With the current down trend on home prices I decided to spend more time adding outdoor living spaces to my home for the day the market picks up again. As many know outdoor living spaces are considered number 3 after kitchen and bathrooms as the most return for the buck. So I decided after building an outdoor kitchen and dining room last year in my backyard I started thinking about doing something in my front yard. So the concept of an outdoor living room came together but I wanted to be different with something I have never heard of being done before something to make it truly special. As I have had ponds in my previous homes and not this one I decided a pond must be part of the living space. So after spending alot of time in my head the idea for a pond/coffee table came about. The best of all worlds a coffee table for the outdoor living room is a must have so you could set your drinks down or kick your feet up. And the enjoyment of having a pond to relax to. It was almost like the old commericals for reeces pieces "You dropped your chocolate into my peanut butter, etc). The deck is roughly 16x15 with the pond being around 475 gallons. The pond dimensions are 3.5x6x3 feet and to help for our winters since this is above ground I used foam sheets that also soften the contact of liner to wood. The pond goes below the deck by about a foot so only 2 feet show on the deck being at an enjoyable height to kick the feet up on. I only finished the main part of the deck and filling up of the pond last week but in the next few weeks I will add a sofa that will surround the deck on 2 sides. The water feature is not finished yet but it will rise from the center with water overflowing into the pond. Luckily we have our friends Sutter and Sam at Sierra Water Gardens to help us with an awesome selection of koi once the pond (technically you could say its a fish tank) is cycled.