I have seen a lot of small backyard pools throughout my landscape design career, but this home has to be my favorite because it is just such a cool addition to their previously largely unused patio. Their property is not large, especially the small outdoor area that bumps up to the master suite. Small swimming pools seemed like an awesome way to upgrade this patio that before had felt like an afterthought with its harsh concrete design. With the addition of the single lap lane, gorgeous underwater lighting, and awesome new mural painted on the retaining wall, the place has been completely transformed. It just goes to show the power that things as seemingly nondescript as backyard pools can have on the feel of your home.
Small backyard pools are my new favorite thing because they allow you to have all of the benefits without the size commitment, or installation and maintenance price. As I am sure you know, an inground pool cost can be quite high both to install and to maintain. If you really want to enjoy the benefits of the pool but are scared of the budget requirements, I would I highly suggest looking into one of these miniature or single lane designs. This backyard opted for a single lane rather than a full size pool, and the size and shape works perfectly with the long and narrow dimensions of the backyard. Small inground pools are just as enjoyable for friends and family, they just are a lot more manageable from a decorative and a financial perspective.
Small backyard pools are just as fun (not to mention just as beautiful) as their full sized counterparts, they are just so much easy and less expensive to build and maintain. Even though inground pool prices have been dropping in recent years as materials and installation techniques have become more readily available and simple, they are still quite an investment. If you aren't ready to commit to a full size pool, definitely consider a single lap lane or miniature rectangle style like in this river front home. It is just large enough to swim or simply lounge in a float, but the benefit of small pool ideas like this is that they take less water and supplies to build. To me it is definitely a no brainer and, honestly, even if we had the space for a larger unit, I would probably still go with the smaller size.
At first I thought that small backyard pools like this single lap lane would be completely useless. I was used to larger full size varieties that you see in most yards. After staying in this rental for a wedding, my mind was completely changed and I came back with so many ideas for how to incorporate small pool designs into our own backyard. Despite the more miniature size, this pool was so lovely so soak in during the day or in the evening. Plus the limited square footage provided more area on the patio for furniture and fire pits and prevented the pool from overwhelming the space. Something like this would be awesome if you needed high end small backyard ideas to create a luxurious outdoor retreat. Not to mention, the installation and maintenance costs have to be astronomically less than a full size pool.
Small backyard pools like this would be such a fantastic addition to urban homes without a lot of green space. You can still enjoy the luxury of having a water feature in your backyard with single lane small pools that are easily nestled into those hard to figure out back patio areas. I actually think installing something like this is better than having a giant cement patio or a random narrow strip of grass in these urban outdoor areas. Not only will pools for small yards improve your quality of life but they will certainly increase the resale value of your home. These are such a rare find in more metropolitan areas and would be such a fun touch for any backyard area no matter how large or small.
I am a strong believe that small backyard pools instantly upgrade the look of any property and, as such, also raise the value of your home. Of course, not just any backyard swimming pool will do -- you have to make these water features a beautiful element of your home and decorate them just like you would any other area. I particularly love this design because it looks like a piece of art with the gorgeous indigo mosaic tiles that accent the simple concrete design. It looks like an extension of their flagstone patio (that also matches the stucco of their exterior) rather than one of those pool designs that seems to just have been plopped any old way into the lawn. This feels like an extension of the home, and definitely an upgrade to the space.
