11 Eye Candy Pool Design Ideas To Fit Any Budget

If there's one thing that’ll get anyone fired up about visiting a distant relative or family friend, it’s knowing that there’s a pool at their house. On a scorching summer day, who wouldn’t want to take a dip in the privacy of their own pool? No more public pools, with their stuffy changing rooms, lost flip-flops, and sketchy blue dye in the water. Having an entire pool all to yourself and the family is truly a luxury.

With summer 2021 quickly approaching (as summer always tends to do), a set of great pool design ideas never hurts — whether you're looking for inspiration or just to live vicariously. Most important to keep in mind is, although a pool is a significant investment, the best ideas don't necessarily need to have luxurious budgets too.

Fun and Wholesome - $

Whether you’re trying to do good on a promise you made to the kids or are looking to increase your home value, there are some budget-friendly swimming pool ideas to work with that don’t have to be too fancy or time-consuming. They’re a simple, convenient, and practical place to start. 

Above Ground Pool for the Whole Family

The Best Pool Design for Kids

These circular pools are a staple in many family backyards. While often made out of concrete, above-ground pools typically have a wooden exterior. This allows the pool’s design to match the exterior of your house. If you have a deck or a patio nearby, you can build the pool out of the same material to bring the entire landscape together. 

You can also make tons of fun additions to above-ground pools as well. You can add a little slide, a table to put food on, a canopy shade to block out the sun, or even build a miniature deck around the side. The ease of customization makes the wooden above-ground pool the best pool design for kids. It’s all about making more out of less.

Wooden Deck Pools for Picnics, Cookouts, and Parties

The Best Pool Design for Cookouts

If you don’t wish to have a pool jutting out in the middle of your backyard, consider softening the edge with a deck. If you have enough space to accommodate it, a semi or fully buried above-ground pool can disguise itself under a deck, without requiring you to tear down parts of your landscape to build it. 

By assembling the pool into the deck, you’re not only connecting it to the rest of the landscape but also adding extra insulation, which will keep the pool sturdier. The deck will also serve as additional flat space for you to host cookouts and parties on. However, because this is a more complex task that requires careful design and measurements, consider getting in touch with a general contractor to work on your semi inground pool ideas.

Lap Pool: Healthy Lifestyle in Limited Space

Pool Design Ideas In Time for Summer

If you don’t have a lot of outdoor space and consider swimming a healthy hobby then an above-ground lap pool is what you need. Due to the narrow design, lap pools may not be convenient for hosting pool parties or look especially glamorous. However, some infinity or overflow designs do look stunning because of their simple, sleek aesthetics, which can be nicely paired with modern minimal home exteriors.

The Best Pool Design for Small Spaces

With its narrow width, it can fit in pretty much any backyard as long as you have a 30+ foot space to allocate. Although they may look like the crème de la crème of backyard recreation, don’t be fooled into thinking that all lap pools are an expensive luxury. 

Stylized Oases $$

Naturally, there are plenty more styles to choose from, especially if you have a little more wiggle room in your inground pool budget. After all, pool ideas and designs are limited by the space you’re working with, your budget, and of course, your imagination.

An Organic Setting for the Biophile

Natural Pond Habitat for Your Backyard Oasis

As their names suggest, organic pools camouflage themselves into the natural formations of your backyard but still have all the technology and design features of normal pools. The unique feature of organic pools is how they blend in with the nature around them and utilize natural features like foliage, plants, and stones. It’s also a great solution if you want to bring natural design into your backyard in case it lacks the aforementioned organic features.

While you may find some organic pools with a more traditional round or oval shape, they tend to be freeform, as they adapt to the nature around them. You can even have an organic pool and create the nature that surrounds it yourself. Some variants even include plants growing in the shallower ends of the pool to emphasize the organic and biophilic design.

Green Pool Landscaping for a Dip Into Nature 

Green Landscaping Around Your Pool

These are very similar to the organic pools, though there isn’t as much emphasis on incorporating organic elements. Instead, these pools have more traditional forms, but nestle themselves within the plain grassy landscape in your backyard. Most pools have interlocking pavement or decks surfacing around them, but these are partially or entirely surrounded by grass.

Regardless of whether you use natural or artificial grass, the blue of the pool complements the rich green grass, making for an attractive external addition to your home. Make sure to speak with a landscape contractor to see which type of grass matting will suit your backyard.

A Blue Haven Pool and Spa Combo

Classic Pool Designs for A Medium Sized Budget

A very common design among many pool owners is the classic combination of pool and jacuzzi. It’s not anything too luxurious or grand, but the Blue Haven is a rich blue pool design that brings a little extra functionality to your backyard. You can go from splashing around in the pool to relaxing in the jacuzzi.

With the help of expert plumbers, you can install massagers into the jacuzzi and get an electrician to put in some beautiful lighting features. You can turn your backyard into a little Grecian resort, giving you plenty of space to loosen up after a tiresome day at work.

Beach Entry That Reminds You of the Coast

Fun Pool Designs That Take You to the Coast

One major advantage of going to the beach is not having to watch your step when you run in the water. It’s so easy to trip and fall into the water when you’re excited about jumping in. With a beach entry, often called a zero-entry pool, this isn’t a problem. Instead of a hard edge, the ground smoothly inclines into the pool, allowing you to enter it at your own pace. 

Planting exotic plants, decorating with seashells, and having the pavement around the pool imitate sand is a simple, yet effective way to further emphasize the coastal theme. You’ll feel like you’re taking a swim in your own little ocean escape. 

Luxury Recreation $$$

If you’re ready to go all out and drop as much cash as you want to get the most glamorous and luxurious pool imaginable, here are just a few options you could look into.

Infinity Pools with a Heavenly View

Why Infinity Pools Will Never Go Out of Style

When we think of luxury design, the infinity pool often comes to mind first. The illusion that the water is floating out into the air, leading to a beautiful vista makes this backyard gem an epitome of modern elegance.

Pool architects and contractors recommend building the infinity pool in an area with an incredible view or waterfront. Why have an infinity pool that just overlooks the neighbor’s fence? Most infinity pools are built overlooking a mountain range, the ocean, an open field, but can even work beautifully overlooking a city skyline. 

Dive Into the Future with a Smart Indoor Pool

Luxurious Swimming Pools

Modern technology has found its way into every corner of our lives, all the way to our pools. With a single smart device, you can control everything: the pumps, filters, accent lighting, even the ventilation of the pool. This makes each swim its own special unique experience catered to your comfort.

It’s especially advantageous to have an indoor smart pool as it gives you even greater control over every aspect. Self-cleaning technology takes a little edge off pool maintenance. A smart pool can assist you with the water chemistry, which many pool owners will agree is very difficult to learn, by giving you all the instructions on which chemicals to use and when. You can even control the pool temperature, given that all the necessary equipment is installed. 

Japanese-Inspired Bathhouse 

Create a Japanese Inspired Bathhouse In Your Home

You’ll find many models of factory-made spa pools. But a custom-built one designed by a landscaper together with an expert pool technician, featuring all kinds of atmospheric and stylistic details, can be something out of this world. 

A Japanese-inspired indoor bathhouse is a pricey, but very rewarding addition to any home. It’s a favorite among those who take their relaxation to the next level. It goes beyond a recreational swimming pool and gives you a little steamy escape and isolation from the chaos of the outside world.

Sleek Glass and Marble Overflows 

Sleek Glass and Marble Pool Overflows

Another interesting bit of pool engineering for anyone who can afford it is the overflow pool. Like the infinity pool, these are also designed to look as if they don’t have any edges, letting the water softly flow over. This gives the pool a mesmerizing reflective effect, almost like it’s a solid piece of glass.

To complement this effect, line the pool with reflective materials, like glass or dark marble tiles. The decor is typically kept to a minimum, with ambient or accent lighting doing most of the work. Many of the overflow pools you’ll find are very angular, with sharp edges.