Southern Pool Designs, a luxury pool builder based in Sanford, has been named a 2026 Pinnacle Award winner by Luxury Pools + Outdoor Living magazine. The Pinnacle Awards honor standout luxury pool and outdoor living projects from leading designers and builders, and the 2026 winners are featured in the magazine’s Fall/Winter 2026 issue.
The winning project
Our winning project, a Contemporary Architectural Pool and Lakeside Rock Grotto, pairs a clean, architectural upper pool with a natural rock grotto and a freeform lower pool overlooking the lake. Phased engineering, structural reinforcement and hand set stonework bring two very different design styles together into one resort style backyard. You can see it among the 2026 Pinnacle Award winners.
One project, two national honors
This is the same backyard that earned a Gold Award in Freeform at the 2026 PHTA International Awards of Excellence, and it comes in the same year Southern Pool Designs was ranked No. 18 in the 2026 PSN/Hayward Top 50 Builders. Being recognized by both the pool industry’s trade alliance and its leading luxury design publication reflects what matters most to our clients: a backyard that looks extraordinary and is engineered to last.
“Luxury Pools is where homeowners go to see what is possible, so being chosen as a Pinnacle winner means a lot to our team,” said Austen Ebenger, owner of Southern Pool Designs. “This project asked us to blend architecture and nature on a challenging lakeside site, and our designers, engineers and crews delivered something our clients will enjoy for decades.”
How we design award winning pools
Every Southern Pool Designs project starts in our Design Studio, where the pool, hardscape and outdoor living spaces are planned together around the home and the way a family lives outdoors. Engineering happens in house, and you can see your pool investment laid out before anything is dug. We build new construction pools, custom pools and spas, vanishing edge and geometric designs, freeform pools and grottos, water features and complete outdoor living environments.
About Southern Pool Designs
Southern Pool Designs is a custom, high end luxury pool builder designing and building across Florida from its base in Sanford. It is a Google Guaranteed provider and holds a five star rating across more than 100 Google reviews.
If you are planning a custom pool, we would love to design yours next. Start your design with a free consultation.