LATEST NEWS

The lavish pool, complete with swim-up bar, borders the patio of a master bedroom retreat. It’s a serene space, great for a morning cup of coffee or an evening view of the valley. Inside, a projector flashing an old film casts its imagery onto a wall of water.

How often do you really use your swimming pool?

If you have children, maybe they splash around in it every day in summer. But if children aren't around, you might only use it once or twice a week in summer and never in the winter. Maybe you're not even here to swim in the summer. You go away for a long vacation or visit another house in another state.

When Ann and Glen Gage downsized from their expansive home and garden in Switzerland to a San Francisco town house, one of the things they missed most was the koi pond they’d built and tended for years. It was brimming with elegant plants, fish and its own ecosystem.

Washington - Splish, splash. Water spills down a curving fibreglass slide into the swimming pool built by Tracy and Clint Heiden behind their home. The pool forms the centrepiece of a $1-million (about R10.6m) backyard transformation, changing an unusable hillside into an outdoor living area offering indoor-style conveniences.

transform your garden