Project at a glance
| Location | Sacramento, CA |
|---|---|
| Project | New pool and water feature wall |
| Setting | Established city lot under mature sycamores, with a modern wood-clad addition |
| Pool shape | Plain rectangle running the width of the yard |
| Screen wall | Freestanding white tiled wall standing at the pool edge |
| Crossing | Five pale stone pads spanning the water in front of the wall |
| Tile | Teal glass mosaic lining the recess beneath the pads |
| Deck | Large-format pale limestone slabs with tight joints |
| Lawn | Turf running right up to the coping on the long side |
| Lighting | Color-changing pool lights, uplit trees, globe lights on the brick posts |
| Services | Pool construction · Pool design · Outdoor design · Outdoor lighting · Synthetic turf |
An established Sacramento lot where a white tiled wall gives the pool something to face, with five stone pads crossing the water in front of it.
Project overview
This Santa Ynez Way home sits on an older city lot, with sycamores and a redwood overhead, a cedar fence on one side and a white block wall with brick posts on the other. A wood-clad modern wing has been added to the back of the house.
The yard is short from the house to the back fence and wide from side to side. The pool had to run the full width to be any real length, which pushed it hard up against the new wing.
What the pool needed to do:
- Fit a full-length pool into a yard that is wider than it is deep
- Give the water something to face where it meets the house
- Keep a walking route along that side instead of ending in a dead corner
- Hold its own under mature trees that dominate the yard
- Work for a family at night as much as during the day
How the design answered it
A wall to face
A freestanding white tiled wall stands at the pool edge, turning the junction with the house into a flat backdrop rather than a boundary.
Pads along the wall
Five stone pads cross the water in front of the wall, so the side nearest the house stays walkable instead of ending at the coping.
Water to the grass
Turf runs straight to the coping along the length of the pool, which puts soft ground next to the water on the side people sit.
Color after dark
Pool lights shift through blue, violet and red, and the white wall takes that color across its whole face.
Details built around the tiled wall
Tile, stone and light chosen so a short, wide yard reads as one designed space.
Tiled wall
A freestanding wall faced in white tile with a fine woven texture, squared end columns and a flush cap running along the top.
Stepping pads
Five thick pale stone slabs cross the water on concealed supports, set a fraction above the surface with open gaps between them.
Glass tile beneath
The recess under the pads is lined in teal glass mosaic, which shows through the gaps and turns green where the light catches it.
Limestone deck
Large-format pale limestone laid with tight joints, running from the wall around the pool and out toward the back of the lot.
Turf to the coping
Synthetic turf meets the stone edge on the long side with no border strip between them, so the lawn reads as part of the deck.
Color lighting
Pool lights cycle through color, picked up by the white wall and the stone deck and carried into the trees by uplighting.
Project gallery
Each photo below was taken at this Santa Ynez Way pool and wall build in Sacramento.
The tiled wall with the five pads crossing in front of it · 1 / 8
Questions about this build
What is a freestanding wall at a pool for?
It gives the water a face to sit against. Where a pool meets a wall of the house or a fence line, a built wall turns that edge into something designed instead of something left over.
Are stepping pads practical with children around?
They are wide and solid underfoot, but they are a crossing rather than a route for running. On this build they sit along one edge, with full deck available everywhere else.
What is glass tile used for in a pool?
It lines surfaces where you want depth of color. Here teal glass mosaic sits in the recess under the pads, so it reads green through the gaps rather than flat blue.
Does a pale stone deck stay cooler underfoot?
Pale stone holds less heat than dark paving, which matters in a Sacramento summer. Large slabs with tight joints also give you fewer edges to catch a bare foot.
Can you build a pool close to mature trees?
It takes planning around root zones and leaf fall, and the trees usually decide where the pool can go. Here the sycamores and the redwood stayed, and the pool took the space left.
How do you screen a pool from the house?
A built wall is the most direct answer. It blocks the sightline, carries tile or water if you want it to, and gives the pool a backdrop at the same time.
What shape of pool suits a wide, shallow yard?
A rectangle run across the width. It gets you real swimming length in a yard with no depth, and it keeps the deck in usable strips rather than awkward corners.
Can a modern pool work in an older neighborhood?
Yes, and it does not have to copy what is already there. This one sits between a new wood-clad wing and an old brick-and-block boundary without pretending to match either.
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