At first, these Henrico County, Virginia, homeowners were looking to add a pool that would make their house the place to be for their three kids and their friends. But once landscape designer Greg Koehler of Outdoor Dreams stopped by for a consult, the project expanded.
“They thought they’d be able to work with their existing deck, but we couldn’t in good conscience tell them that it was worth fixing up,” he says. “In order to give them a well-designed deck and some usable lounge space they desired beneath it, we let them know that replacing that deck would be best.” By the time the project was done, they’d also added a fire table area and a putting green for family fun.
Before: The homeowners have two kids in middle school and one in high school. They wanted their yard to be the hangout spot for the kids and their friends, but the existing yard didn’t draw people in. And the deck design left the space underneath uninviting.
After: Finding a pool size that would be a nice fit for the approximately one-third-acre backyard was the first move. Koehler reviewed pool options with his clients, particularly fiberglass pools versus custom gunite pools. They ultimately decided on fiberglass. This is a pool that comes as one completed form, and size is limited to what can fit on the back of a truck. “The largest fiberglass pool that comes in one piece is 16 feet by 24 feet. That was just the right size for this yard,” Koehler says.