Create a gorgeous backyard with a swimming pool with help from Exscape Designs
By Mitch Allen
If you have a vacation home in Florida or the Carolinas, or a house or a boat on Lake Erie, odds are good that you don’t enjoy it as often as you’d like. So here’s another idea: put your vacation home right in your own backyard.
That’s the brilliant logic behind many of Exscape Designs’ gorgeous design/build projects, which often include swimming pools, spas, structures, fire pits and fireplaces, outdoor kitchens and more.
“With a swimming pool, you always know where the kids are: they’re at your house,” says John Peterson, an Exscape Designs project director with over 30 years of experience. “When we complete a pool project, the homeowners usually say, ‘I wish we’d done this sooner.’”
As parents, we have only one shot at giving our kids a happy childhood and the time is fleeting. A swimming pool is an ideal way to bring the family together and create happy, active, vacation-style memories every single day—right outside your back door.
Total Outdoor Living Experts
A swimming pool is far more than a hole in the ground. That’s why it’s a good idea to engage a company like Exscape, which features an experienced team of “total outdoor living experts.”
Your pool will require essentials like fencing, seating areas, and electrical service, but you might also want to include resort-style options, like waterfalls, spas, fire features, shade structures, landscape lighting, a grilling area, home audio, and a sun shelf—a shallow area for kids to splash in or for the grownups to lounge in.
“These days, almost everything can be controlled with your smartphone,” says Michael Beightol, another Exscape Designs project director who has 17 years of experience as a landscape architect.
“You can control your heater, music, LED lighting, TV, landscape lighting and water features—like leapers—with an app on your phone.”
A “leaper,” by the way, is a jet on your pool deck that shoots water, transforming your backyard into the Bellagio Hotel.
“Proper lighting is essential because much of your enjoyment will be from the inside looking out,” adds Michael. “The aesthetic beauty of a swimming pool is impressive from inside your home, and a well-designed project flows from the inside out. It becomes an extension of your home, additional square footage of gorgeous living space.”
Speaking of square footage, you don’t need a lot of land to accommodate a backyard resort. Exscape Designs specializes in fitting swimming pools into tighter lots.
“The trend is not toward huge pools with diving boards,” says John. “It’s about a smart design that creates a total outdoor living experience.”
It’s Complicated
Building a swimming pool requires enormous project coordination and attention to detail. In addition to the pool, the build will require electricians, plumbers, masons and a host of other sub-contractors, not to mention architectural plans, permits, inspections, trucking, zoning variances, and knowing how to work with architectural review boards.
“That’s the beauty of working us,” says Exscape Designs founder Bill Dysert.
“Our clients are busy professionals, so we handle every single detail from start to finish. That takes the worry and stress out of the project. Behind the scenes, we’re taking care of scheduling conflicts and arguing with zoning boards so the homeowner doesn’t have to. And because of our experience, we know how the decisions we make now will affect the project down the road. That’s key.”
Exscape also understands how to design and build in Northeast Ohio’s harsh climate.
“We know what’s going to hold up over time and what’s not,” adds Michael. “Yet we don’t allow the freeze-thaw cycle to hinder our designs. We don’t want you to look at our plans and say, ‘That’s nice.’ We want you to say, ‘Wow!’”
Getting Started
Designing and building an outdoor living space that features a swimming pool takes time, typically six to 12 months. That means now is the time to get started so you can enjoy your pool next summer.
“The design process usually takes two to four months, depending on the number of approvals and city engagements required,” explains John. “Every community is different. The ideal time frame is to develop the design during the summer, get the pool in the ground in the fall, then complete the landscaping in the spring so you are in your pool by Memorial Day.”
John says that the best thing you can do right now is to start saving photos of swimming pool and landscape designs you like.
“Search us on Houzz for examples and read our customer reviews, find ideas on Pinterest, or in magazines and start collecting,” he says. “Then give us a call. When we first meet, those photos will give us an initial idea of your personal style.”
Gorgeous outdoor living spaces have been popular on the East and West coasts for many years and have finally found their way to the heartland.
“We do more swimming pools now than ever,” Bill concludes. “All of these gorgeous features have finally found their way to Cleveland, thanks in part to the internet and the popularity of home and garden shows. It’s an exciting time to be in this business. There are so many new options for homeowners.”
The Exscape Designs offices and design center are located at 10121 Kinsman Road in Novelty. The company serves all of Northeast Ohio. For more information or to schedule a free initial consultation, call 440-729-0011 or visit ExscapeDesigns.com. You may also visit Houzz for idea books, example of the company’s work, customer testimonials and more. Spring is here, so call soon to get on their 2019 schedule.