Pool Landscaping

Backyard pools are one of my favorite projects to design. I love creating a resort style oasis for my clients to enjoy with friends and family. There are standard elements that we try to add to any of our outdoor living area plans. These include a patio for dining sets, lounge chairs, trees, shrubs or planters with a covered area to protect you from bad weather and sun light. If we are trying to create one of these high end outdoor living areas, I will generally incorporate a fabulous pool waterfall like this one. These fairly easy to install features bring that element of surprise to your design.

Pool landscaping ideas are one of those things that are hard to translate into your own home because few of us have a sprawling estate like this one. Most of the designs I see feature huge homes with lots of room in the backyard to add large patio areas, fountains, and landscaping.  I certainly love the look of this yard, with the beautiful pool, lush greenery, and quant stone pathway, but I’m not quite sure how I can translate it to my smaller yard.  To start, my thought is that I should keep my pool landscaping fairly minimal and focus more on the base of the design (ie the deck).  I want to mimic the large geometric stone design that this inspiration home has.

On a recent vacation we stayed at a gorgeous home that had a lap pool in the back.  This is something I had never considered at part of residential design, but it is actually brilliant. Look how miniature it is compared to a normal size pool or spa. I love how the waterfall feature drips right in and almost gives it the look of a large fountain. I have been wanting to add a pool in our backyard for some time now but I was always put off by the size and expense.  Inground pools tend to take up so much room in the yard and that, combined with the concrete deck space, would have taken over the entire landscape. Despite the luxury of having a pool, it just wasn’t worth it to me.

This is a fantastic bit of inspiration to add to my catalogue of backyard pool ideas. I love the asymmetrical layout, organic pool shape, neon colors, and tiling detail around the hot tub. The artistic landscape lighting is a key element in setting the mood here. The orange lights flanking the pool feel like stylized torches which, paired with the patio columns, give this backyard a unique ancient-meets-contemporary feel. The pool landscaping also contributes to this mood, with plants in Greek-inspired vases. The thing I like most about this landscaping is that it makes the space feel green without using many plants, which means this design requires very little maintenance.

After months of hard work, our house has finally become a home. During the initial move, we saw the incredible potential for the outdoor space. Our first addition was the tall trees and landscaping bushes, as they both heighten the beauty and privacy of our backyard. We also wanted a patio, but we wanted it to add to the layout of the backyard, as we already had an incredible light-colored landscape edging. Giving a fire pit and comfy chairs, made it perfect. The last part of our backyard renovation was our pool. It is large and open, but it just did not flow with the rest of the space. After a bit of consideration, we completed our pool landscaping with the same light-colored edging.

I have always wanted a pool in our backyard but figured that it would be too expensive. Surprisingly an inground pool cost is not as high as I was expecting, so I decided that we are going to install one with my bonus check this year. For this reason, I have spent the last few weeks browsing pool designs online to help me narrow down the style I want.  So far, this fantastic home is my favorite backyard that I have found. I love how the pool deck and adjoining entertaining space are set amidst this large lawn. It still feels like a lush landscaped backyard as opposed to confined cold concrete patio space.