What features make a backyard feel like a resort?
Covered lounges, custom pools, outdoor kitchens, fire lounges, wellness areas, and custom lighting can help homeowners enjoy a resort experience at home. The right combination gives you space to swim, relax, eat, entertain, and spend time outside throughout the day and after sunset.
Key Takeaways:
You don’t need to copy a hotel exactly to enjoy a private-resort experience at home. Focus on the features that will give you more ways to spend time outside.
– Create places to stay outside longer. Adding covered lounges, outdoor kitchens, fire areas, and lighting means that you can move from one part of the day to the next without going back inside.
– Give the pool more than one purpose. Baja shelves, spas, swim-up bars, in-pool dining, and deeper water provide different ways to relax, entertain, and spend time as a family in the water.
– Invest in the nighttime experience. Custom lighting can completely transform a space, so you get to experience your yard in an entirely new way after the sun sets.
– Customize the experience. Choose the resort-inspired features that make the most sense for you, your family, and the way you want to enjoy your yard.
One of the best parts of traveling is experiencing the architecture and outdoor spaces in the places you visit. For many of our clients, those experiences become a big source of inspiration when they start thinking about renovating their own yard.
But how do you take an inspiration photo of a gorgeous poolside lounge you visited on vacation and use it to create a luxury, resort-inspired outdoor space at home?
Here’s how we help our clients bring that vacation feeling home and create more ways to relax, entertain, and spend time outside every day.
It takes more than a beautiful, hotel-inspired pool. We want to understand how you will actually use your yard, whether that means drinking coffee outside in the morning, spending afternoons by the pool, hosting friends for dinner, or relaxing around the fire at night.
When you have a place where you genuinely want to spend time every day, you don’t have to wait for your next vacation to escape.
Choose the Features You Know You’ll Use
A resort-inspired yard should feel immersive, exciting, and completely customized to you. That doesn’t mean adding every feature you have saved on Pinterest or that you’ve seen at a hotel.
Think about how you picture yourself using your yard. What kind of events will you host? Where will you spend a quiet morning? What will your family want to do outside together
Maybe you want a daybed where you can read or take a nap near the pool. Maybe you know you will use a fire lounge every night. You may care more about custom lighting than a fully equipped outdoor kitchen.
Every homeowner will answer those questions differently. The important thing is knowing which features will make a real difference in your daily life.
If you are ready to create a yard that feels like your own private resort and gives you more reasons to spend time outside, connect with our team to get started.
Consider A Covered Outdoor Lounge
If you want to use your yard every day, thoughtful seating is essential. And so is having multiple areas where you can sit and gather.
A covered lounge gives you protection from direct sun and weather. You can add heaters for cooler mornings and evenings, comfortable furniture, a television, and lighting so you can stay outside after dark.
Placement is also very important. You should be able to move easily between the house, pool, kitchen, and lounge without feeling disconnected from what everyone else is doing.
If your kids are swimming, you may want to sit in the shade and still have a clear view of the pool. If you are hosting, you may want enough room for people to gather near the outdoor kitchen. If you enjoy quiet mornings, you may want a smaller lounge where you can drink coffee before work.
We have clients who use these areas every single day. They work outside, watch sports, eat dinner, relax while their kids swim, and spend time there long after the sun goes down.
Including a covered lounge in your resort-style outdoor renovation allows you to actually using it as part of your normal routine.
Add A Pool With Resort Features You’ll Actually Use
Often the most memorable resort pools are the ones that have interesting or unexpected design details and multiple ways to enjoy them.
Maybe there is a Baja shelf where you can sit in the water without fully getting in. Maybe there is a swim-up bar, an in-pool dining table, a spa, or a deeper area for jumping. These are the kinds of details that make a pool feel like more than a standard place to swim.
You can bring those same ideas into your own pool.
But, that does not mean you need every single one.
The first question we ask is how you picture yourself using your pool. Do you want a shallow area for your younger kids can play? Do you want to sit in the water with a drink? Will you host large groups? Do you want deeper water for jumping, or do you care more about having a spa you can use at night?
A Baja shelf can be great if you want somewhere to lounge or spend time with younger children. A swim-up bar can make sense if you host regularly and know people will gather there. In-pool dining gives you a completely different way to entertain and spend time together.
Just make sure you will actually use what you include.
If you do not host large groups, you may not need a swim-up bar with eight seats. If nobody in your family enjoys using a spa, do not add one because you feel like every luxury pool should have one.
We recently had a client tell us they had owned a spa at every house and never used it. They decided not to include one with their new pool, and that made complete sense for them.
Think about what you enjoy most when you stay at a resort, then decide which of those experiences you want at home. The features you know you will use are the ones worth including.
Create A Custom Outdoor Kitchen
At a resort, you can spend an entire day by the pool without having to go far for food or for a drink. That convenience is one of the reasons people want to include an outdoor kitchen when they create that same experience at home.
An elaborate outdoor kitchen can absolutely be worth it for someone who loves cooking and hosting outside. You may want a large grill, pizza oven, refrigerator, sink, storage, serving space, and seating for people who want to spend time near you while you cook. You should also think about shade, ventilation, and how easily you can move between the kitchen, dining table, pool, and lounge areas.
If you don’t enjoy cooking, you probably don’t need every possible appliance and storage option.
Sometimes a grill, trash can, counter, and drink refrigerator are enough. You may not need a sink. You may not need rows of cabinets. Go through each item and ask yourself whether you’ll actually use it.
Outdoor storage is also different from indoor storage. Even when you have a roof, anything you keep outside will eventually collect dust and grime. Open shelves can look beautiful, but you will probably have to wash the items stored there before you use them.
Think about what you enjoy when you stay at a resort. Maybe it is having lunch next to the pool or ordering a drink without leaving the lounge area. At home, you may picture casual family dinners, pizza nights, or having friends over for a barbecue.
You don’t need to recreate a full resort kitchen. Include what will make it easier for you to cook, serve food, and spend more time outside.
Design A Fire Lounge People Love to Use
Some of the most memorable resorts have gathering areas that feel like their own destination. You walk down a few steps, sit near the fire, and feel like you have entered a completely different area.
You can create that same experience at home with a fire lounge, especially when you give it a beautiful view and enough room for people to sit comfortably.
A fire feature is one of the most requested items we hear from clients. But, there’s a big difference between adding a fire pit somewhere in the yard and creating a comfortable fire lounge where people genuinely want to gather.
You need enough room for the seating to feel comfortable and for people to move through the area without squeezing around furniture. You also want to think about the view you’ll see while you are sitting there.
Maybe you want a view of the pool. Maybe you want to face the house or look out toward the rest of the yard. Where you place your fire lounge depends on where you want to spend time gathered in your yard.
If we had to choose one feature that we consistently find worth the investment, it would be a sunken seating area with a fire feature.
There is something really unique about walking down a few steps and sitting at a lower elevation. And they feel even more impressive next to the water, but you don’t need a pool to make a sunken fire a standout feature in your yard.
Add The Wellness Features You Use Regularly
One of the reasons a private resort or luxury hotel feels so relaxing is because everything you need to relax is right there. You don’t have to drive to the gym, schedule time at a spa, or leave the property to use a sauna or cold plunge.
And you can bring that same convenience home by including the health and wellness features you already enjoy into your outdoor space. That might be a sauna, cold plunge, spa, outdoor shower, or a quiet lounge where you can recover after a workout or relax at the end of the day.
When these amenities are right outside your door, it becomes much easier to make them part of your daily routine. You can work out, use the sauna, get into the cold plunge, and dip in the spa without having to drive anywhere or plan an entire trip around it.
Create a Custom Lighting Plan
Think about the last resort you visited and how different it felt once the sun went down. The pool was glowing, you could see the trees and pathways, and you wanted to stay outside because everything felt completely different at night.
That is what the right lighting can give you at home.
Whenever we design a yard, we think about two experiences. You have the way everything feels during the day, and then you have the way it feels at night. In a lot of our yards, the nighttime experience ends up being even better.
You need lighting in the outdoor kitchen so you can cook and eat outside. You need enough light along the paths and steps so people can move comfortably through the yard. Then you can add softer lighting near the trees, pool, water features, and seating areas.
We also like to use lighting under seats and along steps. These details help you see where you are going, but they also highlight the areas you want to enjoy after dark.
But, you don’t need to make the entire yard bright. Think about what you notice when you walk through a luxury resort at night. You see the water, the landscaping, and the places where people are gathering.
When you get the lighting right, you can have dinner outside, move over to the fire lounge, and stay by the pool long after the sun goes down. That is a huge part of creating that resort experience at home.
Transforming Your Yard
Creating your own private resort is really about having more ways to enjoy your time at home.
You can drink coffee outside in the morning, spend the afternoon by the pool, have dinner outside, and end the night around the fire. The features you choose should make those everyday moments feel a little more relaxing and a lot more enjoyable.
If you are ready to change the way you spend your time outside, connect with our team and let us create a yard you love. Don’t settle for a yard you like.
Book a call to connect with our team, and let’s bring your outdoor space to life.
👉 Start Your Design Today
📩 Subscribe for Weekly Design Ideas
💭 Download Our Free Inspiration Guide
Welcome to this full yard tour of an Austin Mediterranean dream home and luxury backyard. More than five years after it was designed, this Mediterranean outdoor space still looks stunning thanks to timeless design decisions that continue to elevate every part of the property. This yard tour will explain:
– How to design a small or difficult backyard that feels like a resort
– Ways to turn a retaining wall or slope into a focal point instead of something you try to hide
– How layering texture, elevation, and lighting makes the entire space feel deeper and more connected
– Money saving tips and more
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you make a backyard feel like a resort?
Start by creating several ways to spend time outside. A covered lounge, custom pool, outdoor kitchen, fire area, wellness features, and custom lighting allow you to relax, eat, entertain, and enjoy the yard throughout the day. The final combination should reflect what you enjoy most when you travel.
What features should a resort-inspired pool include?
A resort-inspired pool may include a Baja shelf, integrated spa, swim-up bar, in-pool dining table, shaded seating, or deeper water for jumping. You do not need every feature. Choose the ones that match how your family swims, relaxes, entertains, and spends time together.
Is a covered outdoor lounge worth including?
A covered lounge is worth including when you want to spend more time outside throughout the year. Shade, heaters, comfortable seating, lighting, and a clear view of the pool can make it useful for morning coffee, working outside, watching children swim, eating dinner, or relaxing at night.
What should you include in a luxury outdoor kitchen?
The right outdoor kitchen depends on how often you cook and entertain. Some homeowners want a grill, pizza oven, refrigerator, sink, storage, and serving space. Others only need a grill, counter, trash can, and drink refrigerator. Choose appliances based on what you will regularly prepare outside.
Is a sunken fire lounge worth the investment?
A sunken fire lounge can be worth the investment if you want a distinctive gathering area for family nights and larger events. Foxterra clients often use these lounges as their primary gathering place. They require additional structure, engineering, drainage, finishes, lighting, and surrounding hardscape, so they need to be planned early.
Why is custom lighting important in a resort-inspired backyard?
Custom lighting allows you to enjoy the yard after sunset and experience it differently at night. Task lighting helps in kitchens and dining areas, while path, step, tree, pool, and under-seat lighting help people move safely and appreciate the details throughout the yard.
Behind The Blog
Justin Fox
Founder & Creative Director
Founder Justin Fox grew up with a passion for landscaping. After 15+ years building luxury yards and pools as a licensed contractor, he saw the limits of the design/build model. Homes get detailed, architect-led plans, so why shouldn’t yards? In 2019 he convinced brother Nate Fox to join him and launched Foxterra Design to focus on immersive, luxury outdoor spaces.
Foxterra designs immersive outdoor environments that blend architecture, landscape, and lifestyle into one cohesive vision. Our work is rooted in timeless materials, intentional layout, and outdoor living that feels effortless to use every day.
Nate Fox
Designer
Nate Fox helps shape Foxterra’s creative vision, blending architectural detail with a designer’s eye for proportion and flow. His work redefines the backyard as an extension of modern luxury living.
In recent features, Nate’s perspective has been quoted across leading design publications, including Homes & Gardens and Luxury Pools + Outdoor Living, where he shares practical, design-forward guidance on everything from integrating sculptural moments and sightlines to creating “living wall” effects that soften hard architecture and make compact spaces feel more expansive.
For this story, Nate shares which resort-inspired backyard features give homeowners more ways to relax, entertain, and enjoy a private-resort experience at home.
