Eye-Catching Pool Features to Enhance Your Backyard Experience
Whether it is outdoor entertainment with BBQ Sundays or a romantic date night, pool features transform your backyard into a great spot of visual interest and beauty.
Swimming pools have come a long way from being a hole in the ground. While traditional swimming pools still exist, nowadays homeowners are looking to stand out. They want stunning features in their unique backyards.
Premier Pools & Spas, the largest pool builder in the country, has been helping homeowners from around the country realize their backyard dreams for over three decades. With our extensive knowledge and expert pool construction crew, we deliver breathtaking views to make your outdoor space more exciting. Whatever you choose to build—fiberglass, vinyl, or gunite pools— you get the option to customize the design and features to your liking.
Dazzling Swimming Pool Features to Bring Your Backyard to Life
With advancements in modern technology, nothing is out of reach today. Especially with gunite swimming pools, you have the flexibility to build whatever you dream of. Do you want a contemporary waterside retreat with a lazy river flowing along the perimeter? A fairy-tale backyard for your little princess? We can do it all!
Here are some pool features you’ll need for an enchanting outdoor experience:
Water Features
Swimming pool water features have the amazing ability to enhance the visual appeal of the already beautiful backyard. You can combine two or more types of water features to achieve the effect of whimsical charm or use a single element for an elegant look.
Spillover Spa
Spillover spas are great pool water features connected directly to the pool. With a water curtain or fountain that flows into the pool, they create an effect that is similar to an infinity edge pool. Add contrasting fire features in your gunite spa spillover for ultimate comfort in your backyard resort.
Waterfall
An outdoor waterfall, when integrated with the pool, can create a sacred backyard getaway. This stunning focal piece gives a luxurious touch to any pool theme, from Hawaiian retreat to Art Deco style. You can also add a dramatic drop with spillways from the pool retaining wall.
Deck Jets
Also known as laminar or pencil jets, deck jets can make your pool experience more thrilling. The fine water streams that shoot out are captivating to look at, especially when you add colorful light effects. They are available with flow-adjustable and direction-adjustable nozzles.
Bubblers
Gushers or bubblers are pool water features that are mini fountains to be placed in your spa, tanning ledges, or shallow end of the pool. These hydrotherapy options not only look great, but the gushing sound of water also produces a meditative effect.
Sheer Descent
Rain curtains and sheer arcs are some of the other names of this captivating pool addition. Smartly positioned sheer descents with varying widths can create glass-like sheets of water that can be standalone landscape features too.
There are many more pool features like scuppers, water slides, and spouts that can elevate your outdoor experience. Choose the features that suit your lifestyle best!
Fire Features
Fire is an element that can bring visual perfection even to simple pool designs. Fire and water make for a dynamic duo that breaks the monotony of the pool. Enjoy your backyard after dark as the bright flames dance throughout the night.
Fire Table
Gather around the fire table with your loved ones for an outdoor movie night. Another scenario includes toasting marshmallows on a concrete fireplace that features built-in, low bench seating. You can customize these show-stopping pool fire features in a cozy nook and enjoy your version of a family campsite adventure.
Fire Pit
The most common pool features that many homeowners cannot do without are the fire pits. Plan your evening of poolside fun centered around the firepit and some stylish outdoor furniture to get the most out of the party. These backyard installations are portable and pre-fabricated and can be custom-built to your specifications.
Fire Walls
Fire walls are the trendiest decorative additions for any modern pool. A firewall is ideal for creating a separation between sections of the pool environment and providing warmth in chilly evenings. You can even have it behind a rain curtain for an unconventional effect.
Fire bowls combined with water features like scuppers blend the fiery elements with calming water sounds. One of the pool fire features that is gathering much popularity is the Helix torch, which has glass enclosing the brilliance of fire.
Dazzle the Pool with Stunning Fire Features
- Mystical trio: Lava rock fire pit with built-in scuppers and mood lighting
- Provincial beauty: Floral landscaping, flaming fountain, and French country sunporch
- Zen fusion design: Vertical planters, Japanese lanterns, and whimsical stepping stones
- Modern delight: Sunken seating, in-pool fire pit, and pergola rain curtain
Light Features
Pool lights, correctly designed and strategically placed, can amplify the beauty of your outdoor entertainment area. With creative pool lighting designs and concealed fixtures, turn any backyard element into a majestic centerpiece.
Highlighting
Do you have one expensive piece in your outdoors that you want everyone to admire? If so, draw their attention with up-lights installed on the ground level. Use pool lighting to highlight the statuary fountain that dances in the dark. Another idea is to create intriguing shadows with moonlighting perched on top of trees or high architectural structures.
Safety Lights
Walking around at night can be hazardous without ample lighting, as there are steps and other tiered structures you have to look out for. You can use stair tread lights and solar pool lights along the pool perimeter to create a safer environment. If not, you use incandescent bulbs to highlight your lush landscape and your pool’s delicate beauty.
LEDs
For added comfort and convenience, LED pool lights are the best options. They last longer and are easy to maintain. Unlike halogen bulbs, you do not need to replace them often. The best part is that LED lights can be incorporated into any design, whether it’s in-pool lights or above-ground lights. With that being said, LEDs suit every intricate pool space.
Mood Lighting
With modern technology, you have the power to create the perfect poolside ambiance at your fingertips. With fully automated dimmer lights, you can now enjoy your solitary night out in the swim spa. Enjoy Al Fresco dining with dimmed pool lighting under the stars.
Underwater, floating, submersible, or fixed—there are a lot of lighting options to choose from. Combine innovative lighting features and add magic to your outdoor space.
Unique Ideas for Pool Deck Privacy
- Lattice screen with planters or creeping plants
- Upcycled door or window frame privacy fence with mirrors
- Tall container plants or vertical gardens
- Canvas walls, cloth curtains, and vertical blinds
Outdoor Living
While the pool remains the focal attraction, much emphasis is given to the outdoor living space. After all, your backyard is a spot to relax with your family after a long day. There are other ways to spice up your backyard, other than having a pool.
Outdoor Kitchen
One aspect of outdoor living that has always remained a trend is the outdoor kitchen. Whether it is a full-size kitchen with all the appliances or one with the basics (a bar and a grill), cooking and entertaining outdoors is a fun activity. Get the beer going, and have a standard outdoor BBQ!
Outdoor Living Room
For a classy look, opt for an outdoor living room with plush seating and a fireplace. Choosing the right embellishments is critical; otherwise, you may end up with a style that is not in sync with your pool theme. For example, if you have a contemporary pool, go with architectural features and clean lines.
Landscaping
Your patio and the green vegetation make up for the pool landscape design, which again, is central to your outdoor living style. Custom seating and lighting are great options whether you like solo lounging or game night by the pool.
Other upgrades to consider for your new pool build or makeover are:
- Gazebos and cabanas
- Swim-up bars
- In-pool stools
- Sunken patios
- Hedges for privacy
Turn your plain backyard into a resort-quality aquatic retreat with these outdoor living features.
Pool Automation
Smartphones, smart homes, and smart cars: while everything around you is getting automated, your pool surely is not one to be left behind.
In the good old days, you had to turn on individual switches for each pool feature. Now, with advanced pool automation, you can access every pool control in one spot and flip all the switches with a single swipe. This is a boon considering the intricacies of modern pool designs and the sophisticated pool equipment that come with them.
If you are wondering which of your pool features you can automate, we have news for you! You can use almost all of the pool controls by integrating them with the central hub of your pool automation system.
There is no doubt that pool automation is helpful when you are chilling by the pool and wish to be left undisturbed. Getting up to dim the lights and change the spa temperature is a thing in the past. With pool automation, you can do all that comfortably at a distance.
On Vacation
When you are on a month-long holiday, you no longer will have to worry about messing up your cleaning schedule. With a pool automation system, you can clean your pool while on the go. For this to take full effect, you will need to program regular cleaning sessions to keep your pool water sparkly clean before heading out.
Party Time
Imagine this: you have been organizing the seating, ordering the catering, and following up with the invites, and the time has finally come for your party. When you see your guests arrive, you remember that you still have some things to attend to. By activating the party mode on your phone, you’ll be set! You’ll be able to light up the entire backyard and turn up the heat in the spa.
Pool automation is not just pure fun as you can also have significant savings on your energy bills. Use your phone to remotely monitor your pool with the most efficient backyard automation systems.
For Spectacular Pool Features, Call Premier Pools & Spas
Whatever you decide on, we want you to know that endless opportunities are waiting to be tapped. To build an impressive outdoor living design or a fully automated futuristic pool in your backyard, you can rely on Premier Pools & Spas. Visit our offices in your location or contact us for a free estimate.
Explore Our Pool Feature Photo Galleries
Looking for inspiration? Browse through our photo galleries of beautiful pool features that we have built over the years. Find the best pool features that fits your families lifestyle.