The story behind this poolscape in Yucaipa, Calif., shows yet again why it's so important to keep your truck clean and in good condition. "The client didn't call up my company," says Glenn Douglas, owner of L.A. Custom Pools & Spas in Yucaipa, Calif. "He actually ran into me at a gas station. He saw the sign on my truck and said, 'We've gotten some bids for a pool, but we're not quite happy with the results. Would you come meet with me and my wife?' When I met with them, I listened to what they were trying to accomplish, looked at the four plans on the table, and told them the other plans didn't do the home justice. They were just really simple, small template pools, and the pool would look more like a pond."
Douglas offered to design a pool large enough to serve as the centerpiece of the backyard and grand enough to complement the home. "When I did that, the wife turned to me and said, 'Finally, somebody understands what we're trying to accomplish.'
"But I had my work cut out for me," adds Douglas, "because he wanted an old world look, and she wanted something tropical with rocks. And the husband would always tell me, 'Glenn, make my wife happy.' But then he'd pull me aside and say, 'OK, Glenn, but this is what I really like.'" Douglas managed to please both husband and wife with this six-figure poolscape that was $60,000 more than the nearest competitor. The project features a distinctive spa enclosure, a faux-rock waterfall, two frothy water features on either side of the 10person spa, and three spillways cut into the bond beam, as well as a 9-foot rain curtain between the pool and spa. "It was one of those jobs that's out of the box and we do a handful of those every year," Douglas says.
