When you choose to design a custom pool, you have the freedom to truly make it your own with the features and details you want for optimal comfort, ease of use, and pleasing aesthetics. As you are tapping into your creativity and considering your custom pool design in Tucson, it’s helpful to explore pool design trends that other homeowners have embraced in 2026. Here’s a look at the backyard pool ideas we’re seeing a lot of this year.
Built-in Water Features
Water features like fountains, waterfalls, or waterwalls create a more dynamic pool design that layers the serene sounds of moving water and the visual intrigue of vertical design elements into your pool design. You can embrace a natural look with a rock waterfall or gentle flowing stream that spills into the pool, or you can opt for a more modern aesthetic with a sheer descent where water cascades from a wall or raised beam.
Infinity Edges
For homes in the Catalina Foothills or in the rolling hills of Oro Valley, the focal point of the backyard may be sweeping views of the Sonoran Desert and the city lights below. To accentuate these views, many homeowners opt for an infinity edge pool, which creates the illusion of water spilling into the horizon. If you love the modern look of this type of pool but don’t have the right backyard layout to make it work, a glass edge or glass wall pool can be similarly striking.
Natural Aesthetic Pools
While some homeowners prefer the sharp lines and bold aesthetic of modern pool designs, others gravitate towards a natural aesthetic in which the pool blends into the desert landscape and looks like a private desert oasis where the worries of the world feel far away. These pools will use design elements like rocks and boulders to feel like natural watering holes rather than backyard pools. Often, homeowners will pair a natural aesthetic pool with sustainable features like energy-efficient pool pumps and solar heating systems or saltwater chlorine generators.
Integrated Landscaping and Outdoor Living Spaces
In both modern and natural design aesthetics, homeowners are choosing to integrate their pools into the surrounding landscaping and outdoor living spaces. For example, adding a swim-up bar to an outdoor kitchen or placing a firepit with shaded lounges near the pool entry can create seamless transitions between backyard spaces, allowing you to feel like the pool is just part of your living space. Cimarron Circle Construction specializes in designing custom outdoor spaces that include low-maintenance desert landscaping to embrace the beauty of the Sonoran Desert.
Custom LED Lighting
During the peak of summer, many homeowners prefer to take a nighttime swim to cool off before bedtime. To ensure a safe and comfortable experience swimming after dark, incorporating a custom LED lighting scheme is essential. LED lights are energy efficient and come in a variety of colors and shapes, so they can be incorporated into intricate designs like murals or mosaics. Plus, modern pool lights can be programmed with a smartphone app for easy control and customization.
With Cimarron Circle Construction, your imagination is the limit when it comes to your custom pool design. We complete all work in-house, including the construction of outdoor living spaces and sustainable desert landscape designs, so you can experience the ease of a turnkey approach. Contact us today to begin bringing your vision for a custom luxury pool to life.