I bought my house in the dead of winter. The entire exterior was covered in a deep blanket of snow. So deep, in fact, that I never even walked around the backyard to familiarize myself with the space when I was considering buying the property. I merely peered out the second-floor windows and surmised that you sure do get a lot for your money when you buy a property just outside the downtown core.
Instead of a cramped postage stamp of play space, I had a giant yard to reinvent. It was a classic 50s blank slate consisting of a perimeter fence, two trees, a big area of grass, and some border plantings. In other words, there were no glaring issues, but also nothing stylish to give it any sense of presence or connection to the house. The fact that there was no direct access to the yard from the rear elevation of the home wasn't doing anything for it either.
Our wish list of how to use a backyard has changed dramatically in the past 50 years. We want our outdoor spaces to be a reflection of our indoor style, and we consider the exterior to be an extension of the interior during our precious summer months. Translation: A bland patch o' grass with a few rosebushes wasn't going to cut it in today's design-savvy marketplace.
I had imagined an elegant patio, some dynamic plantings, and a new walkout to connect the indoors and out. Then I peered over the back fence to see what my neighbour had done with her yard, and the trouble began. She had a pool. So did my next door neighbour, and many other people on the street. Suddenly, I wanted a pool, too.
A quick call to my real estate agent/sounding board confirmed that this was, indeed, a neighbourhood well suited to investing in the installation of a smashing, splashing summer oasis. One call to a reputable pool company and I was taking the proverbial plunge!
Plunge or playground
There are two distinct genres of pools to choose from. You can go for the simple straight-lined look of a plunge pool, or you can do something evocative of a beach resort. Looking outside my window today, I can clearly tell we are not in Cancun. ... My pool certainly did not need to look like it should be complemented by a tiki hut and swim-up bar.
Once I'd eliminated all the fancy shapes in favour of a boring yet classic rectangle, it was time to assess appropriate size. My take on the overall installation approach was that I wanted a water feature, not a water monstrosity. I wanted a place to splash and entertain, but didn't want the rest of the yard to feel dwarfed by this giant hole in the ground.
Against the advice of my pool man, I opted to go smaller rather than bigger. In the end, I opted for 10 feet wide and 24 feet long. Granted, it's not huge, but shrinking the size of the actual pool left much more room around the perimeter for decking, plants, circulation and play space.
To make entry and exit as graceful as possible, I chose to run the steps the entire width of the pool and eliminated the little ladder that was part of the package just before it was installed. The wide steps make a superb spot for lounging and are great for little ones learning to swim.
Since I wasn't creating any fanfare with the shape of my pool, I eagerly signed up for a little add-on in the "bells and whistles" department by adding two arcing jets that create a fountain effect at the far end of the pool. It's great fun for frolicking in the water, but over all, the jets create a mesmerizing, dramatic water feature.
Finishing touches
I was up for the price tag on the installation of the pool and equipment, but what I overlooked to some degree was the additional elements required to really make it work. Once I'd signed on the dotted line for a $30,000+ pool, I soon realized that there was much more to making my summer fantasy a reality. Stonework; a perimeter fence to satisfy code regulations; a cabana to store equipment, chemicals and supplies; plantings to soften the landscape - and a good $40,000 later, I was almost done (gulp).
There are admittedly less expensive options to choose from, but what I forgot when I signed up for the pool was that less expensive options for anything related to outdoor spaces quickly translates to a much less attractive finished product. In order to make my yard feel like a resort, I had to take the high-end route on the important items and try to eek out a few savings in other areas.
Mixed media
I'm stubborn when it comes to stonework. I have a terrible aversion to man-made pavers and anything other than natural stone. It seems sinfully decadent and rather snobbish, but I just can't find a single man-made, interlocking-type paving product that I can live with, and whenever I'm confronted with making a choice, my stonemason seems to be the beneficiary of my urge to splurge.
I soothed my fears about overspending by selecting a cost-effective flagstone with my landscape designer, but soon found out that the salt in my saltwater pool (oh no, chlorine just won't do!) would react poorly with the iron in the stone and leave rust marks on it (who would have thought?). Cha-ching, cha-ching , and we found a lovely alternative.
There were obvious areas that required stone, like the walkout from the lower level and the surround for the pool, and then there were areas that obviously required a cheaper solution. Sod was laid in part of the area to maintain a healthy ratio of greenspace, and the entertainment/lounge area was defined by installing a cedar deck platform. The deck makes the relationship between pool and patio feel more like the connection between lake to dock. I liked both the softness of the boards underfoot and the fact that this choice softened the blow on my bank account.
Cabana compromise
My talented landscape designer had visions of a superb cabana-cum-clubhouse, complete with stone wall and water feature. I had visions of cost overruns that started making me lose sleep, so I hacked away at the original plan and tried to plan a structure that integrated off-the-shelf supplies and building materials yet still looked swish.
We clad the structure in exterior grade panelling, which costs about $50 for a four- by eight-foot sheet; nabbed doors for about $100 each; added a corrugated metal roof that highlights the silvery tone of the perimeter fence; simplified the design; and painted it all in colours to complement the house. Oddly, it's one of my favourite additions to the yard and likely the least expensive.
Saving greenery
If money had been no object, we would have taken out all the plant material and started fresh. But that wasn't the case. We managed to save most of the healthy plants and simply added new shrubs, trees and plants in the areas where they would be most effective.
By prioritizing spending, I was able to invest in a few mature, big-impact specimens instead of tiny seedlings that would have needed years to grow. (To be honest, never being known for my patience, I needed the instant gratification that comes with bigger plants.)
By the end of my backyard adventure, I'd spent far more than I planned, but I figured the outdoor oasis I'd created would add significantly to the value of the property. When the flurries blow by my window and the holiday decorations start to appear, it's nice to think about the sultry days of summer and the joys of a cool dip in the pool.
Sarah Richardson is host and co-producer of Design Inc. on HGTV and principal of Sarah Richardson Design ( ). Sarah's House airs each Tuesday on HGTV at 9 p.m. ET.
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Where to buy things
Landscaping - Cubic Yard Design, (416) 524-2589,
Pool, pool chemicals and equipment - Jameson Pool & Spa, (905) 828-7665,
Pool railing - Metalica, (416) 742-6000
Masonry work - MBKL Ltd., (416) 836-7295
Plant material - Woodhill Garden Centre, (905) 889-2917,
Large resin planters, small metal planters, galvanized steel buckets - Sheridan Nurseries, (416) 798-7970,
Outdoor furniture - Andrew Richard Designs, (416) 601-1451,
Wood fence, lighting, doors, panelling, stain - Home Depot, (800) 628-0525,