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"Pool Studio, which is a 3-D animation program that allowed them to literally fly over and walk through the project as it was developing.

     "She could experience walking across the new patio to see things from different angles," says Renter. "We have a talented designer who draws the plans. All aspects of the design -- from the existing house to the proposed patio, pool, waterfalls, outdoor kitchens, and expanded pond   -- could be experienced in motion. Even the gas campfires."

This was particularly helpful, he says, to fully appreciate the water-to-water views of the proposed vanishing edge pool.

These pools, explains Renter, are an optical illusion that suggests the water is vanishing out of the back edge of the pool. The ultimate vanishing edge, he adds, is when, as with this Glen Cove project, the illusion looks as if the water in the pool is connected to the water in the view behind.

     "I should add, however, that it doesn't have to connect to a water view to be spectacular," says Renter. "Some of the most dramatic vanishing edges simply have something beautiful behind them. It could be a beach, or as simple as a beautiful flower garden or a charming wooded area. What happens is that the vanishing edge catches your eye and makes you focus on that spot."

Renter continues that even the size of the space doesn't matter. "It just requires an attractive focal point behind it and,

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