As the summer sun begins to beckon, pools come to mind. Think of your perfect summer day. It probably involves basking by the pool, right? While pools are primarily a leisurely escape, their entertainment-focused design and surrounding areas often require meticulous planning that deserves acknowledgment. These home swimming pools might just inspire you to start building your own backyard oasis.
Well-Contained
According to Cicada Company designer-owner Tara Davis, installing a shipping container pool at this home didn’t require much convincing—it was a concept that both the designer and homeowner had their eyes on.
This style of pool, which can be installed above ground or below, found a happy medium. “We decided to push the boundaries and design the pool to be partially above and partially below,” Davis says. “We utilized one of its unique features by designing the space around a pool window to create an interactive experience.”
This allowed for the large lounge area next to the pool, to which Davis added plants and grasses to softly and naturally break up all of the deck and hardscape elements.
Missouri or Montauk?
“[The homeowner] wanted it to feel like a Hamptons resort,” designer Abbey Humphreys of Collected Living Design says of this pool. “We went with very light, bright, airy colors.” (As bright as they could go while keeping the sometimes-unpredictable Midwest elements in mind).
The chic and functional ergonomic loungers are so comfortable that they don’t require cushions, and the striped fringe umbrellas add that Hamptons touch. Another standout is the al fresco dining space, which overlooks the entire pool area, a luxuriously designed spot that just begs for a morning mimosa poolside. The stone hardscaping surrounding the pool seamlessly blends with the home’s style, creating a cohesive expanse across the property.
Wide-Open Oasis
Designed with entertainment and family in mind, the spacious deck around this pool offers ample room for lounging and hosting gatherings, complemented by various seating and entertainment areas, including a grill station. Not to mention, the oversized lot is surrounded by lush trees, creating a picturesque retreat.
Another family-friendly feature is the pool’s tanning ledge, which is great for families with small children. “Until the kids learn to swim, it’s the perfect place for them to hang out and play with their toys,” says designer Maureen Lindstrom of ML Designs. “And once the kids can swim, that seems to be where parents congregate.”
According to Lindstrom, there were a lot of clean black and white elements throughout the home, and she wanted that to continue outdoors with the striped umbrellas and sleek black furniture and fixtures, from the Adirondack chairs surrounding the fire pit to the iron railings following the stairs from the grill area to the pool deck.
Slopeside Escape
This pool, designed by Kristin Malfer of real estate group Malfer & Associates, proves that even if you have a sloped backyard, a stunning pool is achievable. Making this pool possible required significant leveling and a tiered design to seamlessly blend with the slope.
“We had three tiers,” Malfer says. “Walking right out of the lower level onto the first tier of the patio was access to a covered walkway and patio space under the primary suite along with a grilling area, putting green and access to the pool bath.” The following tier is the pool deck for seating and lounge areas that were surrounded by landscaping, and then they did a sunken patio with built-in bench seating around a cozy firepit.
The team also went with a rectangular pool so that they could install a motorized pool cover to protect it from leaves and debris. The pool cover is the color of the pool coping and patio decking so that it perfectly blends when the cover is closed.
