Custom fountain design in Boise, Idaho

People come to me for custom fountain design in Boise when every fountain they find looks the same. Maybe your entry needs a focal point that matches the stone on the house, or you want a group of columns instead of a single urn. That's where custom work comes in: the fountain is drawn for your yard first, then built.

I'm Kabe Hockema, owner of Hockema Landscape Design & Build. I've been designing and building landscapes since 2012, and I'm on every project from the first sketch to the last rock. Under the stone, my custom fountains use the same Aquascape components as my standard ones: a buried basin, a pump and tubing. What changes is what sits on top and how it's put together. You can see all my fountain services on the fountain contractor page.

When a custom fountain makes sense

A standard Aquascape fountain kit, like one bubbling urn or one basalt column, suits a lot of yards. Custom design is worth it when:

• You want a grouping, like three columns at different heights, or a boulder with an urn beside it.
• The fountain has to match existing stone, a wall or the style of your house.
• The space is odd: a narrow side yard, a slope or a tight courtyard.
• You want the sound set to a certain level, like a soft trickle near a bedroom window.
• The fountain is the centerpiece of a bigger yard design.

Start with the view, the sound and the scale

I start a custom design with three questions. Where will you look at it from? How loud should it be? How big is the space around it?

The view sets which way it faces. A fountain seen from a kitchen window should face the glass, not the fence. Sound decides the flow and the height of the drop. Scale keeps it in proportion. A column that looks right in an open backyard can loom over a small patio, and a small urn can vanish against a big wall of house.

Choosing the stone and vessels

This is the fun part of custom fountain design in Boise, because the options go well past a single urn:

• Basalt columns. Six-sided columns of volcanic rock, drilled so water bubbles out the top and runs down the sides. They come in different heights and look strong in groups.
• Bubbling urns and vases. Glazed ceramic in many colors and shapes. The water rises and sheets down the outside.
• Drilled boulders. A natural stone with a hole cored through it, so water wells up out of the rock itself.
• Mixed groupings. Stone and vessels combined on one basin, each with its own valve so the flow can be set for each piece.

I'll show you options and talk through how each one looks wet and dry. A fountain spends a few months of the year shut off, so it should look good then too.

Tuning the sound

What the water lands on changes what you hear. Water falling onto gravel is soft. Water falling onto flat stone splashes more and sounds louder. Height matters too, and a taller drop is louder. With a valve on each feature, I can raise or lower the flow on site until it sounds the way you pictured it.

Designing for Boise weather

Wind. Hot, dry wind pushes spray sideways and drains the basin faster. In exposed spots I keep custom designs low and gentle, and I size the gravel catch area to the spray.

Hard water. Our water is full of minerals that leave white spots as it dries. Dark, glossy surfaces show spots the most. Textured stone and lighter colors hide them better, which is worth knowing before you fall for a black glaze.

Freezes. Anything that holds water has to drain for winter. I design every grouping so each vessel can be emptied and the pump pulled without taking the feature apart.

From sketch to build

After the consultation, I put together a design for you to look over. We adjust it until it fits. Then I build it myself, set each piece and tune the water. If the fountain is part of a larger yard plan, landscape fountain design covers how it fits with paths, beds and patios. For clean, modern lines, see architectural water features. To see how the build goes once the design is set, my fountain installation page walks through it.

What drives the price of a custom fountain

Aquascape fountain kits start at $5,500. That gives you a sense of where a single feature begins. Custom work goes up from there based on:

• The number of pieces and the size of the stone.
• Equipment to move and set heavy stone.
• A bigger basin for a larger grouping.
• Lighting, planting and any wall or patio work around it.

If a fountain turns out to be too small for what you have in mind, I also build larger outdoor water features like pondless waterfalls.

Where I design and build

Most of my custom fountain work is in Boise, but I design for homes across the valley in Eagle, Meridian, Star, Garden City, Kuna, Nampa, Caldwell and Middleton. Hidden Springs, Sun Valley and Ketchum are in my service area too.

Start your custom fountain design

If you have an idea for a fountain, or just a spot that needs one, schedule a consultation for custom fountain design in Boise. Bring photos of anything you like and I'll help you turn it into a plan.