Don't Just Build a Pool

Create an Experience

Your backyard is more than just a yard. Especially over the last year and-a-half, as people looked for ways to enhance their homes as they quarantined, the backyard is now an important extension of the home. The outdoor environment you create should be a reflection of your personality, your preferences, and your priorities.

Van Kirk & Sons Pools & Spas

But how do you ensure you get the environment you want? If you’re adding a pool to your yard, your first step should be to find a credentialed pool designer.

“The homeowner should do their homework before they hire a designer,” advises Feras Irikat, Director of Design & Marketing for GENESIS® faculty member. “I’m a fan of clients interviewing several people prior to picking the one. This is going to be a kind of relationship, so you have to have that connection. Take your time to meet them and feel like they are really understanding what you want.”

Kate Wiseman, MLA, Principal Landscape Designer for Sage Outdoor Designs and GENESIS® faculty member, agrees. “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 in order to create a pool the clients will love.

Claffey Pools

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 both ask clients to find pictures of things they think are beautiful, or that they 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.”

Diffazur Piscines

“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. If you create the proper space to really take in that visual of the pool, you appreciate it so much more and you’re going to love it a lot more.” To find a credentialed pool designer, Wiseman and Irikat recommend visiting the GENESIS® website, genesis.phta.org, and looking at the list of Certified Expert Pool Builders and Certified Master Pool Builders.

“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’s going to be more money or more than you wanted to spend. It just means that they’re going to take all of your ideas and make them better.”

These are professionals who have earned thirdparty certifications after completing coursework in construction, design, and engineering, including Irikat’s “Color Theory and Its Application” course. Certified individuals have a strong foundation and understanding of design principles that can take clients’ pools from satisfactory to a masterpiece.

Cosgrove Custom Pools, Inc.

“You can get a pool without a designer,” says Wiseman, “but you can’t get an exceptional pool without a designer.”

Irikat emphasizes, “You can’t get an experience without a designer.”