During the pandemic, as people looked for ways to enhance their homes quarantined, the backyard is now a vital home extension. The outdoor environment you create should reflect how you want to spend time.

Several inground pool options are available for a pool buyer to build the rest of the poolscape around. Luxury means not only eye-pleasing but also very functional that will last for a long time. Any pool type can be incorporated into a very sophisticated design, yet only Gunite can accommodate the most desirable custom shapes, yet it comes with a very high price. One of the most popular pool types on the market is fiberglass pools due to their durability, fast construction, and Gelcoat surface.

Kate Wiseman, MLA, Principal Landscape Designer for Sage Outdoor Designs and GENESIS® faculty member, says. “I’m in the camp of designers who believe that there is no such thing as good design; there’s only good design for a specific person.” Wiseman teaches a GENESIS® course called “Mind Reading Your Clients” that teaches pool designers how to get the information they need from their clients to create a pool the clients will love.

“As the designer, I need to understand how they are going to use the space, how many people do we need to get into this space, is it being used by small children or not, do they care more about looks or functionality. So it’s on and on and on,” she explains.

Irikat also likes to ask big-picture questions when meeting clients for the first time. For example, “What is this going to contribute to your life? What is it going to add? What kind of value do you want to get out of this environment or this space?”

And he does mean the entire outdoor space – not just what you want from your pool, but from everything else, you’ll be doing around the pool, whether that’s hosting friends and family or cooking or relaxing. 

Once the functionality part is determined, it’s time to discuss aesthetics. Wiseman and Irikat ask clients to find pictures of things they think are beautiful or have an emotional connection to. “You can give me a picture of a kitchen if you love that kitchen,” Wiseman jokes. “An initial client mistake is that they show the designer scope-of-work elements, like a waterfall. No, no, you can just tell me you want a waterfall. I need to see five things you think are gorgeous.”

“I always ask them to pull pictures of something they connect with visually,” Irikat says. “A lot of times, they connect with something, and they start describing the feeling that they have: this makes me happy, this makes me relaxed, this makes me feel like I’m in a sanctuary. All these emotions are an important part of the design process.”

This may seem like a big-time commitment before any groundbreaking even takes place, but Wiseman assures you that it will be well worth it. “The time investment on the part of the client early pays back in tenfold during the project,” she explains. “Just give me those couple of hours to really get to know you and what you need, and then I can roll with it. You’ll end up with something that is surprisingly personalized, and you’ll love it.”

“Good design has to deliver on the experience as a whole,” says Irikat. “You’re not in the pool 24/7, but you can be outside that pool looking at that pool. So if you create the proper space to really take in that vision of the pool, you appreciate it so much more, and you’re going to love it a lot more.” 

“Especially for the luxury buyers, I’m always startled at how much someone is willing to pay for the construction of the pool and how hesitant they are to pay for the design,” Wiseman says. “It is such a small percentage of the overall budget to have a designer involved. And the payoff is huge. Having a designer involved does not automatically mean it will be more money or more than you want to spend. It just means that they’re going to take all of your ideas and make them better.”

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Pool magazine, by Genesis