Global Advice Center

Decorating Your Poolside Patio

Posted on May 22, 2010 11:03:52 PM

One popular summer project that many homeowners and property investors take on is to upgrade the landscaping around their property’s backyard pool. Similarly many will take it a step further and upgrade the patio around the pool by changing the surface either by resurfacing it, staining it, or even laying concrete paving slabs on it to give it a highly decorated feel. Generally placing anything other than a simple concrete patio around your pool is preferred as textured surfaces add safety from slippage and beauty via the color and decoration built into the slabs.

If you choose to pave or re-pave your swimming pool landscape (the area around your pool), make sure to do this before moving on to the plants and yard around it. Resurfacing the patio or swimming pool area will be a messy job, so you want to complete it before you spend your time and money on building up the landscaping and gardening.

You may also want to consider building in raised planter boxes and built-in seating via a concrete retaining wall or brick structure. Lots of seating around and near pool areas is a good thing for socializing, and it’s always good to keep your garden and planter boxes away from the splash and drainage of pool water. Building up raised planter boxes is not hard and can be done by just about anyone in an afternoon of manual labor–and it will make the land look that much better.

Consider your plant selections last, and make sure they require a suitable amount of sun and for the area they are in. If you need to install a drip system or other form of irrigation you should do this before planting the pieces into your garden. Stick with hardy plants as traffic around these planters could be high, and the splash of chlorinated pool water is always a possibility.

Remember that a poolside patio should be an extension of the property’s living space. It may cost a bit to make it feel like a great place to be, but it will be worth it when all the work is done. Just make sure to add plenty of seating and patio furniture and you may never want to leave this space again. Or if, in the case of investment properties, the improvements are simply to raise the value of the property, this appreciation in value should also allow you to charge higher rental fees or put the piece of real estate on sale at a higher price than the market would have accepted before the remodeling.