Often times when Long Island homeowners are in the design and planning phase for their new gunite pool and backyard landscape, they are torn between the sleek style they’ve always loved and a kid-fun design they know they need. Luckily, there are many design elements that can make both goals attainable resulting in a beautiful swimming pool space that is fun for the whole family.
Fountain Fun with Deck Jets
Deck jets—small streams of shooting water that shoot into the pool from the patio—can add real style and fun to your gunite pool design. Kids will have endless fun collecting the water with pool toys and dodging the streams wit their friends. Deck jets add a nice luxury feel for adults as they are often found in luxury resorts and can be controlled via smart home systems from an iPhone.
Pool Waterslide
Who says a pool has to be all about relaxing? Take your gunite pool to the next level by installing a fiberglass waterslide built into the boulders used as landscaping around the pool. This cavernous setting makes the slide seem extra fun to children. Consider adding a grotto like overhang using the same materials that surround the slide. This can create a great place for adults to relax and talk while the children have fun on the slide nearby.
Picnic Area
Set aside an area near the shallow end of your pool for children to sit, rest, eat, and relax. You can do this by adding child sized picnic tables and a small wet bar. Children will love serving each other juice and soda. It will provide a place where the children can be themselves without getting in the way of adults during larger parties. You could even set up a small changing tent in this area for child friends just visiting for a little bit of pool time.
Waterfall into the Pool
Professional landscape contractors and architects love to create the illusion of a wild waterfall tumbling into the pool. This gives the pool a scene of adventure, and children and adults alike love that! The kids will enjoy letting the water splash on their heads for hours. When it’s time for the adults to relax, there’s nothing quite like the sound of moving water to calm the mind after a long day at the office.
Outdoor Shower
Most people know they are supposed to shower before entering the pool. However, few people actually do in a backyard setting. Solve this problem for kids and adults at your own pool by installing a beautiful outdoor shower. Push the design envelope here with luxury designs like a raining mushroom located on natural stone. Showering while out in nature is a truly unique experience that many adults enjoy.
Built-in Storage
One of the biggest challenges Long Island homeowners face is keeping the swimming pool area clean and uncluttered from kids toys. The last thing you want after investing in a beautiful gunite pool and backyard landscape is to have it splattered with rafts, balls, and other pool toys. Create a thematic locker near the pool where all of this material can be stored. At the same time, these types of fun things are exactly what kids like. The answer is including poolside storage in your landscape design. Working with your Long Island landscape architect or designer, include built-in storage solutions that the kids can use to clean up after a fun day in the sun.