What we do is show clients our portfolio. We have a huge portfolio — it's like a wedding album," says Shawn Heslin, senior designer at Artisan Pools/Chux Landscaping, in describing how the Pine Brook, N.J., builder works with clients at the beginning of the design process. "We also have them fill out a questionnaire sheet, because a lot of times you'll ask a client, 'What do you want.' And they say, 'I don't know, make me something beautiful.' And then as soon as you give them a design, all of a sudden they've got a lot of opinions. So the questionnaire helps a lot.
"These particular clients liked the mountain-edge pool and wanted a double-tiered waterfall, and the design just grew from there," says Heslin. "We designed in a beach entry to see if it would look nice, and they went for it."
Heslin says many of Artisan's clients show an interest in beach entries, but many also decide against building one because of the cost and space required. This 250-square-foot beach entry features the same material as the deck: irregular south bay quartzite. "That year, for whatever reason, everyone was falling in love with that stone," says Heslin.
The deck flanks the 800-square-foot pool on only one side, and the other side is highlighted by a natural stone wall and waterfall, and this is all done for a particular reason. "With all the decking on one side," says Heslin, "they have a much larger area to entertain."
In addition, the pool has a 25-foot bench capped with quartzite that sits about 12 inches below the waterline to make that entertaining even more enjoyable.
