If you live at the beach, or have a pool and enjoy those lazy summer days splashing around with family and friends, you know the importance of keeping your backyard area clean and tidy. As seasons change, so will your needs as far as outdoor recreation. However, no matter the time of year, it's good to have some kind of special room or stall set up independent of your home to improve how your house functions.

The Pool House or Mud Room, Everything in Its Place

When you have a swimming pool constructed, you may wish to consider building a supplemental pool room, or detached bathroom, to go with it. Also called a mud room, this is where guests may go to change into swimsuits or use the facilities. Having such an area on your property brings many advantages:

• A mud room can raise the property value on your home. Homes with pools come at a premium, but this special room makes your home more attractive to buyers because it completes the relaxing scene.
• Mud rooms help keep your home clean. When you host outdoor parties, you reduced wet and muddy traffic into your house. People can hop out of the pool right into your mud room, and you don't have to worry about your kitchen floors or home rugs being dirtied.
• If you have repairmen working outside your home, the mud room gives them a place to wash up afterward if needed. You secure your privacy this way, too.

Depending on your budget and the size of your yard, a mud room may be constructed to suit your needs. It can be as simple as a closet-sized building housing a toilet and small shower stall, or something larger to accommodate an indoor lounging area. It's important, before you begin, to consult with a professional plumber to determine where fixtures can be installed in your home and what permits are needed to build.

Once you have those items figured out, you could have a mud room built in a matter of weeks or months, and enhance your backyard entertaining.

Kathryn Lively/em>