Skip to content
RenderSplash
AI concept image of Craftsman backyard pool in Pasadena: a freeform pool with a sun shelf.
Save

Pasadena, CA · Classic suburb

Craftsman backyard pool in Pasadena

A freeform with a brick coping that matches the porch, a lemon tree and a lawn that kids actually use.

One photo of your yard is all it needs.

Suits: Craftsman houses on a classic suburb in Southern California.

Drawn for a 1920s craftsman house with a deep porch, river stone piers, exposed rafters and a low gable roof, with a lawn with a lemon tree, roses, a sycamore and a clipped hedge, the San Gabriel Mountains in the haze.

Planning cost, CA
$55,000 to $140,000
A range from published prices, not a quote
Build time
3 to 6 months
Contract to first swim
Size
30 × 15 ft
3.5 to 5.5 ft deep
Water
about 9,000 gal
Water surface
360 sq ft

Quick answers about this design

Worked out from this design's own model, so they differ from page to page.

How much water does this pool hold?
About 9,000 gallons. It is 30 by 15 ft with about 360 sq ft of water, 3.5 ft deep at the steps and 5.5 ft at the deep end. The gallons come from adding up the depth over the real floor, steps and shelf included.
How big a yard does it need?
Plan on a clear area of about 48 by 33 ft for the pool, 4 ft of deck around the water and 5 ft to the fence line. The deck as drawn here is about 50 by 35 ft.
What does this design cost?
A planning range for CA is $55,000 to $140,000 all in: the pool, deck, coping, fence and features listed on this page. Permits and engineering are not in it. It is a range built from published prices, not a quote, and real jobs usually land inside it rather than on its edges.
How long does it take to build?
Plan on about 3 to 6 months from a signed contract to the first swim. Permits take from a few days to several months, depending on the town, before work starts.

Chapter 1 of 4

The design

What is in this pool, and how it turns in 3D.

The design, spelled out

Every choice in this pool, what it is, and why it suits this house and this part of the country.

Depth profile

The floor is 3.5 ft deep at the steps and stays level for about 8 ft, slopes over about 10 ft, then runs level at 5.5 ft for the last 11 ft. A sun shelf sits at the other end.

3.5 ft5.5 ftwater line30 ft long

Design notes

Written with AI tools from this design's own measurements and sources, not by a pool builder. How we write

Why it works here

Brick coping picks up the river stone piers on the porch of the 1920s house, so the pool looks original to the lot. The freeform shape leaves lawn for kids, and the sun shelf with curved steps gives small children a shallow place to stand while adults eat at the table.

What to watch

Brick coping holds heat and moisture, so expect to seal it, and bare feet find it rough. The lawn, lemon tree and sycamore also send grass, fruit and leaves into the water.

How it reads

Blue pebble and a sea glass waterline give the water a clear, soft green-blue that suits the lawn and the lemon tree. Brick coping repeats the river stone and wood of the porch, and the stamped concrete deck keeps the surface plain. The freeform curve softens the lines of the clipped hedge. At midday the water is bright, and as the day cools the sycamore shade crosses the lawn and the pool.

Through the year

This yard gets a long warm season, with a short cool winter and some rain. Spring brings blossom and fall brings leaves, so the skimmer works hardest at the edges of the season. Seal the brick coping each year, and rake the lawn edge before leaves reach the water. Keep the umbrella closed when the wind picks up over the dining table.

Every choice, row by row (13)
ShapeFreeform

A pool with natural, flowing curves. Curves relax a yard and work with planting, a rock feature or a tub, at the cost of a more complicated cover.

Size30 × 15 ft

A pool about 15 ft wide and 30 ft long. A common family size with room for play and a short swim. That is about 360 sq ft of water and about 9,000 gallons.

StepsCurved steps

Curved, wedding-cake steps. A formal, graceful way into a Roman or larger pool. The steps lead into water 3.5 ft deep.

Sun shelfSun shelf

A shallow ledge a few inches under the water. Kids play and adults lounge on it, and bubblers or a chair fit there.

Pool finishPebble

An exposed pebble aggregate finish, in the Pebble Tec style. Durable and textured, which hides small marks, but rougher on bare feet.

Finish colorBlue finish, classic deep blue water

A blue interior. Gives a classic, deeper blue water.

Waterline tileSea glass

Sea-green glass mosaic at the waterline. A soft, coastal line that warms the water. It runs about 73 linear ft around this pool.

CopingBrick

Red brick with a rolled edge. A traditional edge that suits brick houses and colonial or Tudor styles. It runs about 73 linear ft around this pool.

DeckStamped concrete

Tan stamped concrete with a stone pattern. An affordable deck poured in one piece. It needs a sealer and a grit additive so it is not slippery when wet. The deck is about 1,330 sq ft here.

PlantingLawn and hedges

A green lawn with clipped hedges. Gives kids a soft place to play and a formal frame to the deck.

Pool fenceBlack aluminum

A black aluminum picket fence. A standard, durable barrier that disappears in the planting and meets most barrier codes.

FurnitureUmbrella, Dining table
  • Umbrella: A market umbrella. Cheap shade that you can move with the sun.
  • Dining table: An outdoor dining table and chairs. Turns the pool into the place where meals happen.
LightMidday sun

Shown in midday sun. Shows the true color of the water and the finish.

Coping
73 linear ft
Deck
1,330 sq ft

Why it fits the classic suburb

The yard: a lawn with a lemon tree, roses, a sycamore and a clipped hedge, the San Gabriel Mountains in the haze. A classic suburb yard has room for a real pool, so the design is about how the family uses it. A regular lot and a rear yard give room for a pool, a deck and a lawn. Think about sight lines from the kitchen, where the shade falls and where the kids will play.

Why it fits the Craftsman house

The house is a 1920s craftsman house with a deep porch, river stone piers, exposed rafters and a low gable roof. A Craftsman house wants natural materials, warm wood and a pool that tucks into the yard. Wood-look decking, stone coping and planting that reaches the water soften a compact pool so it looks as if it belongs with the porch and beams.

Turn this design around in 3D

This is the model behind the numbers above, with this design's own shape, steps, finish and deck. It loads when you scroll to it.

The same choices as the picture, as a model you can turn.

AI concept image of Craftsman backyard pool in Pasadena: a freeform pool with a sun shelf.

Turn it, zoom in, switch the dimension lines on.

In your yard

How would this swimming pool look on your home?

See this exact design as a photorealistic video, filmed in your own yard, from one photo.

You pick the film, add one photo, and see the picture before you decide anything.

A sample yard photo

A frame from an example film

A sample yard photo on the left, and on the right a frame from an example AI film of a pool in a backyard.

Chapter 2 of 4

Will it work for you

Your yard, your climate, and what the pool asks of you after the build.

Will this fit your yard?

A planning estimate, built from the model's own dimensions. Your town's setbacks decide the real answer.

Clear area to plan on

48 × 33 ft

About 1,584 sq ft. The pool alone is 30 × 15 ft.

Plan on a clear area of about 48 by 33 ft for the pool, 4 ft of deck around the water and 5 ft to the fence line. The deck as drawn here is about 50 by 35 ft.

The 4 ft walkway and 5 ft setback are our planning allowances, not code. Towns set their own distances from the water to the lot line and the house, so ask yours before you commit to a layout.

Will it fit your yard?

Enter the clear area, from the house to the back fence and side to side.

Southern California: what the climate asks of this pool

Southern California pools are an outdoor room, so the design is about the view, the shade and the way the yard flows.

  • The season is long and the winters are mild, so lighting, fire and seating matter as much as the water.
  • Lots are often small or sloped. Retaining walls, raised spas and vanishing edges show up a lot, and each one brings engineering and a permit.
  • Water rules and drought restrictions can affect filling, covers and water features. Ask what your water district allows.
  • Near the coast, marine air is hard on metal and fades finishes. Pick fittings and fences made for it.

Keeping it up

What this pool asks of its owner, by finish, climate, deck and feature.

  • Pebble in this climate

    Pebble suits a dry, sunny region, but check your tap water: hard water scales any finish.

  • When it is resurfaced

    Pebble is usually redone every 15 to 20 or more years, depending on the water and the builder (Shasta Pools, plaster versus pebble and Pebble Technology, support). On this pool that is about 610 sq ft of interior.

  • Stamped concrete deck

    Reseal the stamped concrete every few years with a non-slip additive, or it fades and gets slippery when wet.

  • Black aluminum fence

    A black aluminum fence needs a wash and a check of its gate latch. Near salt air, rinse it and touch up any chipped finish.

  • Dry season

    A long dry season means steady evaporation and dust. Top up on a schedule and keep the filter clean.

  • Yearly running cost

    Owners commonly budget $3,000 to $5,000 a year for chemicals, power, service and repairs (HomeAdvisor, in-ground pool cost, 2026).

Chapter 3 of 4

Cost and timeline

A sourced range to plan with, and how long it takes.

What this design costs: a planning range

Built line by line from this design's own measurements and published prices. It is a range to plan with, not a quote.

Planning range, CA

$55,000 to $140,000

Everything on this page, built: the pool, the deck, the coping, the fence and the features. It is a range, not a quote. Every line is at its lowest published price for the low end and its highest for the high end, so a real job lands inside it rather than on an edge.

Prices are scaled for CA by a damped regional factor of 1.05 (the state's cost of living is 110.7 against 100 for the US, and we use half the gap). Land clearing, landscaping beyond what is listed, a pool house's interior and financing are not in it.

Where the range comes from

The pool
$34,000 to $95,000
359 sq ft of water at $90 to $250 a square foot (shell, excavation, plumbing, equipment, plaster). Steps and the sun shelf are part of the shell.
Pebble interior
$4,000 to $4,000
606 sq ft of shell at $6 a square foot above plaster. Pebble is $10 a square foot against $4 for plaster in both sources.
Coping
$2,000 to $2,500
73 linear ft at $25 to $30 a foot.
Deck
$17,000 to $28,000
1,330 sq ft at $12 to $20 a square foot installed. HomeAdvisor's installed figure, labor included. Fixr's $15 to $30 is materials only.
Pool fence
$2,500 to $6,500
170 linear ft around the deck as drawn, at $15 to $35 a foot installed.
How we built this range, and the sources

We measure this design in the 3D model (water area, shell area, coping, deck, tub, what stands on the deck), multiply each quantity by a published price range per unit, add the lines and scale them for the state. The prices are from the pages below, collected in October 2026. Where two sources disagree the range spans both, and the line says so.

The method is written out, with every rate, at docs/POOL-IDEAS-COST-MODEL.md in our repository, and one file holds the rates, so a change of price changes every page at once.

  • HomeAdvisor's installed figure, labor included. Fixr's $15 to $30 is materials only.

How to get a number you can trust

Ask two or three local builders to quote the same scope in writing: the pool, the deck, the fence, the electrical, the permits and the landscaping, each on its own line. Then compare the lines, not the totals. Share this page with them: the size, the choices and the 3D model give a builder a starting point. To see how the published prices are built up and where they disagree, read inground pool cost, line by line.

How long it takes to build

From a signed contract to the first swim, before the yard additions.

Contract to first swim

3 to 6 months

Permits take from a few days to several months, depending on the town, before work starts. Weather, inspections and the builder's schedule move every date.

Nothing in this design adds a stage beyond the usual order: excavate, steel and plumbing, shell, tile and coping, deck, finish, fill.

What it is made of

The materials list for this design, with its own quantities from the model.

The materials list (6 lines)
InteriorPebble, blueabout 610 sq ft of shell
Small stones set in cement. It is textured, hides wear and holds color well, and it is rougher on bare feet than the other finishes.
Waterline tileSea glassabout 73 linear ft, 10 in. band
Sea-green glass adds color without matching the water, and it needs the same regular wipe as any glass tile.
CopingBrickabout 73 linear ft
Rolled-edge brick gives a traditional line. The mortar joints need attention over the years and the surface can be uneven underfoot.
DeckStamped concreteabout 1,330 sq ft
Poured concrete pressed with a stone pattern. It should be sealed with a non-slip additive and resealed on a schedule, or it fades and gets slick.
Pool fenceBlack aluminumabout 170 linear ft around the deck as drawn
Black aluminum pickets are light, strong and the usual choice for a barrier. Near salt air, ask for a marine-rated finish.
PlantingLawn and hedges
A lawn and clipped hedges. It softens the yard and brings grass clippings and fertilizer, so it should be kept away from the water.

Chapter 4 of 4

Talk to a builder

What to ask before you sign, and how to bring this design to them.

Questions to ask a builder about this design

Specific to what is in this pool. Ask them before you sign.

  1. 01What soil and slope engineering does this lot need, and what does your water district say about filling a new pool?
  2. 02How will the brick be set around the curved edge and the shelf so the joints stay tight and the color matches the porch?
  3. 03How deep is the sun shelf, and can a chair sit on it without tipping?
  4. 04Will the fence meet the barrier code, and is the gate self-closing and self-latching?
  5. 05Is the pebble finish rough on bare feet here, and how long does it last in my water?

Make it yours

Start with this design and add a photo of your own yard. The free visualizer places the pool on it, with your choices ready to change.

See this pool in your yard, freeUpload your yard

More like this

Region:Southern CaliforniaSetting:Classic suburbHouse style:CraftsmanFeature:Pool with a sun shelfAll pool ideas

This is a design idea for a sample yard, and every picture is an AI concept image, not a built pool. Sizes, gallons and areas are estimates from the same maths as the 3D model, and the price and time ranges are planning figures from published sources, to help you talk to a builder.

Last updated