Our Story
About Us
Family-owned. Houston-rooted. Over 30 years of building the pools people have always dreamed about.
Our Story
A Family Business
Built on a Dream
At Ultimate Pools we design and build custom, one-of-a-kind pools for residents in the greater Houston area. We feel that it is crucial to get to know the wants, needs and lifestyles from each prospective client; matching their vision with our design and construction experience.
Having been located in Magnolia and The Woodlands since 1999 we have learned and adapted to what each customer envisions to create their dream backyard.
Ultimate Pools is a family owned and operated offshoot of where we started in 1991 by Bryan and Deborah Stuart. A Total Coverage was the backbone specializing in irrigation and landscaping. In 1993, What’s Next, Inc. became the corporate umbrella created out of A Total Coverage. In 1999 Bryan led the way to start building custom gunite pools and Ultimate Pools was launched.
Bryan had the vision, beginning in 1991, and Deborah had the expertise to keep the corporation in business with her role as Chief Financial Officer as they worked together to build a company that is still going strong.
All four of the children have been a part and made a contribution to the family led organization that it is today. Nicholas Stuart has been involved with the company since 2014. In 2024 he stepped up to take on the leadership in operations as his father had done before him. He is the second generation of What’s Next, Inc. — the 2.0 from where this 1991 idea started.
We are located at 5710 FM 1488 Road, Magnolia, TX 77354 since 2001, turning an office building into a showroom including a pool and putting green in the backyard. We encourage you to come into our work home to see the materials and equipment that could be part of your backyard environment.
We created the name What’s Next, Inc. because when you own a home you have projects. You dream, create and execute — then move on to “What’s Next?!”
The People Behind Your Pool
Meet the Team
Deborah Stuart
President and CFO
Deb was on Bryan's wing when the concept of A Total Coverage was hatched. Since the start she served as the partner who kept the business moving forward from behind the scenes. Since October 2024 Deb has stepped out of the shadows with Nick Stuart to move Ultimate Pools into 2.0. The backbone of the company has adjusted. Leading a team of true professionals is where you can find Deb. She is working with them to maintain the standards, identify the best products and ensure customer satisfaction is a top priority.
Nick Stuart
CEO, Lead Developer and Head Project Manager
A young veteran in the pool business, Nick worked from the ground up, starting as a pool technician. He progressed through the past 9 years, growing as an assistant project manager, to then project manager before being handed over operation responsibilities in October 2024. He is an experienced project manager, also earning his bachelors from the University of Houston for Construction Management. Nick's goal has always been to take care of the customer, and leave their backyard with a beautiful creation. With the guidance of Bryan and Deb, he's ready for any challenge you hand him!
Isabella Williams
Client Services Coordinator
Isabella is the backbone of our team as she coordinates every aspect of your project. There is more to building a backyard environment than a hole and the materials. Isabella is topnotch in ensuring the permits are gotten, assists with the applications your community requires, ordering materials, setting up schedules, anticipating logistics and far more. Without a knowledgeable person in this role the process does not advance well. That is why we value the years of experience that Isabella brings to the table with so many of the behind the scenes elements.
Cory Hamilton Hart
Design Specialist
I've been designing custom swimming pools and helping to make backyard dreams come true for 14 years. Each has given me valuable knowledge, learning lessons and an endless count of wonderful times. I'm passionate about my client's vision and more than happy to guide those without. Every client is uniquely special and that's what makes what I do so greatly satisfying. Whether it's the most extravagant or finding beauty in simplicity, it is my purpose to do all I can to help bring your vision to life.
Bryan Stuart
Past-President
Bryan grew up in a family business as a New England furniture manufacturer. He always enjoyed the design side of manufacturing and took the engineering and creative aspects with him when he and Deb started A Total Coverage in 1991. The start of Ultimate Pools in 1999 was when his talents blossomed. He created hundreds of "monuments" in our clients' back yards. It was not unusual for him to design a pool each time a client moved to a new home with a blank palate as a back yard. If the yard already had a pool he would redesign to their taste. His eye for detail plus pulling in all the add ons that would create the ultimate outdoor living environment was why he was part of the "what's next" conversation that our clients often had. Nick is carrying on what he created as he was tutored and worked with one of the best in the Outdoor Improvement industry.