Adding feeling to your family home
Swimming pools add feeling to a family home. They become places for relaxation, exercise, entertainment, and family fun. A favourite space to hang out with friends and families; a space to strengthen relationships and create memorable moments.
Like other big decisions, a swimming pool is a great way to think about how you want to experience life in your own home. To help your decision making, Dean and I have compiled ten tips from our experience of supporting over 1000 families install swimming pools.
POOL SELECTION: FITTING YOUR LIFESTYLE
Consider what function you want your swimming pool area to have. Do you want it to be a relaxation zone, or are you looking to use it for a lot of outdoor entertaining? If you are more into fitness, you may want to look at lap pools, or options to simulate a lap pool if space is limited.
Look for features that will help you to work out what will benefit your lifestyle. Features of your pool may include:
- Spa for cosy conversations & relaxation
- Bench seats that have a view of the entertainment area
- Steps for children and older family members to make getting in and out of the pool enjoyable
- Water features to provide entertainment for children & that added “zen” factor
- Heating with solar or other options to extend your swim time if you are an outdoorsy family
POOL SHAPE: FITTING THE STYLE OF YOUR HOME
Creating a cohesive look between indoors and outdoors helps with the overall appeal of the zone. Contemporary and modern homes do weill with modern shapes – think rectagular or plunge pools.
Homes that are more natural in their style with bushland and naturescaping may do well with a more organic shape like a classic kidney shape that fits with the flow of natural water bodies – creating an oasis in your back yard.
If you are unsure, it is always a good idea to speak to myself or Dean to help keep the flow of zones happening from one to the next.
POOL COLOUR: WHAT WORKS WITH YOUR SURROUNDINGS
There are a lot more options available these days for pool colours. From beautiful turquoise colours reminiscent of tropical waters, to deep blues that you find out at sea when fishing, the colour of your pool will also evoke certain feelings.
POOL LOCATION: ENJOY THE VIEW
While the block of land your home is on, site boundaries and retaining walls will have a say in what can go where, it is a good idea to get your house plans out and look at what pool could go where, and what does that mean for visibility.
If you have a family that will mix between being indoors and outdoors, getting visibility of the pool from more than one room of the house can be beneficial in staying connected, and creating a beautiful visual
POOL SELECTION: BUDGET
The idea behind creating a beautiful space is to choose the right pool and landscaping that creates a zone to relax in. You can aid this relaxation by keeping within your budget, and considering the life of the pool.
While the pool shell may be the largest part of the spend, it is important to think about the running costs of the pool, and what systems can help manage these costs. Dean has some great technical knowledge over on the Products page.
Use of solar blankets for heating can extend the swimming time in your pool, manage temperature and stop the evaporation of our valuable water. All these can help save on maintenance costs.
POOL SELECTION: LIGHTING
Lighting in the pool area can be very effective in creating a beautiful atmosphere at night time. From the number of lights you put in your pool and their position, to surrounding lights built into your pool environment, it all plays an important part in the atmosphere you are wanting to create.
POOL SELECTION: WATER MANAGEMENT
Water management is also an important aspect in relation to your swimming pool. This is all about how you manage the water quality and whether you would prefer a salt chlorinated system or an ozone system. Whilst salt chlorinated is the most common, the ozone system uses different technology and focuses more on fresh water.
POOL SELECTION: HEATING
When it comes to heating, there are a couple of considerations. Think about how long you want to swim for throughout the year, where you are physically located in relation to your climate (is it more tropical or cooler), and also where the pool will be located on your property. If your pool is in direct sunlight during the winter months, your heating requirements may differ to if it is in a shaded area where it may not get as much sunlight.
The size of the pool that you are looking to heat (if heating is on your agenda) will dictate what type of heating solution you require, and will help you to budget for heating costs also.
POOL SELECTION: FENCING
Australian Legislation requires all pools to have fencing that meets our legal standards (click here to view pool fencing regulations for NSW).
The next step is choosing the type of fence, and whether you are wanting glass fences that minimise disruption to the pool view, or if you are looking for a metal fence, or even a combination.
Metal fences require less cleaning, and you won’t have to worry about smudges from pets or small children.
POOL SELECTION: GROUND COVERINGS
Another important aesthetic is choosing whether you will use paving, decking, or have a grassed area near and around your pool. All fibreglass pools require capping to around the edges – and out from that border it becomes a personal choice.
POOL SELECTION: HOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION
If you would like to know more about the installation process, we have a great blog here, and of course you are always welcome to contact Dean or myself to explore how we can help you through the different options to create a space perfect for you and your family.
<You can click here to call Dean or you can click here to send an email