Water, Water anywhere

This Palos Verdes Estates pool overlooking Malaga Cove does double duty. Not only is it used for exercise, but it’s also aesthetically appealing. It’s the quintessential infinity pool--water spills over the edge and seems to merge with the azure expanse of the ocean. The owner, an attorney and runner, wanted a lap pool, says Los Angeles architect William Hefner, who renovated the entire home. “He told me, ‘Sooner or later, my knees are going to go.’ ”

The 13-by-60-foot pool runs the length of the modern glass-and-stucco home, and Italian Beaumaniere limestone covers the deck. A trio of submerged steps spans the pool. “The idea was to be able to sit on the steps on a hot day up to your waist in water and gaze at the view,” Hefner says. “Or walk along the 5-foot-deep pool and rest your arms on the spill wall. Or simply swim.”

At the west end of the pool, the architect added a half-moon-shaped jacuzzi. A curved glass partition satisfies the building code’s requirement for a protective railing without obstructing the view. On the opposite side, Hefner placed a small patio for sunbathing.

Among the challenges to building an infinity pool was the length of the pool itself. “If it’s not completely straight, the water won’t run evenly over the edge,” Hefner explains. “The longer the pool, the harder that is to accomplish. It can’t be as much as one-quarter inch off or you’re in trouble.”

The 8-foot-high spill wall, clad in slate tiles the colors of the hillside--gold, gray-greens, reddish-purples--is visible from the garden below. Landscape designers John Feldman and Dan Garness created terraces throughout the property, planting spiky-purple pride of Madeira just beneath the wall.

“Standing at the pool’s edge,” says the owner, “I can see all the way to Point Dume on a clear day and the lights of the Santa Monica Bay at night. Or simply look down at the garden. It’s all pretty spectacular.”

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RESOURCE GUIDE

William Hefner Architecture & Interiors, Los Angeles, (323) 931-1365; John Feldman, KAA Design Group, Los Angeles, (310) 821-1400; Dan Garness, Garness Architecture + Landscape, Los Angeles, (310) 390-2466; Rios Clementi Hale Studios, Los Angeles, (323) 634-9220; Tighe Architecture, Santa Monica, (310) 450-8823; Hagy Belzberg, Santa Monica, (310) 453-9611; George Wittman, Seattle, (206) 275-2259; Glen Irani Architects, Venice, (310) 305-8840; Todd Williamson and James Magni, Magni Design, Los Angeles, (323) 866-0600; Jay Griffith, Venice, (310) 392-5558.