Written by Kristen Hampshire | Photography by Krista Valliant Architectural & Design Photography
A deep dive in design defines this Carter Aquatics cocktail-style pool built for gathering, comfort and views
When the Strittmatters first began envisioning a pool for their Delaware home, they knew they wanted something that felt refined, relaxed and deeply connected to the landscape—nothing that competed with the view.
What they created with Carter Aquatics is a layered, detail-driven backyard retreat where materials, light and water quietly do the talking. “This one is special,” says Kathleen Mahon, owner and lead designer at Carter Aquatics in Lewes. “It’s understated, but everything about it is intentional.”
Rather than a traditional deep pool, the design centers on a cocktail-style layout, with water between 3.6-4.6-feet deep.
SOAKING IN THE SCENERY
To ensure the pool didn’t compete with the panoramic waterfront, designer Kathleen Mahon used sandblasted Pera Cream marble and an interior finish of Luna Quartz by WetEdge Technologies, finished in its St. Maarten color—selected to mimic the property’s natural surroundings.
Materra Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Oak Knoll District, Napa Valley
Excellent versions of Sauvignon are still produced in Napa, and Materra is one of them. Avoiding the often overly grassy elements of Sauvignon from Napa, Materra expresses a vivid nose of fresh melon and faint notes of lemongrass. Borrowing only a few pages from the old Robert Mondavi playbook, Barrett ages just a portion of this wine in oak. Oak aging is rarely my first choice for Sauvignon Blanc, but who am I to argue with the delicious results? This is a perfect lunch wine for a summer sendoff featuring the last of the season’s tomatoes and melon, perhaps topped with grilled shrimp wrapped in balsamic glazed Prosciutto.
A generous sun shelf—holding about eight inches of water—creates a place to sit, cool off and linger.
“It’s more of a lounge pool and a space to relax and be together,” relates Kathleen, whose experience blends formal training in industrial design with hands-on pool construction. Carter Aquatics specializes in custom concrete pools and renovations, delivering projects that are designed with close attention to site conditions, material choices and how homeowners plan to use the space.
This was exactly the case at the Strittmatter property.
Originally, the plan included both a pool and spa, but as the homeowners’ vision evolved alongside landscape plans, the focus shifted.
A walkway element that bridged spaces in early designs became a defining feature, leading to
a layout that feels integrated.
With every client, landing on a final design happens through conversation, collaboration and edits. Kathleen says, “Custom features and quality are always at the forefront.”
Waterfront Forward
This project called for color and texture that complement the environment and water views. There was no room for competition.
The pool’s interior finish is Luna Quartz by WetEdge Technologies, finished in its St. Maarten color—selected for its soft, natural hue. “It’s a perfect match for our natural water here,” Kathleen says, noting a focus on blending in rather than creating a punchy statement feel.
Steppingstones and coping are sandblasted marble in Pera Cream, a choice driven as much by performance as by aesthetics. Marble stays cooler underfoot in full sun, and the sandblasted finish provides traction when surfaces are wet.
“It’s not a stark white,” Kathleen describes of the overall finish. “It’s softer, more in line with the overall palette.”
Piece by Piece
The project’s “big moment” is surely its raised wall, where three LED-lit waterfalls spill water into the pool. Behind them, hand-selected tile creates a mosaic.
The tile, from a line called WOW, arrives randomly packed—no two boxes are the same. For this installation, Kathleen and Leslie Strittmatter unpacked, sorted and laid out 135 individual pieces by hand.
“You don’t know what you’re getting,” Kathleen says. “We opened every box, grouped similar pieces and laid them out like a giant puzzle.”
They spent hours arranging and rearranging the composition to balance tones of blue, gray and subtle gold accents. The result is textured and layered, but not busy.
“It’s a focal point, but it’s not in your face,” she says. “It’s all in the details.”
Smart and Seamless
Lighting in the waterfalls syncs with the pool’s LED system, all controlled by smartphone. Path lighting along the walkway extends the design’s glow into the surrounding landscape.
But for Kathleen, the true highlight was the collaboration.
“We work closely with all of our clients,” she says. “But this one felt like being back in art school—laying everything out, adjusting, refining. It was really rewarding and the client’s involvement made the project really stand out.” CS
