Rachel Spencer wanted a backyard pool but balked at the roughly $70,000 price tag for an in-ground option, so she went a different route entirely: upgrading a standard above-ground pool into a full backyard oasis for about $700. She shared the transformation on Instagram as @rachel.spencer.
In her post, Spencer shows the build-out: decking, landscaping and finishing touches added around a standard above-ground pool to make it look and feel far more like a designed backyard feature than a basic backyard fixture. The transformation leans on strategic landscaping and surface treatments rather than any structural change to the pool itself, which is part of what keeps the cost so far below an in-ground alternative.
It’s worth separating the two dollar figures in her story, since they describe different things: the roughly $70,000 number reflects a quote she says she received for an in-ground pool installation, while the $700 figure covers what she spent upgrading the above-ground option she already had. Both numbers are best treated as Spencer’s own reported figures rather than universal pricing, since installation quotes and material costs vary significantly by region, yard size and the scope of any given project.
The comparison between the two options is what gives the post its hook: a nearly hundred-fold difference in cost for what, in the after photos, reads as a genuinely upgraded backyard space rather than a compromise. That framing has made the post a go-to reference point for homeowners who assumed a backyard pool upgrade meant choosing between an expensive in-ground installation or living with a basic, unadorned above-ground setup.
Above-ground pools have long carried a reputation as the budget, less-polished alternative to in-ground installations, and posts like Spencer’s push back on that assumption directly by showing what thoughtful landscaping and finishing work can do without touching the pool’s actual structure or cost. The core insight isn’t really about pools specifically — it’s about how much a space’s perceived value can shift with surrounding design choices rather than the core purchase itself.
The Takeaway
Before assuming a backyard upgrade requires the most expensive version of a project, it’s worth pricing out what landscaping and finishing touches alone could do to an existing, lower-cost setup. Decking, plants, lighting and surface treatments can transform how a space reads without touching the core structure or its price tag. If you’re comparing a big-ticket renovation against a budget alternative, get quotes for both before deciding, and consider whether a staged approach, starting with the cheaper option and upgrading its surroundings, gets you most of the way to the look you want for a fraction of the cost.
