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Farm-Style Swimming Pool Inspiration

Will you go for the basics and get a DIY “Plaasdam” kit for your own backyard? Or design and build a wonderful cement farm-style retreat for those scorching summer days? Let’s see if a farm-style pool fits your yard and your pocket.

Summer Bodies And Backyards:

We all know that “Summer bodies are made in winter”. Did you know that this pithy saying goes for your home as well? We have it on good authority that “Summer backyards are built in winter”.

The month of May probably isn’t the best time for you to start a brand-new vegetable garden or plant tiny flowering seedlings. Here are exciting backyard projects that you can start doing in winter. That way they will be ready for when that first warm day in September rolls around.

Keeping Up With The Karoo:

One of our favourite 2022 trends is the rustic Karoo farmhouse style. This is different from the much-loathed “modern farmhouse” trend we see in the United States for example, because it gives a truly South African flair to things. We are talking about woven linen, muted earthy tones, wild olive trees and lamb stew from a wrought iron pot.

Fond Farm Reflections:

Many of us have fond memories of visits to farms when we were young. If your Oupa or Gogo lived on a farm, the whole family would converge on it at least once a year. Over the December holidays all the uncles, aunts and cousins would make their way to the farm for a seemingly endless summer vacation. Memories of picking fruit and running around barefoot abound. Most importantly, you will remember splashing in the farm dam, accompanied by the obligatory fat frogs and lazy dragonflies.

What if we told you that you can, once again, experience the wonderful nostalgia of farm vacations in your own backyard?

Feel Like A Farmer At Home:

Farm-style swimming pools have really been making a splash in recent years.

We’re not talking about the large, complicated, and difficult to maintain “Natural Pools”. Those complicated installations end up needing exactly the right amount of rainwater, fish population and biofilters not to become a total backyard swamp.

Farm-style pools are small, above-ground dipping pools, exactly like a small farm dam. (Frogs and dragonflies optional).

The magic of this kind of pool is the fact that it gives all the pleasure of having a refreshing dip at the end of the day. And all without the stress of maintaining a huge swimming pool or balancing the ecosystem of a fussy natural pool.

Farm-Style Feeling:

Take care with your planting and garden design around the pool. First prize would be to have some sort of fruit tree or even climbing vines that provide some shade for the warmest months of the year. Cape thatch reed or wild olive trees are good options too.

Since farm-style pools are smaller you can incorporate it into your entertainment area. Consider going as far as putting up a deck that reaches halfway up the side walls.

Solar water heaters are optional and can keep you in the water for longer than with a conventional swimming pool. That way your pool will see a bit more action during the coldest months.

Plaasdam Perks:

Due to its smaller water volume, you can decide whether you want to keep it full year-round or only seasonally.

An above-ground pool is safer than a traditional pool. Although no body of water, regardless of how small or remote, is ever completely safe. Children and pets should never be left unaccompanied. The risks of a young child or dog falling into the pool are never overstated.

The cost of a farm-style pool is infinitely less than that of a conventional pool.

Not everyone has a “plaasdam” so it adds a bit of flair to your suburban garden.