With
the summer heat now hovering over the country, it's time
to bust out the air mattress and floaties and head to the
pool. Since it's the season, Concrete Decor interviewed
two leading designers about recent pool deck projects.
One project highlights an exquisite outdoor kitchen, while
the other features a highend outdoor living space. Reading
about these cool projects will help you beat the heat.
Unconventional
Convention
Saratoga, Calif
Contractor: Tom Ralston Concrete
At this Saratoga, Calif., home of an NFL star, there is
no such thing as simple. The quarterback had visions of a
pool deck connected to an outdoor kitchen that featured a
fireplace, barbecue and trash compactor.
Tom Ralston of Tom Ralston Concrete, in Santa Cruz, Calif.,
was chosen as the man for the job. "He wanted the pool
to have somewhat of an organic feel," Ralston says. "But
at the same time, he wanted to have more of a conventional
look."
The customer's wishes were met by Ralstons team painting
the kitchen components white. The pool deck was also tied
in to the look. .
"The concrete is acid-stained, and what that does is
play off his conventional-looking barbecue and pizza oven
with organics," Ralston says. "I always view acid
stain as an organic because it comes from the iron oxides
that are in the Earth. The way the iron oxides play out,
they have this variation that is hard to reproduce with any
other medium."
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