While most of us are currently working from home as our children continue their education remotely, we’re all getting creative about how we spend our free time. Maybe you’re catching up on movies and series in your Netflix queue. Perhaps you’ve cleaned out some closets or are just enjoying the opportunity for more quality time with your family.
We are contending with a new normal right now. For the most part, our busy lives have slowed down a bit with events outside the home getting postponed or cancelled. We’ve had more time to be introspective while looking beyond the confines of our home to expand our world a bit.
This Season’s Staycations
In our office, we haven’t seen signs of things slowing down. People are still interested in pool financing because families are looking for more ways to make their home a staycation destination for the upcoming pool season.
Maybe this is the time your family looks at a backyard pool, or a gazebo, or even an outdoor kitchen to break free of the indoors and explore the al fresco alternatives.
Planning Your Pool
You must first consider the local ordinances governing construction. For example, you may have an easement on your property. This means professionals like utility providers have the right to cross a corridor in your backyard to make service repairs. That’s therefore space upon which you cannot build. (Your county clerk’s office will have your property’s public records to confirm the existence of an easement.)
So, grab a cup of coffee and your tablet or notepad and take a seat in your yard to make that wish list. Your future swimming pool will likely be the largest outdoor structure but consider that it doesn’t need to take up more than its share of the yard. You’re going to want to define lounge areas, maybe even erect a changing cabana.
You’ll also wish to leave room for flowering shrubbery to frame that beautiful picture. The one type of flora you don’t want are trees that tower over the pool. Falling leaves and little twigs will cause more than the necessary maintenance when you have to constantly skim them off the water’s surface.
The Spruce serves up a nice guide to the variety of swimming pool types available. While there are defined types of pools, you can make it your own with an infinite amount of design ideas. Just the tile selection alone will put your unique stamp on your backyard pool.
Above-Ground Pools
If you haven’t looked at these in a while, they’ve come a long way. These are no longer vinyl wells filled with water. Available with all kinds of trim and design elements, you can “trial” an above-ground backyard pool to see if it’s something you and your family would really enjoy, without incurring the cost of that more permanent structure.
Above-ground pools adapt pretty easily to different terrain types, so they are a flexible solution. You can surround them in decking material to define the swimming space from the rest of the yard. These pools can also move when you do as they are generally portable.
Spools
A little newer to the marketplace, this pool style is quite popular given its versatility. Getting its name from a fusion of the words “spa” and “pool” these structures are much smaller than a traditionally sized pool but typically twice the length of your average spa.
Spools come furnished with powerful jets that create a current you can swim against for an effective workout in a small amount of space.
The temperature may be modified to make it most ideal when exercising. Because you may tire more easily working out in warm water, having this kind of adjustment at your fingertips is a wonderful feature. Then you can always go into “spa mode” whenever you want to chill out and enjoy soothing waves of warm.
Additionally, you can purchase a spool that features a detachable partition. It essentially bisects the spool space so you may swim in the cooler section while your partner enjoys the hot spa half!
Infinity Pools
These structures are certainly at the high-end, end of outdoor living. If you didn’t know what they were called, you have at least seen them pictured at exclusive resorts and in magazine layouts devoted to the lifestyles of the rich and famous. They are quite spectacular!
From The Spruce:
Infinity pools are also known as infinity edge pools, vanishing edge pools, negative edge, zero edge, or disappearing edge. Infinity pools are always custom-built and should be designed to highlight a view. Done right, an infinity pool gives one an illusion of a sheet of water dropping off over the edge of the property, like a waterfall, although you can’t see or hear falling water.
Lap Pools
Generally, these structures are intended for those focusing on fitness. Designed like a lane in an Olympic pool, they are narrow, but typically 50 or so feet in length so can fit almost anywhere while being utilitarian.
Recreational Pools
These are the pools that offer the most to everyone. You’ll have a shallow end for the beginner swimmers and can add on all kinds of touches like slides and steps and baja ledges and in-pool games. For those fitness enthusiasts, you can still get your laps in, or add a swim-up bar for entertaining. Available in a variety of shapes and sizes, these pools may be the “typical backyard pool” but when you add touches like sun sails, outdoor showers, cozy lounge chairs, and an outdoor audio system, you’ve got the perfect getaway in your own backyard!
Natural Pools
For true communing with nature, these distinctive pools have become quite popular, blending into the local ecosystem. They can either integrate into the surrounding landscape or be constructed with sleek elegance. With a regeneration zone that serves as a natural cleaning system, you will enjoy a refreshing aquatic experience that’s free from chemicals and offers a true respite from the everyday.
366 Pool Design Ideas
We’ve cultivated some fabulous images that showcase how creative you can get when it comes to living and loving your outdoor space. You’ll be inspired by these innovative ways to make the outside of your home as welcoming as the inside.
Create a corner of paradise for your family that you can enjoy in the coming pool season. (Here are some of our Top Staycation Tips by the way!) We also truly hope you and those you love, stay safe and well during this time.
As home improvement financing solution experts since 1979, Lyon Financial is proud of the difference we can make for your family by providing something that puts years of memories within reach. Call 877-754-5966 for more information.
