Must have pool features

Wine cooler...

LINK

I am currently struggling mightily with the landscaping part. Any specific suggestions?

Also, OP, I would also add a gas heater (if you have the hot tub that part is covered, but we didn’t do a hot tub), a chiller if you are in or around south Louisiana, and the color change led lighting, which may not be for everyone, but I enjoy it.

For the tanning ledge, make sure you get some good chairs and have a hole for an umbrella.

Obviously it depends on the “theme” you’re going for whether it’s tropical, native, evergreen or whatever. That said, you have to look for plants that don’t drop leaves, seeds or tons of flowers (crepe myrtles!). Depending on your theme, holly trees, conifers, Japanese yews, various grasses, small palms, lilies and variegated ginger are all good options. For color, I like knock out roses as they provide year around color with relatively low maintenance but they do have thorns so their placement has to be out of the way of heavy traffic areas. Stay away from any plant that drops a lot of leaves/flowers and even though palm trees seem like an easy choice....they’re the devil as they drop a lot of seeds/dates.

Tanning ledge is a waste.

Get as much automation as you can. I can switch from Pool to Spa, adjust temps, turn on and change the color of lights and shock my pool from an app.

Here's a few random shots that capture a lot of what I did. It's grown and filled in a bit since most of these were taken.

You got a plant list? Amazing job, I remember toy sharing pics of the shed build, now you have two!

I would highly suggest that you structure your pool so that cleaning and maintenance is as easy as possible. Before adding benches, stools, fountains, etc., is your pool cleaner robot or polaris going to be able to climb and scrub all those features without getting tangled up or caught, or will you have to get out a brush yourself to do it manually? If you are going to have to brush those features, can you reach all of it easily from the deck, or will you have to get in the water to reach nooks and crannies? That sucks in the winter.

Do your rock features drip minerals into your pool? Are those minerals going to stain your plaster?

Bubblers, fountains, etc. are often just another pipe that can fail. When it does, you will likely have to tear up your deck to fix it.

Personally, I think tanning ledges are a waste. It just eats up square feet and makes water temp fluctuate more severely.

The number one mistake all pool owners make is allowing their plaster to degrade and stain. They don't maintain the water chemistry and they add features that mess that chemistry up further. The simpler your pool is to clean, the easier time you will have maintaining that "like new" pristine plaster by managing the water.

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agreed,

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but they do make a great place to lay in the water and chill out on

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I am currently struggling mightily with the landscaping part. Any specific suggestions?

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No trees in a tri state area... seriously, leaves were the only thing I didn't like about having a pool other than the sky high electricity cost.