The Project That Showed Us What We Are Capable Of

Some projects you finish and feel satisfied. Others stop you when you look at the completed photo. This Eagle Mountain project is one of the second kind.

When the client came to Millburn Lawn & Landscape with a vision for their Eagle Mountain backyard, the scope was ambitious: a custom pool, travertine paver decking, custom-designed pergola structures, a complete outdoor furniture package, and a set of water features that would make the pool genuinely unique. They wanted a yard that felt like a resort — something that worked as hard as it looked beautiful.

What made this project special was not any single element. It was the way every element was designed to work together as a cohesive outdoor living experience. The pool flows into the deck. The deck connects to the structures. The structures frame the view. The custom details — from the handcrafted hammocks to the hand-laid mosaic tile — elevate every square foot of the space from attractive to extraordinary.

Here is a complete look at what went into this Eagle Mountain project and how the Millburn design-build process made it happen.

The Pool: Custom-Built for Eagle Mountain Living

The pool anchors the entire design, and from the first planning conversation, it was clear this was not going to be a standard rectangle-in-the-ground installation. Every element of this pool was specified to deliver both visual impact and a genuinely elevated swimming experience.

The Baja Shelf with Custom Mosaic Tile and Bubblers

The tanning ledge — a submerged entry platform sitting just inches below the water surface — is one of the most-used features in any pool, and in this project it became one of the most visually stunning. Millburn’s team worked with the client to select a custom mosaic tile pattern for the ledge surface, installed by our tile team with precision that makes it look like artwork beneath the water.

Paired with two bubblers mounted in the shelf — gentle jets that create a soft, constant flow of water across the surface — the result is a feature that feels as good as it looks. Families with young children love sitting on the shelf. Adults use it as a relaxation zone. And in photographs, it is one of the first elements that draws the eye.

The Bond Beam Wall with Three Shear Descent Waterfalls

The pool’s bond beam — the structural wall at the upper edge of the pool — was designed as a functional and visual centerpiece rather than a utilitarian edge. Finished in the same natural stone as the surrounding paver deck, the bond beam wall rises as a clean architectural element that provides both privacy and the perfect backdrop for the pool’s signature water feature.

Three shear descent waterfalls are mounted evenly across the bond beam wall, each one producing a perfectly flat, glass-smooth sheet of water that drops in a wide curtain into the pool below. The shear descent effect — as opposed to the rough tumble of a rock waterfall — creates a contemporary, architectural look that photographs exceptionally well at any light level. At dusk, the water catches the ambient light in a way that makes the pool look completely different than it does at noon.

Together, the bubblers and the three shear descent waterfalls give the pool three distinct water sounds simultaneously — the soft burble of the shelf, the sheet of falling water, and the gentle movement it all creates in the pool. It is the kind of sensory layering that separates a designed outdoor space from a standard backyard installation.

The Pavers: Travertine Throughout

The pool deck surface makes or breaks the look of any pool installation. Too often, pool decks are an afterthought — standard concrete broom finish or a basic paver pattern that does the job without contributing to the design. In this Eagle Mountain project, the deck was treated with the same design intentionality as everything else.

Large-format travertine pavers in a warm ivory and gold tone were laid across the full pool deck area, extending from the water’s edge to the pergola structures and the covered pavilion on the home’s exterior. The travertine’s natural variation — no two tiles exactly alike in tone or texture — creates a surface that reads as genuinely luxurious from any angle.

At Eagle Mountain’s elevation, travertine requires thoughtful base preparation and joint treatment to handle the freeze-thaw cycles that will stress the material through Utah winters. Millburn’s installation team prepared the base to the specifications required for long-term performance at the site’s conditions — the right base depth, the correct drainage slope away from the pool, and joint material appropriate for Utah’s climate. The aesthetic is stunning. The installation is built to last.

The Structures: Custom Pergolas Designed for This Property

Two custom pergola structures were designed and built for this Eagle Mountain project, each positioned with deliberate attention to how they would function, how they would be used, and how they would look relative to the pool and the view beyond.

The primary structure — a generous open-beam pergola in dark-stained Douglas Fir — is positioned at the far end of the pool deck, framing the view toward the Oquirrh Mountains and Cedar Valley while providing a defined space for relaxing and entertaining near the water. Hanging flower baskets in trailing petunias and mixed annuals are mounted at the corners, bringing color and softness to the structure’s architecture.

The secondary covered pavilion adjacent to the home provides a shaded lounging area with a solid roof overhead — the practical shade structure for Eagle Mountain’s intense afternoon sun, where the client’s chaise lounges create a poolside retreat that is genuinely comfortable even at 3 p.m. in July.

Together, the two structures create a layered outdoor experience: the open pergola frames the view and defines the water-adjacent entertaining zone, while the covered pavilion provides a cooler, shaded alternative just steps away. Neither structure would work as well without the other — and both were designed from the start to relate to each other and to the pool as a single composition.

The Custom Details: Where the Project Became Exceptional

Every great project has a handful of details that elevate it from attractive to extraordinary. In this Eagle Mountain project, there were several — and they all came from the same place: a design team that was willing to create custom solutions rather than default to what was available off the shelf.

Handcrafted Custom Hammocks

The pergola structure had specific dimensions — a custom span and post spacing that made standard hammock hardware a poor fit. Rather than compromise the structure’s design to accommodate a catalog hammock, or settle for a hammock that did not fit the space properly, Millburn’s design team sourced a craftsman to make a custom hammock to the exact specifications of the pergola.

The result is a hammock that fits the structure as if the structure were designed for it — because it was. Properly tensioned, correctly proportioned, and finished in a material that complements the pergola’s wood tone. It is a small detail that most visitors to the yard will not consciously analyze, but they will feel: everything in this space belongs here.

Furniture Curation and Selection

Millburn’s design team did not step away from the project when the structural work was complete. The client wanted help selecting outdoor furniture that matched the design’s aesthetic — and the team worked through the selection process with them, evaluating options against the paver tone, the pergola finish, the pool tile, and the overall material palette.

The result is an outdoor space where the furniture looks like it was specified alongside everything else — because it was. This is one of the clearest examples of what a full design-build process delivers that a contractor-only process cannot: continuity of vision from the first drawing to the last piece of furniture placed on the finished deck.

The Result: What a Full Design-Build Delivers

Stand at the edge of this Eagle Mountain yard at sunset and look at what was built here. A pool that is genuinely beautiful from every angle, at every hour of the day. Three shear descent waterfalls casting sheets of water that catch the fading light. A mosaic-tiled Baja shelf with bubblers creating gentle movement in the water. Travertine pavers warm from the afternoon sun underfoot. Custom pergolas hung with flowers framing a view of the Oquirrh Mountains. A hammock made exactly for this space. Furniture chosen to complete the picture.

This is what Millburn Lawn & Landscape is capable of when a client comes to us with a complete vision and the willingness to trust a design-build process that takes every detail seriously.

Every element in this Eagle Mountain project was designed before it was built. Every material was specified before it was installed. Every custom detail was created because the standard option was not good enough for this space. The result is a yard that looks exactly like what the client imagined — and in outdoor renovation, that outcome is not as common as it should be.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q Can Millburn Lawn & Landscape build a pool and complete outdoor living design together in Eagle Mountain?

Yes. Millburn provides full design-build services in Eagle Mountain and throughout Utah County — including pool design and installation, custom hardscape and paver decking, pergola and shade structure construction, water features, and furniture curation. This Eagle Mountain project is a complete example of what that integrated process delivers. Call (801) 810-5452 to discuss your project.

Q What is a shear descent waterfall and how is it different from other pool water features?

A shear descent waterfall produces a perfectly flat, glass-smooth sheet of water that falls in a wide curtain from the pool wall into the water. Unlike rock waterfall features that create a rough, turbulent flow, a shear descent creates a clean, architectural, contemporary effect that photographs beautifully and produces a distinctive sound. Multiple shear descent heads can be spaced evenly across a bond beam wall to create a dramatic, balanced water wall effect like the one in this Eagle Mountain project.

Q What is a Baja shelf and what are pool bubblers?

A Baja shelf — also called a tanning ledge or sun shelf — is a shallow submerged platform at the entry of the pool, typically 8 to 12 inches deep. It provides a space for relaxing in the water, playing with young children, or placing a lounge chair in the pool. Bubblers are jets mounted in the shelf surface that send gentle columns of water upward, creating movement, sound, and a playful water effect on the ledge.

Q Does Millburn help clients choose outdoor furniture as part of a landscape project?

Yes. For clients who want a fully cohesive outdoor space, Millburn’s design team can assist with furniture selection to ensure the chosen pieces complement the hardscape, structures, and overall material palette of the project. We can also source custom elements — as we did with the handcrafted hammocks in this Eagle Mountain project — when standard options do not fit the design.

Q How long did this Eagle Mountain project take from design to completion?

Design and permitting for a full-scope project like this one typically takes 4 to 8 weeks before construction begins. Active construction for a pool, paver deck, and structure project of this scale typically runs 8 to 14 weeks depending on weather, material lead times, and inspection scheduling. Contact Millburn at (801) 810-5452 to discuss timeline expectations for your specific Eagle Mountain project.