From Florida Roots to an Irving Outdoor Sanctuary

Grade changes are one of the most common reasons a pool project stalls — or gets handed to a contractor who underestimates the engineering. On the Gowdish project in Irving, a significant grade rise along the side yard required a frank conversation about what the site could accommodate. Lori and Rudy worked through the constraints directly with the clients, shaping a design that followed the topography rather than fighting it. The result is a layered outdoor environment — pool, spa, water features, fire feature, and kitchen — that reads as intentional, not compromised.

Water features aren't a single element — they're a system. The Gowdish project in Irving illustrates what that means in practice: a waterfall descends into the pool, sheer descents cast thin curtains of water across the surface, and a spillover connects the custom spa to the pool below. Each feature plays a different role — sound, movement, visual texture — and each transitions into the next as you move through the space. Selah designs water features as part of the complete outdoor environment, not as additions bolted onto a finished pool. The relationship between features is considered from the first session.

Irving's residential lots in established neighborhoods frequently carry grade changes that complicate standard pool layouts. A slope isn't a disqualifier — it's a design condition requiring honest assessment from a team with genuine engineering experience. Some configurations become more expensive; others become genuinely more interesting. The Gowdish project is a direct example: a steep side-yard grade required Selah to evaluate the site carefully and have a candid conversation with the family before design began. Getting those answers early — from people who've built in the area — determines whether the finished space feels considered or cobbled.

Yes — and when it's designed as part of the whole rather than added afterward, it elevates the entire outdoor environment. The fire feature at the Gowdish residence anchors the gathering space adjacent to the pool, creating a natural transition between the water and the evening's social center. The proximity is deliberate: it draws the family out of the water and into conversation without requiring them to leave the space entirely. Selah integrates fire features at the design stage, accounting for placement relative to pool coping, prevailing wind, and sight lines from the indoor living areas.

It happens more often than it should. The Gowdish family interviewed roughly a dozen contractors before selecting their original pool company — and when that relationship broke down over service quality, they contacted Selah. Starting over mid-search is frustrating, but it produces clients who know exactly what they're evaluating. Lori and Rudy walk every client through what the project can realistically achieve and what the site constraints mean. The Gowdish family described the process as easy — not because the lot was simple, but because the communication was. That's the standard Selah holds.