Can Wade design a resort-style poolscape for my Maryland property?

The Short Answer

Yes — this is exactly the kind of project Wade Pools & Landscape Design is built for. A resort-style poolscape integrates the pool, spa, hardscape, outdoor kitchen, fire feature, shade structures, water features, and landscape into a single cohesive design. Wade’s background in both pool construction and landscape design means these elements are planned together from the first sketch rather than assembled piecemeal by different contractors.

What Goes Into a Resort-Style Poolscape

• The pool as a design anchor: A freeform pool with a tanning ledge, integrated spa at spillover height, and natural rock waterfall creates movement, texture, and depth even when no one is swimming. Finish selection and coping material are chosen for how they feel underfoot and how the overall design photographs.
• Hardscape as architecture: Travertine, tumbled concrete pavers, or natural bluestone in generous widths. The deck isn’t just functional clearance — it’s outdoor floor space with defined zones: dining, lounging, cooking. Retaining walls double as seating walls; planting beds frame views and create privacy.
• Outdoor living structures: A covered pavilion or pergola creates the outdoor room on the entertaining side — housing the kitchen, dining table, and bar seating under protection from Maryland’s afternoon rain. A separate fire feature on the opposite side gives guests two distinct zones and layers the space.
• Lighting as a design element: Underwater LED lighting, path lighting through planted beds, accent lighting on water features, and string lights over the dining area. Wade designs lighting as part of the project — retrofitting landscape lighting after concrete is poured is significantly more expensive.
• Landscape that frames the space: Planting does deliberate work: privacy screening, view framing, softness against hardscape surfaces, and seasonal interest from early spring through fall. Shaun Wade’s GWU graduate landscape design background shapes this aspect of every project.

How Wade Approaches These Projects

Wayne Wade manages operations and construction; Shaun Wade brings the landscape design perspective to the site plan. Together they’ve been delivering complete outdoor environments since 2001. Wade begins with a site assessment and program discussion: How do you actually want to use the space? How many people do you typically entertain? Naturalistic or geometric aesthetic? Privacy priorities? Views worth framing? This conversation shapes the concept before a measurement is taken. Wade then produces a complete site plan showing all elements in their designed positions so adjustments happen at the plan stage, not after excavation.

Cost and Phasing in Maryland

A complete resort-style poolscape in Anne Arundel County typically ranges from $150,000 to $400,000+ depending on pool size, material selections, and the scope of outdoor living structures. Wade provides detailed itemized estimates so homeowners understand exactly what they’re buying at each scope level.

Wade regularly designs phased projects — pool and hardscape first, outdoor kitchen and pergola in a subsequent phase. The key is designing the complete vision from the start so that gas lines, conduit, and plumbing stubs are roughed in during phase one even if not built out until later. Retrofitting utilities after phase-one construction is significantly more expensive than planning for them upfront.