I don't want any of those options, I would like beautiful sitting room with plush furniture, classical French inspired (not baroque), I would like a climate controlled glass house to match with orchids and all other exotic plants. A beautiful garden with flowers and fruit trees and a cleaner and a handyman to help me with it.

Kerrie, I live in Victoria and my pool in completely internal, that is to say it is part of the house and not an addition to the house. I planned to have an external door with the required regulation lock height and seld closing mechanism. Hubby was dead against this door and so I agreed to have a window instead, not long after, we found out that the laws had changed and you are no longer permitted to access to an indoor pool from the outside, so it was just sheer luck that we changed the door to a window. Further, when we purchased the awning windows (2) with regulation restricted 10cm windouts, our building inspector tried to tell us that the windows weren't allowed and that they would have to remain shut and we were also going to have to concrete "bars" into the brickwork on the outside. I argued that regulation pool fences had the same 10cm restriction and after contacting the Victorian Building Commission, I have confirmation in writing, that the windows are deemed to be adequately safe and the inspector has accepted the finding. My access to our pool now, is only from the inside of the home obviously and if that becomes illegal, then we'll just have to sit and look at the pool longingly through the window, as there won't be any access at all ha-ha I'm not advocating that people argue with regulations but if I hadn't investigated my options further, who knows where I would be, having spent $1,500 on these two windows with laminated glass and how beautiful would my brickwork have looked with prisson bars attached. Cheers, Barbara

Nice pool, but a shame that your neighbours can see you through the fence, and therefore, you get no privacy. If you were wanting privacy of some kind, bamboo, tikka plant or even lovely conifers will look quite nice, also as a backdrop to your pool area. I would also place a beautiful urn or two strategically near the pool, to add character and colour. I would finally add an order of large stones for good effect.

What a great pool for starters. I do see your dilemma though. For the fence: I would give it a paint, choose a colour that ties your house in. Add laser cut screens or put in a vertical wall garden as you don't have a lot of room to have a row of pots. In saying that a few large pots around are great to add some interest and colour. Strelitzia's are great plants to use. Tough, can handle sun, lovely bright orange flowers. Certain sun loving bromeliads, great colours. Clumping palms are always a winner. Just watch yuccas, as previously suggested, as they are often spikey, with kids running around I would stick with softer foliage. Somewhere to sit is always important but again you don't seem to have a lot of space and you don't want to overcrowd the area. Perhaps a long bench seat along the far fence, include outdoor cushions and built in storage under seat for pool toys. A large umbrella in the corner for some shade. All of these can add colour while being practical. However I do like the idea of extending the back pool fence out to create more space, Bali hut here we come! This may not be an option.... Good luck, I'm sure with a bit of planning you can turn this into a beautiful space for everyone to enjoy.