Tag Archive for: Pools

Benefits of a Pool in Your Own Backyard

There’s just something about the summer that seems to make people happy. Maybe it’s the kids being off school, maybe it’s the memories we have stored away from our own childhoods and that sense of freedom that comes along with it.

Summer is even better when it’s spent poolside surrounded by friends and family. But when you don’t have your own pool and have to watch your neighbors enjoy theirs through the fence it can put a damper on your mood.

Here are the benefits of having a pool in your backyard and why it’s an essential item to have when the hot weather is upon you. A cold popsicle just doesn’t do the job anymore.

Benefits of Installing a Backyard Pool

Cool Off Anytime Anywhere

We all love the beach but it’s such a hassle do get there. You have to drive out of your way to get to those sandy shores, pay for parking, and pack everything you need for the day but somehow still manage to forget stuff. Don’t even try the public pool – that place is always way too crowded.

Cool off anytime at your convenience with a pool in your backyard! You won’t have to deal with crowds, parking, or any other of the small things that can make any trip to a body of water a hassle. Simply walk out your door and jump in when the heat gets too much – it’s that easy.

It’s Great For Entertaining

Most people love the summer cookouts. Just the thought of grilling some steaks, kabobs, burgers, and vegetables gets our mouths watering and your hands busy texting our friends planning the next one. But if you’re hosting, a pool makes your job a lot easier.

A backyard pool at the cookout gives your guests something to do and hang around until the food’s ready. It keeps the party fun and lively while providing hours of excellent entertainment for kids. Since you’re supplying the pool, hopefully, someone else is supplying the pasta salad.

It Makes Your Green Space Look Gorgeous

Adding any kind of water element is a great way to break up the grass and greenery out back with a focal piece that’s stylish and soothing. But adding a pool makes the element functional for you and your life as well.

Gone are the days when pools had to be your standard rectangle and blue plastic combination. Now, pools can be built into custom shapes that complement your backyard and look as stylish as they are fun to splash in. It’s a win, win!

Pools Are Ideal For Exercise

Don’t bother buying a gym membership when you have a pool in your backyard because swimming is one of the best exercises for you. It’s a full-body workout that also conditions your heart and lungs.

Swimming is great for you because it’s low impact movement that won’t disturb those suffering from joint pain or mobility issues, water resistance is higher than air resistance so you’ll get your heart rate up while you’re swimming, and it’s an aerobic exercise so you’ll be burning lots of calories while you do it.

The best part about having a backyard pool is that it’s a private way to get your exercise in without nosy people looking at you at the gym. We’ve all felt exposed and self-conscious when we lock eyes with that one random person who’s watching you on the treadmill. Avoid that whole situation and workout somewhere that’s private.

Your Kids Will Love It

Any kid with a pool basically lives in it all summer. They’re out there from 9am to 9pm playing with their friends, tanning, listening to music, and swimming laps happily. The pool is basically the summer camp that’s way easier to get to and they can choose when snack time is.

Your kids won’t be able to thank you enough for installing a pool – everyone will want to hang out and party with them at the pool and have a great summer. Plus, you’ll always know that your kids are safe and not getting into trouble since they’ll be at home and you can check on them when you please.

Contact State of the Art Landscape for Your Backyard Pool

Have yourself a wonderful summer by signing up to install a backyard pool today. The benefits of having a pool are just way too good to ignore. Plus, when you’re drenched in sweat in the middle of a heatwave and desperately trying to cool down with one measly icepack in your basement, a pool is all you’re going to be dreaming about.

Contact the experts in luxury custom swimming pools in Northern Virginia to learn more about what we can build for you.

Pool & Backyard Activity Hacks For Your Family

If you have a backyard you love, carefully landscaped to create a pleasing environment, and you have a pool to go with it, you’re in an incredibly fortunate position. You have many entertainment options right at home for yourself, your friends, and your family.

But what do you do with these features? If you have a pool and a grill located somewhere, that means swimming, and barbecue meals to make memories with, but there’s more to your pool and yard than that. And these family hacks can help your family to get more out of the yard and pool besides swimming and eating.  

Recycle Your Pool Noodles

The “pool noodle” is a piece of long, cylindrical, polyethylene foam that is buoyant, and so often used as “training wheels” for children to assist in learning how to swim. However, once that stage is complete, and your kids enjoy the freedom of swimming in the water, what then?

Rather than throwing your pool noodles into the trash, you can be creative. Take those pool noodles and recycle them into different uses. They can be used as a “beverage boat” to hold drinks and send them along the pool to other locations. They can be turned into watercraft for toys your children may have so that they can continue their adventures in the water. There are many different possibilities for pool noodles rather than consigning them to the trash.

Run Summer Camp At Home

Maybe you and your kids have had the experience of summer camp during vacation. Maybe you haven’t. One way or the other, you can have exactly the kind of summer camp experience you want if you conduct it at home instead.

Whether you want to follow a traditional summer camp curriculum of roasting marshmallows at night before retiring to a tent, or you want to make your own agenda of things you always felt summer camp should do have fun with it! Coming up with summer camp activities, especially in a yard with a pool in it, is a great family experience.

Have A Movie Night

Today, most people think of movie night as marching to the home theater or “man cave” room, with some popcorn and drinks, and watching a family movie in high definition, with surround sound. However, with a little ingenuity, the use of a projector, and a willingness to go back to the great outdoors, you can turn your backyard into an outdoor “drive-in movie” style venue.

Loosen up with movie night watch it as a family outside. If you have a pool, you can even add a bit of novelty and lounge in the water, or on top of it, for a unique experience. This is a lot easier if your home theater system already uses a rear-projection system, but if you don’t have this, there are other alternatives, so you don’t have to move your 4K flatscreen TV and/or speakers outside.

Start A Water Fight

While it’s mostly the 1990s that the “super soaker” water gun is associated with, the old fashioned water fight is a timeless activity. You can have a lot of fun in a yard or pool with a water fight, and you can even mix things up by bringing color into it.

One variation on a traditional water fight is to load up water guns with non-toxic dyes and let people fight in white t-shirts. You get some crazy colored designs out of such a fight, and the dyes themselves can safely wash away as long as they’re still wet, so clean up is easy for the parts of the yard you don’t want permanently colored.

Play Watermelon Ball

In the old days, they used an actual watermelon for this pool game. Today, you can buy a synthetic product that will last you your lifetime, so you’re probably better off with that purchase. Watermelons were originally used as a type of ball for a rugby/soccer/football variation in swimming pools.

The reason the watermelon was chosen was that it was “neutrally buoyant,” meaning that it didn’t rise to the surface of the water, nor did it sink like a stone. This made it quite manageable as a sports ball for swimming pools. If you want to play a game in your pool where you can get away with dribbling and kicking underwater, then study up on the rules for watermelon ball, and get the family involved. It’s a great activity for everyone.

Dreaming About a Pool? Things to Consider

A pool will truly transform your property and elevate your outdoor living. There are so many ways to design, build, and embellish a modern pool. So, read on for some ideas! 

Does the warming weather have you daydreaming about a backyard pool? Before you jump in and make your dream a reality, let us share some of the basics, both practical and aesthetic. To help you make some important decisions about the place where your family will cool off and entertain, we go through a straight forward process to extract the details we need from you in order to make that dream become reality.   Read more