Hillside homesites, McDowell Mountain views and night skies protected by a dark-sky ordinance. We design pools and landscapes that respect all three.
Pictured: The Desert Escape, Superstition Mountains
Fountain Hills sits about 500 feet above Phoenix, rising from 1,520 feet at the fountain to 3,000 feet on Golden Eagle Boulevard, with the McDowell Mountains along its western edge. A lot of the town is built on slopes, so pools here are often terraced into the hillside, with retaining walls, stairs and views that reach as far as Four Peaks.
The Town of Fountain Hills accepts building applications online and publishes a pool checklist, a standard pool barrier detail and a separate terraced pool barrier detail for stepped yards. The barrier has to stand at least 60 inches above grade on the side facing away from the pool. On a sloped lot that measurement drives wall heights and gate locations, so we design the barrier with the terraces.
Fountain Hills became an International Dark Sky Community in 2018. Its outdoor lighting ordinance limits the color temperature of any outdoor fixture to 3000K and sets shielding rules by brightness, and pool and landscape lighting has to comply. Warm, low, shielded light is how we like an evening yard to look anyway.
Slope, sky and stone guide our designs here.
Rather than flattening a hillside lot, we step the yard down it: a pool terrace, a spa or fire terrace above or below, and planted walls between them. It keeps grading to what the lot actually needs, and the view improves at every level.
We specify warm fixtures at or below 3000K, shield landscape lights so they wash down rather than up, and lean on in-pool and step lights for glow without glare. Pentair scenes on a timer turn it all off late at night.
Desert slopes, washes and rock outcrops give Fountain Hills its look. Stacked stone, natural boulders and a desert plant palette help a new pool settle into that landscape as if it had always been there.
Golf communities and hillside neighborhoods on the McDowell side of town.
Home to FireRock Country Club, a private golf club carved through the desert foothills. Golf-course lots often want pools that frame the fairway and the mountains beyond.
A 649-acre guard-gated golf community with views of the Superstitions, Four Peaks, Camelback and Red Mountain. View lines decide where the pool and seating go.
The area around Eagle Ridge Drive, high in the McDowell Mountains, home to the resort long known as CopperWynd. Lots up here sit well above the valley floor.
Three that suit Fountain Hills homes well, each designed and built by our team.
Terraced pools, vanishing edges and spas set into the slope to face the mountains.
Stone water walls and fire features that glow warm and low under a dark sky.
Pentair lighting scenes and timers that keep pool and landscape lights warm and off when no one is outside.
Hillside engineering and lighting compliance are built into our Fountain Hills process.
Thirty minutes on the phone about your vision, timeline and budget.
A complimentary on-site visit, then custom 3D renderings and a detailed proposal within a week.
We prepare the engineering, file with the Town of Fountain Hills and package your HOA submittal.
Eight to fourteen weeks of construction with weekly owner updates, then your first swim.
The Desert Escape is in the Superstition Mountains area, southeast of Fountain Hills. Its pool lines up on a mountain skyline the way many Fountain Hills pools line up on the McDowells.
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The pool runs long and straight toward the Superstition skyline, three bronze scuppers pour from a travertine-capped stone wall, and after dark the pool lights and lit pillar caps take over from the sunset.
Yes. As an International Dark Sky Community, the Town limits outdoor fixtures to a color temperature of 3000K and requires shielding based on light output. We design pool, step and landscape lighting to meet the ordinance.
The barrier must stand at least 60 inches above grade on the side facing away from the pool, and the Town publishes a terraced pool barrier detail for stepped yards. We design walls, fences and gates with the terraces so they pass inspection and look intentional.
It takes more engineering, retaining walls and drainage planning than a flat lot, and equipment access can be tighter. In return the pool faces the view. Our hillside infinity edge guide explains the tradeoffs.
The Town only accepts applications online. Pool submittals include a site plan, barrier details, engineering and electrical information, which we prepare and submit for you along with any HOA package your community requires.
Yes. Both are part of our Fountain Hills service area, along with the hillside neighborhoods up toward Eagle Ridge Drive. Gated golf communities usually add their own design review, and we plan it into the schedule.
Tell us what you want to build, your budget and timing, then pick a time for a free 30-minute call with our design manager.