Name: Steven K.
Location: San Anselmo, California
Size: 220 square feet

Your Favorite Thing About Your Outdoor Space: We now use our "pool" everyday. Our house fronts to a busy street so being enclosed in the pool walls reduces the road noise. It also creates a sense of being in an outdoor room. And now even our cat can enjoy the pool. In the evening we enjoy the glow from solar lanterns. We also put in raised planting beds alongside the "pool" which are easy to harvest from the deck.

Biggest Design Challenge With This Space: We had a large pool that needed renovation and changes in the climate have given us much cooler summers. So we explored options to use the space occupied by the pool. We considered building a larger deck, but drainage would have been a problem. So we built a smaller deck in the shallow end and planted a garden in the deep end. I colored the pool walls with a soy based concrete stain and gave our adirondack chairs a bright coat of paint to freshen them up.

Tips for Creating a Great Small Outdoor Space: Embrace your limitations, whether they are financial or practical. Sometimes the best solution is also the least expensive. We love using the things we already have in new ways.

Thanks, Steven, and good luck!

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