing floor. He says he works with ceramic tile in environments like this where the temperature doesn't drop below freezing, but will use porcelain tile in the colder climes. "The difference," he says, "is that ceramic absorbs water, but porcelain does not and so it will never crack."
Furnari, of course, meets with clients before creating a pool bottom, but they do more than just talk colors and shapes. "I kind of fall in love with the clients," he says. "I have to feel something for them, so that when I paint, I think about them. I always keep them in mind because it's something that remains with them forever, so each time they look at it, I want them to feel great about it; I want it to touch their soul."
For this particular pool, Furnari says the clients wanted something very Italian, which the many flourishes, as well as the ornate flower in the middle, help accomplish. "Everything always starts from a flower," says Furnari. "I usually start from the center and then expand it, so the flower is always the center part, the soul of the whole design."
A soothing pool floor is Furnari's goal. "When my clients look at my work, I'm pretty sure that it takes away all their stress, because it's relaxing to look at something peaceful and beautiful."
