7 Pool Features Utah Homeowners Rarely Regret Adding
There is a point in almost every custom pool design where the possibilities start multiplying quickly. Do you add the spa? Is a tanning ledge worth the space it takes up? Do you really need an automatic cover? What about waterfalls, bubblers, lighting, automation, or upgraded decking? Those decisions are exciting, but they’re also where a pool budget can grow quickly. The best pool features for Utah homes aren’t necessarily the ones that look the most impressive in a rendering. They’re the features that make the pool easier to use, more comfortable, more efficient, or better suited to the way your family actually spends time outside. After all, a feature that photographs beautifully but rarely gets used isn’t much of an upgrade. Here’s how we would think through seven of the most worthwhile features when designing a custom pool in Utah. TL;DR: Which Pool Features Are Actually Worth It? For many Utah homeowners, an integrated spa, generous pool decking, an automatic cover, thoughtful lighting, efficient variable-speed equipment, smart automation, and a well-designed shallow lounging area provide some of the most noticeable everyday benefits. Water features can also be fantastic, but they should complement the backyard rather than simply being added because they’re available. The right combination depends on whether your priority is family swimming, entertaining, lower-maintenance ownership, luxury design, or extending how often you can enjoy the backyard throughout Utah’s changing seasons. Quick Answer: What Are the Best Features to Add to a Custom Pool in Utah? If you’re deciding where to spend your pool budget, prioritize features that improve how often you’ll use the pool and how easy it will be to own. For Utah homeowners, that often means an integrated spa for cooler weather, an automatic pool cover, enough patio space for actual outdoor living, energy-efficient equipment, automation, and well-planned lighting. Features such as tanning ledges and waterfalls can be excellent additions too, but they should be selected based on how your family will use the pool rather than what’s currently popular online. That distinction can save you a surprising amount of money. 1. An Integrated Spa Can Completely Change How You Use the Backyard If we were discussing custom pool features specifically for Utah, an integrated spa would deserve serious consideration. Our swimming season isn’t twelve months long. Even when daytime temperatures are comfortable, northern Utah evenings can cool down quickly in spring and fall. A spa gives homeowners another way to enjoy the backyard when getting into the swimming pool itself isn’t particularly appealing. But simply adding a spa isn’t enough. How it integrates with the pool matters. A raised spa can become an architectural focal point and create an opportunity for a spillway into the pool. A flush spa can produce a cleaner, more understated appearance. Placement also affects views, seating, circulation around the patio, and how far you have to walk from the house during colder weather. This is one of those features where we’d rather see the homeowner think about actual use than simply check a box on the design. If you imagine yourself using the spa regularly on cool September evenings or during Utah’s shoulder seasons, it may become one of the most-used features in the entire backyard. If you don’t enjoy hot tubs now, however, spending a significant portion of the budget on one simply because other luxury pools have them probably doesn’t make sense. That’s the test we would apply to every feature on this list. 2. A Baja Shelf Is Fantastic, Until It Takes Over the Pool Tanning ledges, Baja shelves, and sun shelves have become extremely popular in modern pool design, and for good reason. They create a shallow area where you can sit partially submerged, place appropriate in-water furniture, relax while children are nearby, or simply cool off without fully swimming. For family pools, they can also make the transition into the water feel much more inviting. The mistake is assuming bigger is automatically better. Every additional foot dedicated to a tanning ledge is space that isn’t being used for deeper swimming, games, or open water. In a large custom pool, that may not matter at all. In a more compact backyard, an oversized ledge can consume a surprising percentage of the usable pool. The better question isn’t, “Should we add a tanning ledge?” It’s, “How large does the tanning ledge need to be for the way we’ll actually use it?” That’s a much better design conversation. If you’re still deciding how the overall pool should look, our guide to Luxury Backyard Pool Design Ideas for Utah Homes explores how features like spas, ledges, fire elements, landscaping, and outdoor living areas can work together rather than compete for space. 3. More Pool Decking May Be a Better Upgrade Than Another Pool Feature This isn’t the glamorous answer, but it may be one of the most important. Homeowners naturally spend most of the design process looking at the water. Once the pool is finished, they discover just how much time everyone spends around it. Imagine a normal summer gathering. There may be four or six lounge chairs near the water. Someone brings out another chair. Kids leave towels and sandals everywhere. Food comes outside. People need walking space around the pool. Someone wants shade. Another group gathers around a table. Suddenly, what looked like a generous patio on the drawing feels considerably smaller. This is why we would rather see a homeowner build enough functional patio space than squeeze another decorative feature into the budget simply because it looks impressive. The pool should have room to breathe. That doesn’t mean covering the entire backyard in concrete either. Thoughtful landscaping, lawn, planting beds, shade structures, and hardscape can create much more interesting outdoor spaces than one enormous uninterrupted patio. The goal is proportion. We touched on this extensively in 11 Things Nobody Tells You About Building a Pool in Utah, because insufficient outdoor living space is one of those decisions that’s much easier to solve during design than