Wow what a beautiful space you have! I love the look of climbing jasmine and you could get it to grow along criss-crossed wires similar to this:

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However the jasmine/leaves dropping into the pool may pose an issue.

Even timber cladding with feature lighting could work well, and would tie in with your pillars/poles:

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Let us know what you go with!

Hi,

how about a product called Totalstone wall cladding, in a colour in keeping with your house bricks, pool tile surrounds and garden edging. It is lightweight, waterproof, comes in a variety of textures that emulate brick, sandstone etc. It can be painted also.

A mural would look fantastic. Look on it as a work of art. Do you know any talented artist friends

if you like the mural idea (I do!) you could get a landscape done - anything that makes your heart sing

How about using a non timber product so you don't get stains in the pool and no need for Maintenance. Millboard is the best. It will give a awesome timber look. There are 9 colour options to choose.

Thanks everyone. We have thought about all of the above. The street art appeals to me, but that is risky because it can be awesome and it can also be awesomely awful!! I am an artist myself and my husband thinks I could whack something out just like that!! Love his enthusiasm. Outdoor art has a new set of challenges that a canvas doesn't.

Whatever you do, adding a lights feature would look awesome when you're entertaining at night.

If you cover the fence/wall with a finish which matches or blends in with the house it will be less obvious as an afterthought. If possible put some mirrors in recesses to reflect back the life and action of your home. This will create greater depth and take away the blandness of a long straight wall.

Well positioned lighting would also show up in the mirrors at night and add another layer to the pool area.

Hi we did the blue board fencing around 2 sections of the pool area ,it did take some time filling all the joins well and sanding them ,but with a good neutral earthy colour ,it came up really well ,then we went to bunnings and purchased the ornamental screens ,they are made from a strong plastic and made to last ,they also look really good :) and are less than $100.00 each

I tried to post a few pics ,but for some reason they are not showing .

Hi,

Beautiful house & pool. Yes it's a small platform of which your solution would have to be fairly quick to do. What about the reed or bamboo screen rolls from Bunnings? Wouldn't take up much depth, should be quick to attach, you should be able to cut to size & it would add visual texture to the pool & entertainment area? Just a thought!

I like the idea of a piece of wall art. Render the wall and paint it a colour like Dulux Monastic then add some metal artwork. See picture.

Thanks everyone. I have really enjoyed your posts and advice. Most of them have reinforced the direction we are going in. We do have lights that give off light in both an up and down direction and the pool has night lights as well. We also found some small clumpy bamboo plants that look like they will fit in at the bottom of the wall and bring in a bit of greenery to the otherwise very hard surface area. Our other intention is to have some kind of water feature coming from the wall, probably some faucet type water spouts. All depends on the $$$$ of course. :)

Hi Ka5en ,

What are the blue board panel sizes ? 8 x4 's or 5 x 10's . Let me know and I will let you know another option . I would be cautious about just doing one full wall all the same colour or texture. Plus I would be very careful about using a " pool water friendly" vertical surface for the first 4 feet off the ground.

Cheers Glenn

Hi Ka5en,

Has the blueboard been fixed directly to the fence or is it on it's own independent frame and footings? It appears to be fixed directly, and i would be cautious about adding additional weight as the fence won't be up to the challenge. Good luck.

Craig

Thank you everyone for your comments, they were very helpful and helped in the process of eliminating and keeping ideas. I eventually went with the stencil idea and am very happy with the outcome, although there are still a few little tweeks that I need to do to finalise it all. Of course, big green plants in bright blue pots either end of the pool butting up against the wall with combine all the elements together, but the budget needs a bit of a rest for the moment! Here is the almost final outcome. I will be happy to answer any questions about the process and where I got the products from.

Oh, and one of the unintended outcomes of this is that the glass pool fencing on the opposite side of the wall reflects the images so they look like they are painted onto the glass as well. (I don't think that in the US and UK you have the stringent pool fencing laws that we have here in Australia, but it is for the safety of all). :)

Thanks for your further comments. brankap1968, the wall faces west here in Queensland, Australia and the western sun in summer can be vicious. If we did the stack stone idea we would get a lot of radiant heat and that would defeat the purpose of the pool area being a cool down zone! What you posted looks great though.
7weed1, I did source the stencils and bought them off Etsy after a lot of extensive detective work. I first saw them here:
https://www.houzz.com.au/products/wall-stencil-medallion-prvw-vr~36117890

you may like a premium artificial garden -

If interested look at https://www.gardenbeet.com/collections/artificial-vertical-gardens-and-fake-plants-on-walls/products/meadow-patch

Hi do you have a photo of what you ended up doing?

I have a similar wall over my pool and unsure what todo.

I'd cut the blue wall to half its height

Whoops just saw this is old! What did you end up doing?

Thanks everyone for your further comments. No problem about it being an old post, always nice to communicate with people about design solutions/problems.
Jilly, I posted some photos on 1st January 2016, they appear further up in the post. Garden Beet Pty Ltd, and Morel Construction Ltd, both of your solutions look great, but our problem still remains the western Queensland sun which is pretty vicious on anything that will either wilt, fade or break down. It was quite a difficult challenge to come up with something that was affordable, workable and durable.
I would love to have had plants because I believe they soften large "hard" exterior areas, but we have decided that we will do that with pots around the pool area. Still have that to do, even after all this time. :)
Thanks everyone for re-igniting this chat. Jilly, hope you find something that works for you.

oops thanks i didn't look above. Great idea on the Art, yes i think some plants in pots will be the way to go :)

No sorry I don't Lesley. Are you in Australia or elsewhere?

vertical garden...it will feel beautiful to swim near and give a sense of life and abundance to the area, also lovely to look at from the house. There are a multitude of options that won't make a mess in the pool and won't require attention. Just water and occasional fertiliser.

Good luck.

planetjen9, We would love to have a vertical garden but the weight of the plants when they are wet is what would be a problem. Also the wall faces west where we get the most punishing sun, so it would mean certain types of plants only, probably succulents/cacti which would prove to be very heavy. The fence would need to be reinforced making it a budget blowout.

We are really happy with what we have decided upon. Photos further up, posted 1 January 2016. We now have plants and citrus trees to soften the hard surfaces. Citrus loves a wall that radiates heat so it is the perfect spot...and we get some fruit into the bargain! Win.

An option for you may be a cost-effective green wall (basic to premium) are easy to attach and will add some greenery. You could have a look at Green Walls