Growing up, I never had a pool in my backyard. It was something I always wished for, but a pool just wasn’t in the plans for my parents. The closest we got was having a jacuzzi that we used to play in. When Eddie and I got married, we lived in a condo and there was a pool in our building. I swore I would use it all the time, but the truth is, I might have used it three times in the two years we lived there. 

Whenever Eddie mentioned a pool, I kind of brushed it off and thought, “Eh, maybe one day.” But one day came, and Eddie had Hiroki from Kiso Group come out and look at the backyard and draw up some plans for a pool. Honestly, until they started digging, I didn’t really believe it was going to happen! 

Our backyard is not huge by any means. But we hadn’t really done much to it since we moved in. We had a gazebo, some furniture, rocks, and pavers. We put down new sod several times, but the backyard always became a muddy mess so we rarely used it. As a matter of fact, I always played in the front yard with Caleb. 

Going in, we knew we couldn’t have a huge pool. We wanted something we could cool off and lounge around in, and that the kids would be able to play in on the weekends and in the afternoons. We also wanted a table where we could entertain. 

Eddie took care of the designing and I just gave my input on a few things I really wanted. Because I’ve had several people ask, the dimensions of the pool are 11′ x 16′ and the deepest part of the pool is 4.5 feet deep. We wanted a larger first step area for sitting and the kids to play and that is 1 foot deep. If you follow along on my Instagram and watch my stories, you got to see the whole process of this being built. But these pictures really show off just how nice everything turned out. 

As far as the patio furniture we found some we loved at Target! I linked similar items below because they are sold out. When it came to the grass, we knew grass wouldn’t survive back there because it had always been a mess in the past. To help with keeping the pool dirt and grass free and to keep the backyard looking nice all the time, we decided to go with turf. It has been one of my favorite decisions! We also planted a hedge of podocarpus around the pool equipment and around the perimeter of the backyard. 

We have spent a lot of time in our backyard this summer, and a couple of days ago, we were all hanging out in there, there was some lounge music playing, and I really felt like I was on vacation at a trendy boutique hotel. It has become a great space for entertaining (and will be even nicer for entertaining when the weather improves!). And because of the turf, it’s almost an extension of the house and we can be out there barefoot (which I loveeeee!). 

Also, you know water safety is important to me, so we have several safeguards in place. First, our alarm goes off every time any door is opened, and we hear it all over the house. Second, there is a latch on the doors leading to the backyard that we make sure to keep in place when we aren’t going in and out. We also have a pool fence that goes up when the pool is not in use!

Have a great weekend everyone! If you need me, I’ll be sipping on some Rose by the pool. 😉

xoxo, 

Jenise