October 28, 2025

By Clinton Kelly

I didn’t expect to have much in common with Julie Dobson, professionally speaking. She’s lovely and all, but she builds pools for a living, and I build wardrobes. One requires digging a giant hole in the ground; the other, countless hours spent in a fluorescent-lit dressing room with clients in their underwear. 

But as it turns out, Julie and her business partner and brother are in the same line of work: We help people realize a vision they can’t necessarily articulate. And sometimes we have to talk good people out of really bad ideas.

“The choices people make for their pool and surrounds are such an expression of personality,” Julie told me. “Not just style, but generation, cultural background and values.” In other words, your pool is a lot like your wardrobe, only larger and much, much wetter.

Julie and Brian spend their days steering people around obstacles, Brian literally (like actual boulders) and Julie emotionally ( like money). Like me, Julie tries to get inside her clients’ heads—what they love, what they need, what they can actually afford. “After I get to know someone,” she explains, “I start connecting the dots of what’s important to them. Then I show them how to value-optimize their wants if certain things need to be prioritized for budget.”

The same way I might suggest a client buy a Prada dress and accessorize (temporarily) with J.Crew shoes, Julie might suggest prioritizing the pool itself, and landscaping now and saving the outdoor kitchen for phase two. 

And we both know the landmines called trends. Because here’s the thing: A pool isn’t a one-summer fling. It’s a decades-long relationship. It’s one thing to regret buying striped cushions instead of solids, or planting peonies instead of hydrangeas. It’s another to regret tearing up your backyard to install a 50-foot-long, neon-lit kidney bean.The pool equivalent of a cold-shoulder top: cute for five minutes, 2016 in photos forever. Stick with a classic design, clean lines, and durable finishes, Julie recommends, and then have fun accessorizing with the chaises, umbrellas, and plantings.

Julie and Brian are particular about details—and I respect that. “We won’t showcase or photograph a poolscape that doesn’t meet very specific criteria,” Julie shared. I feel the same way about fashion. There are looks I simply will not endorse on national television. Jeggings. Crocs. I can go on.

What struck me most is how personal it all is. These two understand the emotional impact of having a vision realized. “I’m amazed looking at personal projects I’ve completed and realizing it’s a complete reflection and expression of who I am across many levels,” she says. “You get to a point in life when you know what works for you.”

And that’s the real parallel. If you can look in the mirror—or into the water—and think, Yeah, that’s me, you’ve nailed it. @dobsonpools

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