A Clear Case of Pool Envy

I recently visited a friend's house with my family to attend a graduation party for one of his kids. As the afternoon turned into evening we all congregated in the backyard to enjoy a campfire, a pot of coffee, and some good music. As I listened to the music and engaged in conversation I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the lighting around my friends above ground swimming pool. I must admit I was quickly falling victim to a certifiable case of pool envy.

My wife and I used to own a swimming pool before we sold our house, but we could never figure out a way to add some decorative accent lighting without spending a fortune. As it turns out, my friend used a series of three chip LED light strips encased in waterproof plastic tubing. Since his deck ran all the way around the pool it made the perfect medium to mount the lights along both the hand rail and the underside of the deck board. Then he strategically mounted some tiki lamps around the deck and, instead of filling them with oil and burning them, he strung them with some of single-chip LEDs.

All of this he did for just a couple of dollars per foot. I admit I was pretty impressed and, at the same time, almost wishing I could turn back the clock and do the same thing to my former pool. It was that impressive. And much to my surprise, his lighting didn't stop there.

There was also a gazebo further back in the yard that he strung with RGB LED chip light strips. These strips could be set to a specific color or programmed to change color in a set pattern. What an idea! He created the perfect on-site setting for a romantic evening alone with his wife. Again I was green with envy.

Finally, I noticed as we were leaving that he even lit up his front walk and landscaping with LED light strips. I never knew before this night that my friend was a lighting master. Now that I live in an apartment, which is not a complaint mind you, I'm prohibited from doing any sort of lighting around the property. That's too bad, because visiting my friend's house gave me a lot of incredible ideas. Oh well, we'll be spending a lot of time at his house this summer.