Here’s a perfect tableau: a charming century-old bungalow perched on the Severn River in an upscale Annapolis community. That picture, however, needed to be just a little more perfect for John and Po Martin, who—despite stringent regulations on new waterfront construction—also wanted a great property for entertaining, complete with a striking and contemporary pool.

A party on a recent spring afternoon was proof the couple achieved their goal: They effortlessly hosted more than 100 guests, mostly past and present members of the sailing team at the University of Maryland, where their daughter, Jaimie, graduated in May.

“My mother went there in the early ’50s, and she was on the sailing team, so there were multiple generations of kids who grew up on the water and appreciate it,” says John Martin.

Hosting these types of gatherings has become something of a habit for the family, whose house is nestled in the historic Bay Ridge community, once home to a Victorian-era vacation destination known as “The Queen Resort of the Chesapeake.”

Born and raised in Annapolis, Martin, an insurance broker, was attracted to the property not just because it was on the water, but because of its acreage. “It was a big piece of land for the neighborhood, so we just decided to make the most of it,” he says. “The lot is an acre and a quarter, and half the lot we weren’t using at all.”

So a little more than 10 years ago, the big—and ongoing—re-do got underway: The Martins, who bought the property in 1995, called on Cathy Purple Cherry, of the eponymous Annapolis-based design firm, to customize both the interior and exterior living spaces, and Jones Contracting to do the work. “They chose to maintain the one-story bungalow character and not to build up,” Cherry recalls. “So the main house was renovated and expanded to a 3,000-square-foot footprint, with another living space below.”

The outdoor area, which includes a 14-foot-by-40-foot pool, a 650-square-foot deck, and a screened porch off of the main house with views of the Chesapeake Bay, presented its own special challenges because of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Protection Program. “It’s a state law to minimize the amount of hard surface that you put on your property in order to reduce the erosion and runoff into the waterways that lead to the Chesapeake Bay,” Cherry explains.

The pool’s placement adjacent to the house was dictated by the bungalow. “The house was expanded for maximizing its water view, and there’s no place for the pool to have gone between the house and the water—the pool could only go in the side yard.”

Because pools count as hard surfaces, the redesign of the surrounding area, which features grass and additional landscaping, had to be careful not to violate the Critical Area Protection rules. “The Martins have an amazing landscaper,” says Cherry of local firm Campion Hruby Landscape Architects (Martin also credits Estrada Landscaping, which did the actual plant installation). “They created this wonderful vegetative surround that is so successful on this property.”

Despite living in the home for 23 years, Martin says it’s still a work in progress. A recent project included tearing down and rebuilding the small guest house to offer better views of the pool and bay. “We wanted to have a place for my kids to do art and for me to do different projects,” says Martin. Today the new three-bedroom, two-bath guest house, with its large screened porch and expansive deck and open lawn, is perfect for playing games such as croquet and bocce. “It’s just set up to be the playhouse,” he adds with a laugh.

“I love to play with the landscape, and the outcome is going to be phenomenal,” Martin says. “I think we planted over 100 hydrangeas and another 50 trees. When all that matures, it’s going to be like a little Alice in Wonderland.”

In the main living area of Peter and Laurie Stubb’s home, a roughly 40-foot-wide stretch of floor-to-ceiling windows frames the dense surrounding foliage like a natural work of art. The placement of the two-story, tongue-and-groove-paneled home on a hillside gives it the feel of a dramatic tree house—sliding patio doors open from the living and dining area to a 45-foot-long balcony that runs the entire length of the home.

“We appreciated the effort the original architect made to situate the house in this dynamic natural setting, nestling it into the side of a hill, orienting it to take advantage of views of the landscape and to receive as much sunlight as possible,” says Laurie Stubb. If she sounds like she knows the lingo, that’s because she works in residential design as principal of Place Architecture: Design.

When the Stubbs purchased the house from its original owners in 2001, it was like opening a 1960s time capsule. Both professional architects (Peter Stubb is Baltimore design principal for global architecture firm Gensler), the couple relished the opportunity to renovate an untouched midcentury-modern home.

“While the house was attractive to us for its purity of form, the site was another story,” Laurie says of the heavily wooded and overgrown plot. “The site lacked, in a design sense, meaningful connections to the larger natural environment.” Still, the Stubbs and their daughters, Emily and Abigail, lived in the home for 14 years before embarking on any significant exterior work.

Holding off on landscaping was an intentional choice. Coming from a 14-square-foot yard in their prior South Baltimore rowhome, Laurie describes the jump to a 2-plus-acre tract as both daunting and exciting. “We saw the benefit in living here for a while, absorbing, learning, and gathering an understanding of the challenges, while seeking opportunities for making it our own,” she explains. 

Eventually, though, the need to replace rotting wood in their balcony got the couple to focus on the exterior. “I’ve long been inspired by American landscape architect Dan Kiley, whose approach was that a design should grow out of a landscape, rather than be imposed on it,” says Peter Stubb. As part of their inspiration, the couple also drew from Japanese landscapes and the concept of wabi-sabi, or finding beauty in imperfections.

In the summer of 2015, the Stubbs worked with Owings Brothers Contracting out of Eldersburg to rebuild their Redwood balcony, adding 1.5 feet onto the original 5-foot width and installing a more modern railing. The additional width has transformed how the family uses the space—creating enough room for an outdoor table and other furniture to allow them to eat dinner outside on warmer nights.

The flattest part of the yard centers around a rectangular court filled with fine gravel for playing pétanque, a French tossed-ball game similar to the Italian bocce that the Stubbs took up on a trip through France. “We never thought we would be talking about a pétanque court, but here we are,” says Laurie with a laugh. “The goal was to create a place unlike any other in the yard, one designed for fun, not to mention a welcome bit of flat land. We might throw a few balls at the end of the day to unwind, or sometimes it becomes the centerpiece of a large gathering of friends and neighbors.”

Since pétanque doesn’t regulate court size, the Stubbs worked with Black Rock Landscapes in northern Baltimore County to design and build a rectangular terrain that cuts slightly into the yard’s natural slope and mirrors the landscape’s dominant contours—a natural stream on one side of the playing area, and the house on the other. In contrast with the court’s straight boundaries, a natural-stone edge softens the transition from the rectangular court to a stone terrace. 

Peter also laid a path of concrete steps to connect the home’s downstairs family room to the backyard. Also hand-built were dry-stacked stone retaining walls to define edges and frame planting beds. Butterbur plants, which can tolerate shady areas and grew naturally on the property, were trained to dominate the slope between the court and the house. The chest-high plants, which spawn large round leaves from a single stem, soften the stark lines of the home while providing a sense of human scale.

Relocating small trees and plants already growing on the site is just one way the Stubbs designed with sustainability in mind. Redwood planks salvaged from the original balcony were reused to create communal seating in the backyard living space. “The moment the design really came together was when we hit on the idea of reusing the old balcony wood to create a new boardwalk that runs the length of the pétanque court and provides seating for players,” Laurie explains. “It’s not only a perfect place to sit and watch a game, it’s great for catching a nap in the sun.”

Guided by their philosophy of experimentation, the couple has created three distinct exterior spaces, “each with a unique purpose, function, and relationship to the landscape,” Laurie says. “What we didn’t realize is that this approach would lead us into a path of constant experimentation that continues to this day. We wouldn’t trade it—it’s a labor of love.”   

So let’s say you want to sell your house. Or maybe you don’t want to sell just yet, but realize it’s looking a bit shabby from the street. 

In either case, improving curb appeal is about more than just losing the rusting ’59 Chevy up on cinder blocks, or cutting back on the three dilapidated toolsheds. It’s about making your home look its best from the outside, and to make it look like a good investment, says Allison Williams, co-owner, along with Monica Naslack, of home staging and design company Poppy Production. 

“Most people focus on the inside rather than the outside,” Williams says. “But having old paint on the door, or outdated paint colors, or dead plants—it’s worse than no plants.” Little things really matter, such as re-mulching and re-edging your flower beds, she says. “It makes a huge difference.”

Keep in mind that most prospective buyers these days will want to look at pictures of your home on the web before they decide to step foot inside. “If that front shot doesn’t look good, people won’t even come look at the house,” says Williams.   

What’s the payback? The website of America’s favorite home-improvement guru, BobVila.com, claims that good landscaping alone could increase your home’s value by 20 percent. 

Joshua Seek, co-owner of Eden Design Group, agrees that landscaping is a crucial investment for those looking to sell. “Landscaping is definitely the first impression of a home,” he says. “The most important thing to me is the entranceway. When someone pulls up, the first thing people see is how the landscaping enhances that. If your walkway is sunken and has standing water, that’s one of the first things you should look at.”

Of course, there’s another crucial factor to consider as you draw up your curb-appeal wish list: How much money do you have to spend? Here are some options, for budgets big and small.

Budget: Less than $500

Mulch, mulch, mulch. If a completely new assortment of plants isn’t in your budget, you can give your existing greenery a fresh look by adding some mulch, says Jason Davidov, owner of J.D. Outdoors. “The mulch gives a nice contrast to the look and ties everything together,” he says. “It makes the place pop. It’s also good for the flower beds, and it keeps the weeds down.” 

Freshen up your front door and house number. Adding a fresh coat of paint to your front door “really makes the home stand out,” says Paula Henry, owner and principal designer at Simply Put Interiors. “Pretty house numbers also go a long way. There are lots of companies online where you can do them yourself.” Even if you’re not feeling in a DIY mood, artisan site Etsy offers options for unusual address signs as low as $20. 

Clean up surfaces. ”House siding, or even brick and other surfaces, get really kind of yucky over the winter, so power-washing is a nice way to freshen things up,” says Henry. Pay attention to your walkway, too: “With concrete walkways, you have a tendency to get mildew on your paving stones, so you could pressure-wash those front walkways so they look clean,” says Seek.

Create an inviting place to sit. “Let’s say you had an old iron bench. You could scrape off the paint, get some spray paint at Home Depot, spray-paint that bench a nice, bright color, and then go to Crate & Barrel and buy some fun outdoor pillows,” says Williams. “You could probably do that for $100 or $200, and it would just create a cute vignette outside your house to draw the eye.”

Budget: Up to $2,000

Add more plants to your yard. Consider adding a little pop of color with flowers around the bottom of your mailbox, for example, suggests Davidov.

Install some outdoor lighting. You want your house to look great after dark, too. One way to do that is to buy a lighting kit for your front yard, says Williams. “You put the lights in the ground and orient them to uplight something pretty, like a gable, or even a tree,” she says. 

Expand your flower beds. “Larger beds in front of the house make a home look larger,” says Seek. “What you can add is a second row of plantings.” For example, if you have a row of shrubs in front of your home, consider adding a row of flowers for additional color. 

Budget: More than $2,000

Create the right landscape design. With a bigger budget, you can consider hiring a landscaper to refresh any outdated plant material, or to move plants around for a better visual effect, says Williams. “A lot of times, people will plant shrubs that are just not right for the sun exposure, or the size is not right, or they’re not grouped correctly,” Williams says. “For instance, you could have a shrub that is just engulfing the side of the house, and you can’t even see a beautiful bay window.” A landscaper can help you think through those kinds of issues.    

Invest in a wider walkway. “If you’ve got an old-school, 3-foot concrete walkway that’s square going into the house, I would contemplate removing that,” says Seek. Instead, add a paver patio that flares out where it meets the asphalt or driveway. “You can flare it out to 7 feet, and it adds a nice flow to the house.”  

Mind your backyard. This is especially true if your backyard is visible to someone standing on the sidewalk. “It’s always nice to have flowers and trees in the backyard, and my favorite tree to plant is crepe myrtles,” says Seek. “There are tons of fruit trees that bloom in the springtime, but only for a couple of weeks. With crepe myrtles, the blooms last four to five months.” In addition, the trees are relatively disease-resistant, and because their growth is top-heavy, they don’t take up a lot of space in your yard, he says. 

And these fixes could be free. There are a few ways to add curb appeal that don’t cost a thing. For example, consider that the human eye is attracted by symmetry. “The window shades could be different in each room, but if they’re kept raised and lowered at the same height, then it creates that look of continuity,” says Henry. 

Also, make sure your entranceway doesn’t look lopsided. “If you have planters on both sides of the door, be sure to have the same kinds of plant material in each one,” says Williams.

Finally, remember that new homeowners will want to put their own stamp on your house. So as you freshen up the look of your yard, don’t go overboard. Seek’s advice: “Keep it simple, clean, neat, and don’t overplant.”

We can all relate to the scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where Clark Griswold gazes out his home’s frosted window, daydreaming about his family splashing and playing in the backyard pool that he plans to build with his generous end-of-year cash bonus—of course, he instead gets a one-year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club. But, in reality, our similar watery daydreams are too often interrupted with cost worries, fear of maintenance headaches, and imagined safety concerns that come along with a new pool.

But fear not. The standard backyard pool is undergoing a rebirth. Thanks in part to smart technology, energy-efficient products, and innovative design trends, pools are easier to maintain than ever, and the functionality of an outdoor entertainment area can stretch far beyond the warm summer months.

“We use a ton of technology that makes our pools easy to take care of,” says Michael Shaffery, president of Baltimore-based Elite Pools. For example, a built-in cleaning system “that looks a lot like the irrigation system for a yard” systematically pushes dirt to the main drain. Plus, remote pool-management technology allows Shaffery to diagnose and fix any problems from afar—and allows you to switch on your hot tub from an app on your phone so it’s hot and bubbling when you arrive home.

Spending a bit more upfront can pay off in energy savings later, says Matthew Thompson of Phoenix-based Lothorian Pools. Energy-efficient equipment is increasingly popular with his clients, Thompson says, like incorporating “LED underwater lights, variable-speed pumps, and high-efficiency heaters or heat pumps.” A variable-speed pump can help reduce the energy costs of running a pool by up to 90 percent.

Combine these product advancements with fun new trends, like sun shelves (shallow areas for relaxing on the patio or playing with the children), built-in lounge chairs, and spillover or integrated spas (where an underwater dam separates the hot tub from the rest of the pool for a seamless look, with some slight mixing of the water), and it’s a better time than ever to create the backyard oasis you’ve been dreaming of while gazing out that frosted window.

The “Wow” Factor

The pool at Christopher and Deborah Englert’s newly constructed home in Lutherville-Timonium is more than a place to swim. Chris says the pool and patio space is mainly used for entertaining and offers a great place for guests in search of “a relaxing area with plenty of room to sit and sip a cool drink.” Completed in July 2016, the 10-week project features lush landscaping, a trickling water feature, and mood lighting to create the perfect environment for chilling out.

On cool fall nights, the Englerts and their guests gather around the sleek, stainless-steel gas fire pit (which doubles as a table when not in use) or soak in the 36-square-foot spa. Custom lighting around the pool and landscaping give the area an extra “wow” factor after dusk. The built-in bench seat running the length of the 750-square-foot pool offers relief to cocktail-sippers on a humid summer evening, while covered patio areas with ceiling fans shield the midday sun.

“We wanted the pool to be a progression of the house, another room to use,” says Matthew Thompson, CEO of Lothorian Pools, which designed and built the pool.

A dramatic, 20-foot grade drop across the backyard created an extra challenge during the design process, as rainwater rushed through the proposed pool location. “We solved the problem by incorporating the stone retaining wall,” Thompson explains. “This afforded us two big-ticket items: water collection and a powerful visual element that helped to create an intimate ‘courtyard.’”

The pool was raised 16 inches above the patio floor to further reconcile the grading issue, allowing storm water to be directed around the back of the pool. And to create the transitional feel of an additional living space, building materials were chosen that best complement the Englert home’s design. Ocean Blue Pebble Sheen, a plaster coating manufactured by Pebble Tec that incorporates tiny, vibrant blue and earth-toned stones, creates a natural, deep-blue water color in the pool and spa. Premium bluestone coping tiles cap the pool shell wall, while the spillway from the hot tub to the main pool is made from a custom designed and fabricated piece of bluestone. Technology is at work, too: At the press of a button, the Englerts can control—and even change the color—of their pool’s energy-efficient underwater LED lights.

A Pool With a View

The McReady family residence offers 180-degree views of Duvall Creek, a bay off the South River in Annapolis, from its connected kitchen, dining, and living room. “For that reason, it was a very intentional decision to put the pool off to the side, so as not to block the water view,” says Cathy Purple Cherry, principal of Purple Cherry Architects, who designed the home and its outdoor entertainment area with an assist from Campion Hruby Landscape Architects.

For Suzanne McReady, her husband, and three school-age children, the goal was to extend their living space into the outdoors in a 2,000-square-foot waterside entertainment area that includes a pool, covered cooking and dining pavilion, and patio.

The McReadys opted to build the covered pavilion behind the pool, with recessed lights, a ceiling fan, and two brick islands topped with bluestone slabs—one for eating and another with a built-in gas grill and refrigerator for cooking and serving food. “In the summer months, we can enjoy family dinners without having to leave the pool area,” says McReady.

A concern regarding offside pools that aren’t in view of the main living space is the safety of young children. In the McReadys’ case, windows off the side of the kitchen provide a direct line of sight.

Unlike some Annapolis residents who pack up for warmer weather in the winter, the McReadys reside here year-round, and wanted a patio space that didn’t lose its beauty or functionality in colder weather. “We designed our outdoor space with this in mind, and we are able to enjoy the space for many months of the year,” McReady says.

Feeling Blue

When Elite Pools works with a potential new client, they ask a variety of questions to get to know the client’s needs: Have you had a pool in the past? Where do you like to vacation? Are you attracted to warm earth tones, or do you want your backyard to transport you to the Caribbean?

“The color of the water is going to invoke some kind of emotional response,” Michael Shaffery, Elite Pools president, says. “If you’re the type of person who hikes the Colorado Rockies and likes the land upon a mountain lake, that’s a completely different color than Hawaii water or Caribbean water.” Once Shaffery’s team gets a feel for the customer’s aesthetic, they choose the appropriate color coating from pool finisher Pebble Tec.

The rest comes naturally, Shaffery says: “The color of the water dictates the color of the tile and the color of the patio.”

Over the summer of 2016, Elite Pools worked on an extra special project—Shaffery’s family pool. For the project, which Shaffery values at around $500,000, Elite pulled out all the stops. A natural feel pervades the space, from the water’s cool blue tone reminiscent of a clear lake, to the rugged boulders and landscaping that are incorporated into the pool’s surroundings.

The spillover spa, set above the pool, cascades down a rocky waterfall element before landing in the main body of water. Across from the spa, a curving infinity-edge element creates the illusion from the perspective of a swimmer that the water vanishes into the property’s rolling hills, while built-in ledges and a sun shelf provide plenty of options for rest and relaxation. And a 32-foot-long slide dumps adventuresome swimmers into the pool’s deepest end.

“I built it as a showroom,” Shaffery says, “making sure that my clients can see what the possibilities are.”