A Classic Fort Worth Residence Finds Its Moment

Preserving an existing patio during a pool build is entirely possible — and often the right design call. When the existing material has character, replacing it wholesale can strip the outdoor living space of the warmth the home already carries. At the Champagne residence in Fort Worth, the parquet brick patio was retained and integrated into the finished design, providing continuity between the home's palette and the new pool envelope. Selah's design process accounts for existing conditions from the first site assessment, so decisions about what to preserve or replace are made before construction begins — not discovered during demolition.

A spillover between a custom spa and the main pool does two things simultaneously: it moves water and it moves sound. The sheet of water crossing that threshold — in this project, three feet of weir — creates a continuous auditory presence that changes how the entire outdoor living space feels. It softens ambient noise and visually connects the two bodies of water into a single composition rather than two separate fixtures. At the Champagne residence, the spa spillover was designed to read as an extension of the pool, not an addition to it. The sightline from the pool surface to the spa feels uninterrupted, which matters in a space where the overall footprint is refined rather than expansive.

Fort Worth sits on expansive clay soil — the kind that shifts with seasonal moisture changes in ways that can stress a pool shell over time. Gunite performs in this region because the shell is pneumatically applied on-site, conforming exactly to the excavated shape and cured in place, bonding to the surrounding earth rather than floating against it. For the Champagne residence, gunite allowed Selah to engineer the pool shell to the specific dimensions of the lot — 45 feet by just over 20 feet, with a graduated depth profile — without the dimensional constraints of a manufactured product. The result is a vessel built for Fort Worth conditions from the ground up.

The relationship between a home's interior and its outdoor living space is often defined by sightlines — what you can see from where you spend your time. A solid wall or a window with limited glass area can make the pool feel like it belongs to the yard rather than the home. At the Champagne residence, one bay window was replaced with tempered glass, which opened the view corridor from inside the house directly to the water. Tempered glass is specified for its safety profile — it resists impact and fractures into blunt fragments rather than dangerous shards. The result is a sightline that makes the pool visible year-round, connecting two spaces that previously existed independently.

Not every outdoor environment calls for fire features, outdoor kitchens, or elaborate water elements. Some of the most enduring projects Selah has completed are defined by restraint — a well-proportioned pool, a thoughtfully positioned custom spa, and materials that age with the home rather than dating it. The Champagne residence is that kind of project. The 45-foot pool is sized for real use — lap swimming, family afternoons. The custom spa provides hydrotherapy without overwhelming the scale of the space. Every element has a reason to be there, and nothing is present that doesn't belong. The discipline of building simply and well is no less demanding than building elaborately.