Biggest challenge I ever faced was designing my own pool

Q: I have been reading your column for some time now and I wanted to know what kind of pool you have?

A: From the many e-mails I receive, it appears that you are not the only one who is curious about my personal pool. Most imagine that I will describe some elaborate design with all the bells and whistles. Truth is, my pool is close to two decades old and very typical to the area.

My introduction to the pool industry 19 years ago was when I moved to Las Vegas from New York. Like many new homeowners in the desert, I desired a pool in my backyard. The homebuilder recommended Tango Pools, a major Las Vegas pool company at that time. When I sat with the designer to review his proposed design, I grabbed a pencil and quickly started making changes to the shape, elevation, decking and patio. The salesman looked up at me and said, "Wow, that’s really good. You should sell swimming pools."

As I left the Tango office with the excitement of my new backyard, what I realized was that my natural ability and instincts for perception, function, dimension and design, along with my education and training in architecture, had taken over to create the pool drawing.

I had sold a prosperous business in New York and hadn’t decided on my next career move — maybe something with the casinos?

Then I thought about the pool design and thought, "What the heck, designing pools for a living sounds like fun."

Shortly after joining the Tango team, I quickly rose through the ranks to became director of sales and marketing. When Tango was gobbled up by a large corporate entity, I moved on to another pool company as vice president and then as general manager of Paddock Pools. From there, it was on to the challenge of opening my own pool-building company in 2001.

Over the years, I have designed thousands of swimming pools. Most of the ideas were conceived within minutes of standing in the backyard, and many of the designs have received international recognition in magazines and have been honored with design awards.

Nothing was ever too challenging — odd-shaped backyards, small lots and minimal budgets made for good challenges. I always found inspiration to try something unique. The ultimate goal was to design a pool that would make the homeowner elated with his or her custom design.

For close to two decades, the first pool I ever designed, my own 18-foot-by-28-foot, lagoon-shaped pool with a raised spa, has served my family well. With the exception of minor recent renovations, the pool has functioned as the gathering place for family and friends year after year.

Now, with a move into a new home, I am tasked with designing a swimming pool for myself. And that is where the challenge has arisen. What has seemed an effortless act (designing for my clients) has become a real struggle in deciding what amenities I should add to the pool.

Over the years, I had imagined what my next pool scheme would be like, but as design trends change and new gadgets are developed so too did the overall design in my brain.

And then of course the pressure from associates and family, "wow can’t wait to see what you build for yourself" became a reoccurring remark or they would give design tips, "You should put this, or make it look like that." Of course, all the options "they" would love to have on their own pool; such as a sunken fire pit, floating spa, swim-up bar or a giant waterfall.

With access to vendors worldwide the list of amenities is limitless: extravagant tile murals from Europe, exotic woods from India and high-tech electronics. Add in the ability to negotiate a discount for products, and it became difficult to narrow down the choices.

For months, I stared at a blank computer screen unable to draw a single line in the CAD program. My instincts failed me, and I realized that I had become one of the many perplexed homeowners who have a book full of ideas with no real focus.

I needed to step back and begin the process exactly how I have instructed homeowners and my design team to follow for years:

First, make a list of everything you want, then number them in order of priority.

From there, I put myself in the hands of another award-wining designer, my son Joseph (Joey) Vassallo Jr. Together, we walked the property and made two lists — one for design and fun amenities, the other for mandatory requirements.

The mandatory items were the easy part — a pebble interior, an in-floor cleaner, energy-efficient pumps, a heater and filter, a salt-chlorine generator, a wet deck and solar.

Back at the office, Joey took my design and wish list — a contemporary, geometric pool with a negative edge — and began working on the CAD program.

As Joey tapped his fingers to the keyboard, my new pool started to take shape. The lines of the decking fell into place and there was my new backyard. I felt the exhilaration that I had for so long seen in my clients’ eyes when I designed their pool. This experience taught me a lot, but most of all reminded me why I joined this exciting industry.

As always, I continue to approach each day with renewed enthusiasm.

Joe Vassallo is the president of Paragon Pools, as well as a member of the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals, a certified building professional and a representative of the APSP National Builders Council, Region XI. Send questions or suggestions for column ideas regarding pools and spas to him at jvassallo@paragonpools.net or 251-0500.