I love that look also. We have a toddler, and I just thought it would be a bit impractical. But we are planning to do a geometric pool with one side with coping only. We are thinking this will give us more yard. We definitely don't want to feel like our entire yard is concrete or hardsurface!!

I really considered something along that line as well -- oversized square pavers with mondo grass in between, etc. But I ultimately decided that was more suited for middle-aged / retired people who use it more as an exercise pool and don't plan to do much entertaining. We are hoping to get a lot of use out of a pool. But they sure are beautiful with all the grass!!

I love that look and seriously considered it. This look isn't just 'becoming' very popular, this is classic, old style European. Look at many of the high end pools in the Hamptons, for instance, and this is what you see. Elizabeth Taylor's home had this kind of treatment back in the early 60s. When considering this design, I heard all the arguments about grass/dirt in the pool, yada, yada. I didn't care. I'm the one that vacuums. It's my therapy. However, my husband vetoed the idea because he's the one that mows the grass and didnt' want to have to move the lounge chairs and such. Didn't want chairs killing his beloved lawn. He also mentioned how squishy the grass would get from spill over. I suppose if one didn't have crazy children and had a more tranquil poolside nature, the splash out wouldn't be too bad. Also, how would salt water affect the grass.

It would work, but you will tend to walk on the grass around the pool more than you think. I would use a grass that can handle above normal foot traffic... a few are...

Perennial Ryegrass: (cool season and overseeding in warm season areas) medium texture, handles traffic, handles drought conditions without a lot of additional watering or fertilizer. Does not do well in shade. Mixes well with other grass types.

Kentucky Bluegrass: (cool season) most common cool season grass and the hardiest for cold weather. Fine texture, fills in bare spots quickly, requires more mowing, does not do well in shady areas and does not tolerate salt. Standout varieties include Adelphi, Award, Baron, Midnight, Nu Destiny and Touchdown.

Bermuda Grass: (warm season) fine texture that tolerates traffic. Vigorous and tolerates drought and salt. Does not do well in shade and tends to build up thatch. Standout varieties include: Cheyenne, Patriot, Tifgreen, and Tifway II.

Zoysiagrass: (warm season/transition zone) slow-growing, dense grass, drought tolerant. Does better with frequent watering. Builds up thatch. Standout varieties include: El Toro, Emerald, and Meyer.

Thanks everyone for your input and thoughts. Much appreciated. @banana_fanna, what pool design did you ultimately choose (since you said your husband vetoed the minimalist idea)? Just curious.

I love the simple, stark look of a rectangular pool surrounded by grass, too. It seems timeless. That look, however, was not right for our yard nor was it right for the way our pool will be used.

I thought I'd share a few of my simple pool "inspiration" pictures, though. These pools have a bit more patio around them.

I think I can only put in one picture per post, so here is personal favorite.

Good luck!

Another...

Yet another...

Last one!

I don't have any experience with this design but I know that this look is very popular in the Hamptons. When I look at the real estate magazines I often see this look there. It's very pretty!

Just one comment, a pool chemical guy just left our house and told us a story about a pool just like the first one show with just grass around it. The owner accidentally got grass fertilizer in the pool and it stained it. He wanted him to fix it, It was so bad, he said he could not touch it after they did a test on one olf the spots. This house was in a very expensive area, oceanfront.

I have done a weekly maintenance for several years on the design of the first pic in the post and I will tell you the homeowner would never do the no decking thing again. Grass in the pool as well as mud and staining of the plaster is a battle and not too mention pets making deposits .....

I love the look of a pool with minimal concrete, too. Our 1975 pool floats in a veritable sea of concrete, and yet there is still not really enough space to put out picnic tables, chaise lounges, etc. When we reno the pool, we plan to push back retaining walls from the edges on two sides of our pool to create more "decking" space, but I'd like to do something that isn't a hard material, so not concrete, pavers, etc. We've tossed around the idea of using a synthetic grass at pool-level (goes from coping straight to the synthetic grass) then when the retaining wall steps up, have real grass in the rest of the yard since it's far enough away (approx 8 feet) that it won't blow in when DH is mowing. I have a friend that put in a new pool last year, with the synthetic grass interspersed with concrete blocks as pavers. I want to see how it works for him for a while before committing.

Our gardener just told us that this is a very popular new look. I think it's a great idea, especially if you have a small yard.

Great feedback and ideas, everyone, thanks so much! @NH_pool, thanks for the additional photos and @roarah, love your pool, so glad you are enjoying the design!

Hi, sotoesq,

If you have a chance, please let us know what you end up deciding to do and post a picture! Good luck!

I am buying sod to do most of my pool this way as I type. Hopefully I like it!

hello we are starting to dig on monday Feb 3 2014. We are thinking of going with a 16 inch coping and then grass is this a good idea or bad?

hello we are starting to dig on monday Feb 3 2014. We are thinking of going with a 16 inch coping and then grass is this a good idea or bad?

I don't know if I can say if it's a good idea or bad idea without knowing a little more on how you plan on using the pool or more info.

I really loved the look of coping only, and wanted to save my grass. I think it's a scary thing to look at your nice yard of grass and know that so much will be torn up. But after it's all over, everything will go back together, and it will look nice -- even with decking!

I just posted some pics of my finished pool last night. We opted for one side of coping only. We have not yet played volleyball in our pool or any type of game. (We have a toddler.) But I expect that side of the pool will be annoying when the ball gets out of bounds and tracks mulch into the pool. I'm glad that we went ahead and did a large deck on the one side to tie into our existing patio. It just made sense with our layout. But it gives us a chance to set up a lot of tables and chairs for a large group or party. Which we did make use of on 2 occasions last year alone.

Our coping side only is not grass. But I can't understand how you don't end up with a lot of grass clippings in your pool when mowing. I tried to plant ground cover plants like potato vine that cover the mulch.

If you are "in love" with the look of grass surrounding, then nothing may change your mind. I would do what you love, and you think you will enjoy looking at so it's your peaceful oasis in your backyard. If you are doing it to save money on decking or just a whim, then I think it's a bad idea.

going through the same dilemma, don't want a concrete jungle n love the grass surrounding. What did you end up going with?

Working on the same plan here, trying to decide (1) how wide the coping should be to achieve that look in the first picture but allow a little room to walk, (2) what kind of grass to put down after pool install - need grass that is tolerant of chlorinated water and foot traffic

I read that zenith zoysia or tiff tuff Bermuda is best for chlorine and salt water. I am also Thinking of doing this bc of my impervious surface limitations. But I’m thinking of doing 2 feet of coping. They have 1 foot included in the pricing.

Very old thread but I looked up this topic because we just bought a house with a pool like this. Absolutely hate it. Grass and dirt in the pool all of the time. No place to dry off without getting grass and dirt on oneself. Horrendous for us and frankly, maybe 8 years ago it was considered an upscale look, but today it is considered a down scale look in our relatively wealthy area.

I hate having to get off the mower to move the two solar lights next to the sidewalk - can’t imagine having to move furniture around!

@jsdelia out of curiosity what is the trend in terms of pool area design in your area?

I have grass close to my pool and i absolutely hate it. It is frequently in the pool it is an absolute nightmare

Looks nice in a magazine photo, but not practical. Especially with kids running around in the grass, getting it wet, tracking in mud and grass into the house and elsewhere.

Get the visual now........?

That's a great one!

I Totally like it :) https://wannaplay.news/

Don’t listen to your pool guy. Check my post (below). We did a similar project last year. Pool is not difficult to maintain. You need to have sprinklers all around (important) as when you have a heat wave like we had in NYC a few weeks ago, the grass around the pool will die if you don’t have proper irrigation and if the water doesn’t reach up to the copping.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6434729/where-should-top-soil-stop-around-coping-of-inground-pool

We love the grass.

Great to see a new post on an old thread. We are soon embarking on our pool build and plan to do something similar. Is it possible to post more pictures and dimensions? Thank you!

i am right now in the process of moving the grass area as far as possbile from our newly built pool. Maybe it's sth wrong with me, but I just can't imagine the amount of maintenance such pool would require.