Your backyard is your safe haven — a place filled with everything you need to relax, unwind, make memories, and thrive. When you choose to build a custom pool, you get the opportunity to create a space that’s luxuriously your own. This can look like a natural oasis filled with water features and vibrant landscaping or a modern play space with all the bells and whistles to make your backyard into the neighborhood party spot.
Studies have proven time and again that spending time in nature benefits mental health. Having your own beautiful backyard pool is a great way to increase the amount of quality time you spend outdoors and reap all of those feel-good benefits. By partnering with an experienced custom swimming pool contractor, you can design a space with all of the elements that make you feel comfortable and allow you to live a luxuriously vibrant life.
How a Custom Swimming Pool Contractor Can Help
When you start imagining your backyard pool area, it’s important to pick a pool type that matches your unique situation. A custom swimming pool contractor can offer you a wide variety of pool styles to suit your own personal needs, style and budget. Some of the options you can choose from include:
- Classic pools—these are standard, round, and easy to incorporate into most backyard landscapes. They’re simply designed and offer an easy canvas for adding lots of show-stopping elements.
- Modern pools—these offer a contemporary look. They’re typically square or rectangular-shaped.
- Freeform pools—this trending shape can be customized to fit your backyard perfectly.
Related: The Best Swimming Pool Designs For Your Home: From Simple to Extravagant
- Natural pools—these are similar to freeform pools, but they’re typically designed to resemble a small pond or lake and their designs typically incorporate lots of stone decor and natural landscaping.
- Lap pools—these are long and thin, making them the perfect shape for homeowners who want a place to exercise. A lap pool also pairs perfectly with a diving board.
- Indoor pools—these are more complicated builds, but they’re incredibly practical, especially for homeowners who live in climates with cold winters.
Once you’ve picked the right pool design, you can start imagining features and elements that will make it look and feel uniquely yours. Here are some fantastic ways you can personalize your pool:
Incorporate Water Features
Water features add a multisensory element to your pool design. Choose from many different details and design options to add tranquil water sounds, and a lovely focal point. These might include:
Infinity Edges
A pool with an infinity edge offers the illusion that the water continues to the horizon. In reality, one wall of the pool is low enough that water can flow into a basin below, which provides a beautiful, more natural look. Also known as a vanishing pool, this feature can add a subtle element that makes your space look more peaceful, natural, and serene.
Waterfalls
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Nothing says relaxation like the sounds of a cascading waterfall in your backyard. Best of all, it will effectively drown out the sounds of noisy neighbors, barking dogs, and traffic outside your peaceful pool area. An experienced pool contractor can incorporate a waterfall into your natural stone or more modern design to enhance the look and greatly improve the ambiance of your pool space.
Water Fountains
Water fountains offer a focal point for your pool area, and they’re also lots of fun. They can be installed in the center of your pool, along the edges, or in a unique spot for your viewing pleasure (and for playtime fun). Water fountains come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and with customizable nozzles and light features, so you can truly create a unique space that tickles your fancy and makes you feel at home.
Water Slides
Water slides offer endless fun for kids and kids at heart. Whether you’re looking for a simple stand-alone slide or a more elaborate design with stones and water features, your water slide is sure to be a hit for family fun and backyard barbecues. With help from a custom swimming pool contractor, you can incorporate fun features like water slides and basketball hoops that will offer endless opportunities for making memories with the people you love most.
Illuminate the Area With Fire Features
Fire and water are a magical combination that offers endless relaxation. By adding fire elements to your pool area, you can provide warmth, comfort, and visual appeal. Consider asking your custom swimming pool contractor about the following options:
Fire Bowls
Fire bowls are modern decorative features that are built into the sides of a pool. Each fire bowl is typically two to three feet in diameter, but they’re available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Customize your backyard pool space with fire bowls that are filled with river rocks, lava stones, or colored fire glass to create a beautiful daytime element and an extraordinary feature after dark.
Integrated Fire Pits
Fire pits continue to be a trending feature in backyards across the US, and it’s easy to see why. Not only does an integrated fire pit offer a place to sit outside of the pool area, it also provides a warm place to dry off when you’re finished swimming. Your contractor can help you customize your fire pit to seamlessly integrate it into your pool space, by picking the right size and materials for your particular backyard. Best of all, an integrated fire pit is a low-maintenance feature that can add a whole new hangout space to your pool deck.
Sunken Fire Pits
A sunken fire pit is designed to be connected to your pool area, so swimmers can swim up, warm up, and dry off while enjoying the flickering flames. They’re elegant, practical, and cozy, making them well-worth the added cost. It offers guests a place to gather without having to enter the pool. That way, swimmers and other guests can still hang out, and friends and neighbors can move fluidly from one spot to the next without having to get out of the pool.
Related: Pool Fire Bowls and Other Must-Have Pool Features
A sunken fire pit is also a great addition for homeowners who live in areas that experience cooler weather. They can effectively extend your swimming season by offering swimmers a place to warm up when they exit the pool.
A sunken fire pit is also a great addition for homeowners who live in areas that experience cooler weather. They can effectively extend your swimming season by offering swimmers a place to warm up when they exit the pool.
Brighten the Space With Light Features
LED lights are fully customizable and easy to incorporate into your backyard space. Whether you’re looking for a romantic hideaway, a festive party spot, or a well-lit place to read by the pool, your custom pool builder can help. Lights under the water make the pool glow at night, while lights above the water reflect and create a magical ambiance. You can also add light features near waterfalls, fountains, or around certain landscaping to make your backyard feel cozy and calm.
Extend Your Living Space With an Outdoor Kitchen
Make the most of your backyard by adding an outdoor kitchen. That way, you won’t have to travel in and out to serve guests, mix cocktails, and cook food. By designating an area for prepping and grilling, you can enjoy every minute that you entertain, without feeling like you’re missing out in the kitchen.
Get creative with your custom swimming pool contractor and consider your lifestyle. Maybe you need lots of counter space for feeding a crowd, or perhaps a swim-up bar would be the perfect addition to your pool. By creating your own custom design, you can ensure you have a backyard oasis that exudes comfort in just the way you like it.
It’s All in the Details
Designing your own custom pool means you get to select every detail along the way. Although big features are important, don’t gloss over the details. Adding mosaic tile in the walls, floor, or backsplash design can make your pool look artistic, unique, and modern. Stones can create a more natural look around waterfalls, and thoughtfully placed design elements can take your pool design to the next level. Look at pool galleries online for inspiration and start dreaming of your custom design now.
Why Should You Choose a Custom Pool Contractor?
A luxury custom swimming pool contractor has the experience and expertise to make your vision a splashing success. They’ll listen to your needs and create a design that incorporates the features you want most. In short, they’ll create the exact ambiance that you’re looking for.
No matter whether you want a modern hangout or a natural escape from the chaos of daily life, your contractor will help you create a luxuriously comfortable space that perfectly suits your style. From start to finish, your custom pool designer will pay attention to every detail to ensure that estimates are accurate, the design process is perfect, and the construction results are immaculate.
Trust California Pools to Make Your Luxury Pool Dreams a Reality
If you’re ready to start designing your own customized luxury poolscape, trust California Pools to make your dreams come true. We’ve been America’s trusted pool builder since 1952, and we’ve got the experience and expertise necessary to design pools with your needs and budget in mind. Our custom swimming pool contractors will help you choose the perfect features and elements for your space and needs. Contact us to start designing your dream pool space today and get one step closer to a life of comfort and relaxation in your own backyard.
