Pool ideas for different spaces

Space is a prime concern when it comes to designing a pool – and not just whether you have enough of it. Even large spaces can throw up issues and problems of their own. The trick is adapting your pool ideas to your space.

Pool designer Steve Taylor, from Creative Outdoor Solutions, believes when thinking through pool ideas, space management should be the first consideration in the design process, and has clear ideas about how to get the best result. 

"Effective space management is achieved simply through 'balance of scale'," he says. "In essence, a pool should not dominate a space, nor should it be lost in a space – it must belong in the space."

Creating this 'balance of scale' can be an involved process whatever the size of the pool and the amount of space available.

"If we are given a large space and a small pool is required we would then work towards manipulating the overall landscape design and structures to create a separate outdoor room, strategically sized, so that the pool will seem to belong and not be lost," says Steve.

Once this has been achieved, plantings, extra features or facades that work with the pool's structure and bring it into balance with its surroundings can be added. "This is an easier design challenge than a smaller space," says Steve. "Small spaces give you less opportunity for overall space manipulation and therefore create harder design challenges but often the most rewarding results."

When considering pool ideas, you can make the most of the space you have to work with by choosing the right materials. In small spaces Steve recommends using less detailed materials, features and colours to create the illusion of space. "This comes back to the 'balance of scale' ideal. Larger spaces can absorb a greater concentration of detail without compacting or confusing the overall vista," he says.

Steve recently designed a family-sized pool in a very small space (pictured). The lines here are clean and simple: there is a raised sundeck, a thick bluestone finish on the first row of paving around the pool, architectural plantings and a crazy-paved area at either end of the pool. These are the kind of pool ideas that add value and function to a property.

Steve believes in working closely with the client and taking into consideration their lifestyle requirements in order to come up with the best possible pool ideas. He suggests doing a lot of research and thinking carefully about the existing architecture of your home, and your lifestyle requirements, before launching into a project, and working closely with a pool designer to make the best use of the space you have.