By Jeremy Ruben, Founder of LANDOVA Design & Planning · October 15, 2026
Choosing the finishes for your backyard should be an enjoyable part of the project. This is when you can hold a pool-finish sample, feel the edge of the coping, and see how a paver and waterline tile look beside each other—and beside your home.
LANDOVA's in-home material-selection service brings that comparison to you. We prepare an organized set of relevant samples, help you explore the combinations, and turn a long list of possibilities into a more confident selection.
Material selection is an optional, paid add-on to your LANDOVA services. It carries an additional fee beyond the design work included in your agreed scope. We confirm the visit's scope and fee before scheduling.
Start with the approved layout
We establish and approve the layout before moving into detailed finishes. By then, we know where the main elements belong, how you will move through the space, and which surfaces need to work together. The material visit can focus on the appearance and feel of a plan you already understand.
During detailed design and 3D visualization, we develop a shortlist of finishes worth comparing. The visit may help settle that direction before we refine the design views, or confirm a combination you liked during the design review. We agree on the timing around your project's needs.
An organized sample visit, at your home
We bring a manageable selection of samples, organized in trays and a rolling drawer system. At a table, we lay out coordinated combinations so you can see the choices together. Additional options stay organized and within reach instead of covering the whole table at once.
You can pick up a sample, examine its texture, and move it beside another option. We can compare a warmer paver with a cooler tile, or see whether a coping finish works with the house exterior. The conversation is hands-on, relaxed, and focused on what you like and how the materials work as a group.
Before the appointment, we confirm which samples are available and which decisions the visit will address. The goal is a useful selection for your project, rather than every product in a catalog.
The materials we can compare
Pool interior finishes
Small physical pool-finish samples—about two inches across—let you examine the aggregate, base tone, and surface texture up close. A homeowner can hold one while comparing the other finishes in the sample tray.
We distinguish the actual material sample from an image showing its appearance underwater. Both can help the discussion, but they answer different questions. The sample lets you examine the material itself; the underwater image helps explain a possible overall water-color direction.
Explore PebbleTec pool finishes to see examples of the finishes and their water-color presentations. PebbleTec notes that lighting, shade, season, and natural material variation can affect the result. We use those images as a reference rather than an exact promise of your pool's final water color.
Hardscape pavers and coping
Paver samples help you compare the paving color and surface beside the house and the adjoining finishes. A bullnose coping sample also lets you see and feel the rounded edge. Placing these pieces together makes the transition between the pool edge and the surrounding patio easier to understand.
Waterline tile
We can compare six-inch-by-six-inch waterline tile samples, including solid tiles and mosaic combinations. A mosaic sample may use one-inch-by-two-inch pieces assembled into a six-inch-square panel. Keeping these sample arrangements no taller than six inches helps you consider the intended waterline band and how its pattern works beside the coping and pool finish.
The final product still needs to be suitable for its intended pool application. We identify the actual manufacturer, product, finish, and pattern so the selection can be checked and carried into the project information.
Local availability is part of the selection
We focus the shortlist on materials available through local suppliers. A finish should work for your design and be practical to source; choosing an appealing sample without checking the supply can create avoidable changes later.
Before an order is committed, current stock, required quantities, and lead times need to be confirmed with the supplier or installing trade. A sample on the table does not by itself confirm enough material is on hand for the whole project.
Checking these details early helps reduce sourcing delays and last-minute substitutions. If availability changes, we review an alternative with you before it becomes the approved choice. This keeps the design, estimate, and material decisions working from the same information.
Why there is an additional service fee
A useful material-selection visit takes work before, during, and after the appointment. We review your design, coordinate relevant samples, prepare combinations, and organize the materials for transport.
Pavers, coping, and tile can be heavy. Loading, carrying, setting up, packing, and returning samples require time and effort, alongside travel and the consultation itself. The additional fee covers this professional preparation and guidance while making the comparison easier for you.
The fee is for the selection service, not the purchase or installation of the materials. Your agreed scope will clarify the visit, travel arrangements, and whether further visits or additional sourcing would carry another fee. You can choose to purchase this add-on with your LANDOVA services; it is not required for every design project.
Help us make the visit productive
- Share the look you want. Send a small set of useful inspiration images and explain what you like about them.
- Identify what stays. Existing brick, siding, doors, and paving give the new materials their context.
- Bring the decision-makers together. Having the relevant household members involved helps everyone compare the same options.
- Be deliberate with feedback. Tell us what works, what does not, and why. We can narrow the choices more effectively when we understand your priorities.
- Ask before approving. You should feel comfortable with the selection. If a question remains, we record it and work through it.
Revisiting a settled material direction can affect the design and the time needed to complete it. Thoughtful decisions and consolidated feedback respect everyone's time while keeping the experience collaborative.
Carry the choices into the next stage
After the comparison, the selected products, finishes, patterns, and unresolved questions should be documented clearly enough to support the next design and estimating decisions. Availability, price, intended use, and installation requirements still need confirmation with the appropriate supplier or trade.
The result is a clearer direction: you have seen and handled the options, compared them in the setting where they will be used, and made choices with a better understanding of how they fit together.
For a Gulf Coast property, sample comparison also needs a product-specific exposure check. Read what salt air means for outdoor materials and hardware to prepare questions about suitability, care and replacement access.
