See Your Swimming Pool Design
Looks Before you build

Classic Rectangular Family Pool

The 7m x 3.5m rectangle is the most built pool in the suburbs for good reason: it swims, it hosts games, it takes a cover easily and it never looks dated. Straight lines also make the cheapest fencing runs and the simplest paving cuts. A lap lane of this length is enough for genuine fitness swimming, and the constant depth profile is the cheapest shell to engineer because there is no curved formwork or stepped excavation to pay for. Smart owners now wire the pump and heat pump to an app so the filtration cycle can be shifted to run on rooftop solar during the day rather than overnight tariff power.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Set it parallel to the rear boundary with the widest paving on the sunny long side, in full sun between 11am and 3pm, and keep it in clear view of the kitchen for supervision. Orientating the long axis north-south generally gives the most even sun exposure across the whole shell through the day, and leaving at least 2m of clear paving on the entertaining side stops furniture crowding the coping. A sightline from the kitchen window is also the cheapest form of supervision a family can build in, well before any pool alarm or camera is fitted.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Sawn or sandblasted bluestone coping with 400mm x 800mm riven pavers. Rough textured pavers are the single most important safety choice around a pool, because polished stone becomes lethal wet. Bluestone holds its colour for decades with only an occasional seal, and the larger paver format keeps grout lines to a minimum, which means fewer places for grime to collect underfoot.

Maintenance & durability

Straight walls suit a robotic cleaner on a two hour cycle. Brush the waterline weekly, test chlorine and pH twice a week in summer, and backwash the sand filter monthly. A robotic cleaner paired with an app scheduler can be set to run automatically overnight on solar-charged battery power, cutting hands-on time to little more than the weekly brush and test.

Tropical Lagoon with Rock Waterfall

A freeform lagoon with a boulder waterfall and a grotto turns the backyard into a holiday. The curves read organic and lush, and the falling water masks traffic noise, which matters more in built up suburbs than people expect. The waterfall itself is usually built from a hollow fibreglass or rock faced concrete shell hiding a dedicated pump line, so the flow rate can be tuned independently of the main filtration system. Increasingly these features are set on a smart timer or voice command so the sound of falling water only runs when the space is actually being used, saving power over a full day cycle.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Wrap it in layered tropical planting for privacy, but keep fine leaved trees well back. Put the lounge setting on the waterfall side under a thatched cabana or pergola so there is a shaded seat with the best outlook. Staggering the planting in three height tiers — groundcover, mid height palms and a canopy layer — gives privacy from every angle without the whole garden reading as a single wall of green. Keep the pump and filtration equipment on the opposite side to the cabana, both to keep noise away from the seating and to shorten the pipe run back to the waterfall head.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Riven sandstone or split granite boulder coping, with rough exposed aggregate paths. Pebble interior finishes suit lagoons and hide leaf staining far better than a pale render. The boulders themselves are usually core drilled and pinned to the shell structurally, not simply stacked, so they withstand pool chemicals and years of splashing without shifting.

Maintenance & durability

Highest leaf load of any pool style, so run a skimmer basket check every second day and choose evergreen planting that drops large leaves rather than fine litter. Service the waterfall pump annually. Fitting a leaf net over the surface through autumn dramatically cuts the skimmer workload, and a variable speed pump lets the waterfall run at a lower, quieter flow overnight without wasting power.

Infinity Edge Clifftop Pool

The vanishing edge exists to borrow a view — ocean, valley or city. Water spills over a knife edge wall into a balance tank below, so from the house the surface merges with the horizon and the pool disappears. The knife edge itself is typically a precast or in situ concrete beam finished to a tolerance of a millimetre or two, since any variation shows immediately as an uneven sheet of falling water. Future builds are pairing the balance tank pump with a home battery and solar array so the constant recirculation this style demands draws on stored daytime power rather than the grid after dark.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Only worth building where the land falls away. Site the wet edge on the view side and keep every lounge, umbrella and outdoor setting behind the water, so nothing blocks the illusion from inside the house. The balance tank and second pump room need to sit below the wet edge wall, which usually means excavating into the falling slope itself rather than adding a separate structure. Position any lighting so it washes the coping rather than shining back toward the house, keeping the horizon line as the only thing the eye catches at night.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Dark glass mosaic interior for mirror reflections, honed granite coping and a wide honed non slip deck. Dark tiles hold heat and hide the balance tank line. Glass mosaic is also the most chemical resistant interior finish available, which matters given the constant recirculation an infinity edge demands, and it rarely needs reglazing the way painted or fibreglass shells eventually do.

Maintenance & durability

Structurally the most demanding pool: engineered walls, a balance tank and a second pump that must run for the edge to work. Budget for annual engineering inspection and higher power use. A variable speed pump on the edge circuit, controlled through a phone app, can be tuned to the minimum flow that still holds the sheeting effect, meaningfully reducing the power bill this style is known for.

Walled Courtyard Plunge Pool

A 4m x 2.5m plunge is for cooling off, sitting on a bench seat with a drink and using water as architecture. It is the right answer for a townhouse, an inner city terrace or a narrow side courtyard where a full pool would swallow the yard. A built in bench along one long wall at around 450mm below the waterline doubles as informal seating and a step for children, and a counter current jet can turn the same small shell into a swim-against-the-flow exercise pool. Compact plunge pools are the easiest style to retrofit with app controlled heating and lighting, since the small water volume responds quickly to a phone command before anyone steps outside.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Tuck it against a rendered wall to bounce light into the water, and leave a 1.2m paved strip for two sun lounges. Small courtyards trap heat, so plan a shade sail or louvre panel over the seating end. A pale render or light coloured tile on the wall behind the pool reflects a surprising amount of daylight down into the water, brightening a plunge pool that might otherwise sit in shadow for part of the day. Because courtyards trap radiant heat from surrounding walls, factor in extra evaporation and slightly higher chemical demand than an open, breezy site.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Full glass mosaic interior, 300mm honed limestone coping and matt textured porcelain paving that stays cool underfoot in a reflected heat courtyard. Porcelain paving in a light tone reflects rather than absorbs radiant heat bouncing off surrounding walls, which makes a real difference to comfort in a small enclosed courtyard through summer.

Maintenance & durability

Small water volume means chemistry swings fast — test three times a week in heat. Cheapest pool to heat, and a well fitted cover cuts both evaporation and cleaning dramatically. Because the volume is small, an electric heat pump can bring the whole plunge up to temperature in a single afternoon on solar power, making year round use realistic even in a temperate climate.

Kidney Shaped Pool on Lawn

The kidney is the friendly classic: a curved shallow end for children and a deeper end that once carried a diving board. It sits gently in a lawn setting where a hard rectangle would look imposed. The gentle curve also means the coping run needs mitred or radius cut stone rather than straight lengths, which adds a little to the build cost but avoids the harsh joints a rectangle would show on a bend. Many owners now retrofit a solar pool cover reel at the deep end, since the exposed lawn setting loses more heat overnight than a courtyard pool tucked between walls.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Centre it in open lawn with a mown path to the house, and hold the widest paving at the deep end where lounges and the umbrella go. Great for large flat blocks with mature boundary trees kept well clear. A mown path at least 900mm wide stops a worn dirt track forming between the back door and the pool over a single summer. Position mature trees no closer than their expected mature canopy spread from the water's edge, since root systems and leaf drop both become expensive problems years after the trees look harmless.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Bullnose concrete coping with textured broom finished concrete or rough cast pavers, blended straight into lawn on the far side to soften the shape. Broom finished concrete is one of the most economical non slip surfaces available and can be tinted to blend with the surrounding lawn edge rather than reading as a hard line.

Maintenance & durability

Curves leave dead spots for circulation, so aim return jets to push debris toward the skimmer and give the shallow curve an extra brush each week. A variable speed pump helps compensate for the uneven flow a curved shell creates, letting the system run longer at low speed rather than short bursts at full power, which improves both circulation and running cost.

Freeform Pool for a Modern Home

A soft freeform shape with a broad sun ledge suits a modern rendered house that would otherwise feel severe. It gives young families a shallow standing shelf and adults a proper swimming length in the same shell. The sun ledge is generally poured at 100 to 150mm of water depth so a sunlounge can sit directly in it, and a gentle fall towards the drain stops water pooling on the shelf when the pump is off. Expect this style increasingly built with in floor cleaning heads plumbed through the shell, letting the whole pool be swept from a phone app without a robotic cleaner ever touching the surface.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Push it close to the alfresco so the pool and the outdoor lounge read as one room, and use frameless glass fencing so the water is visible from the kitchen bench. Frameless glass panels need substantial base channel fixings and regular squeegee cleaning to avoid the calcium spotting that dulls the view within a season. Keeping the pool within a few metres of the alfresco also shortens the electrical and plumbing runs for lighting, heating and automation, trimming both build cost and future service callouts.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Pale quartz interior for that turquoise colour, drop face concrete coping and large format textured porcelain paving with a wide grip finish. Quartz aggregate finishes last considerably longer than painted shells before needing recoating, and the pale tone reflects light back up through the water for the bright turquoise colour families associate with a modern pool.

Maintenance & durability

Sun ledges warm fast and grow algae first, so brush the shelf every visit. Salt chlorination keeps a family pool comfortable and reduces handling of chemicals. A salt chlorinator paired with an app based controller can automatically lift chlorine output during hot spells when algae risk is highest, without anyone needing to remember to adjust it manually.

Minimalist Reflection Pool

A still, dark, perfectly rectangular pool used as much for reflection as for swimming, framed by white walls and a pair of sculptural olive trees. It suits a design led home where the water is a courtyard centrepiece. Achieving a true mirror finish depends on an overflow or a weir set exactly level, since even a few millimetres of variation breaks the reflection at the pool's edge. Owners are now pairing this style with tunable LED strip lighting recessed into the coping, so the same still surface becomes a warm amber mirror at night rather than the cold blue of a standard pool light.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Set it hard against a blank rendered wall on axis with a main window or door, so the reflection is the view from inside. Keep furniture minimal and off to one side. Getting the axis exactly right matters more here than in almost any other pool style, since a few degrees of misalignment between the window and the pool centreline will be obvious every time someone looks out. A single sculptural planting or one bench off to the side is usually enough furniture; anything more competes with the reflection.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Charcoal or graphite tile interior, flush level travertine coping with a 6mm shadow gap and honed non slip travertine paving throughout. Travertine needs periodic sealing to stop it absorbing pool chemicals and staining, but its natural variation and cool underfoot feel make it one of the more comfortable stones for bare feet in full sun.

Maintenance & durability

Dark surfaces show every scale mark, so keep calcium hardness in range and wipe the waterline weekly. A flush deck level design needs a reliable balance tank and level control. Automated water level sensors linked to the balance tank remove the guesswork of a flush deck design, topping up automatically from a rainwater tank where one is plumbed in rather than mains water.

Perimeter Overflow Pool with Spa

Water spills evenly over all four edges into a slot drain, giving a mirror flat surface at deck level and an adjoining spa that spills back into the main pool. The most luxurious way to build water into a terrace. Every edge relies on a continuous slot grate cut to a level tolerance rivalling the knife edge infinity pool, and the balance tank beneath the terrace has to hold enough reserve volume to cope with wind chop as well as bather displacement. As solar and battery systems become standard on new builds, the two pump loads this style demands are the first candidate for daytime-only scheduling to keep running costs sensible.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Requires a flat, generous terrace. Position the spa closest to the house for winter use, with the lounge zone under a louvred pergola on the western side. A fully level terrace is essential because the overflow depends on the deck sitting at exactly the same height as the water on every edge, so any site with a natural fall needs significant cut and fill or a retaining structure first. Keeping the spa nearest the house shortens the walk on cold nights and lets the same heater and cover be pressed into service through winter while the main pool sits dormant.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Dark tiled interior, matching tiled slot grate and honed stone paving with a certified R11 slip rating right to the water's edge. Matching the slot grate tile to the main pool interior is a detailing choice that costs little extra but is what makes the whole terrace read as a single continuous plane of water rather than a pool with a drain around it.

Maintenance & durability

Complex hydraulics with a balance tank, two pumps and precise levels. Best suited to owners who accept a service contract; the reward is a surface that never looks disturbed. Remote monitoring systems that report pump status, water level and chemical balance straight to a phone are increasingly bundled with the service contracts this style demands, catching problems before they become visible faults.

Natural Swimming Pond

A chemical free swimming pond uses a planted regeneration zone to filter the water biologically. It suits rural and bush blocks, gardeners, and anyone who dislikes chlorine on their skin. The regeneration zone typically needs to equal 30 to 50 percent of the swimming area so the reed beds and gravel substrate can process bather load, which is the main reason this style suits larger rural blocks better than a suburban courtyard. UV clarifiers and solar powered circulation pumps are now common additions, giving the biological filtration a boost without reintroducing any chlorine.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Site it in open sun away from deciduous trees, with a timber deck and a jetty on the swim side and the planted filtration shelf on the far side, where it reads as a garden rather than plumbing. Deciduous trees are the single biggest threat to water clarity in a natural pond, since leaf litter overloads the biological filtration far faster than the reed beds can process it. A generously sized planted shelf, ideally facing the afternoon sun, keeps the oxygenating plants growing vigorously through the warmer months when bather load is highest.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Timber deck edge with a rough grip finish, natural stone stepping edges and a gravel beach. Never use smooth stone at a pond entry. Locally sourced stone for the stepping edges also helps the pond blend into a bush or rural setting rather than looking like an imported garden feature.

Maintenance & durability

No chlorine, but real gardening: thin the reed bed each year, clear the skimmer, and accept that water clarity is seasonal. Circulation pumps run continuously. Running the circulation pump on solar power suits this style particularly well, since the pond needs constant rather than intermittent flow and solar generation naturally peaks during the warmer months when the biological filter works hardest.

Raised Deck Above Ground Pool

A semi inground or above ground shell surrounded by a raised timber deck is the fastest, cheapest route to a swimmable pool, and the deck detail is what stops it reading as a temporary kit. Because the shell sits mostly above grade, excavation and spoil removal costs drop sharply compared with a fully inground pool, which is what makes this the fastest style to install on a difficult or rocky block. Composite decking with a hidden fixing system is worth the premium here, since it will not swell, splinter or need annual oiling the way solid hardwood does around a wet deck edge.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Ideal on a sloping block where excavation is expensive — set the shell into the high side and deck out to the low side. Keep the deck level with the house floor so it becomes an extension of the living area. Setting the shell into the high side of the slope means only a portion of the pool needs excavation, with the low side built up on posts or a retaining structure instead, which is usually far cheaper than levelling the whole site. Matching deck height to the internal floor level removes the visual and physical step between indoors and out, making the whole area feel considerably larger.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Grooved hardwood or capped composite decking for grip, with a wide bullnose step edge and no gaps that catch toes. Capped composite boards resist the swelling, splitting and greying that solid hardwood suffers around a constantly wet pool edge, and most carry warranties well beyond what timber decking offers.

Maintenance & durability

Fibreglass and vinyl liner shells are easy to clean and gentle on feet; liners need replacing every 10 to 15 years. Oil or wash the deck yearly and inspect the framing under the deck for moisture. Because the deck sits directly over structural framing, a yearly inspection for trapped moisture is cheap insurance against the kind of rot that is expensive to fix once it takes hold underneath.

Pool with Raised Spa Spillway

A raised spa sharing a wall with the pool, spilling over a tiled weir, doubles the use of the pool area. The spa gets used all winter while the pool sleeps, which is what makes it worth the extra cost. Running the spa off its own dedicated heater and pump, separate from the pool circuit, means it can be brought up to 38 degrees in under an hour rather than waiting on the whole pool volume to heat. A phone linked controller that pre-heats the spa on a timer before anyone gets home is now one of the most requested additions to this configuration.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Put the spa on the house side of the pool, close to a door and to towel storage, and under cover or beside a pergola so it is comfortable to walk to in cold weather. A short, sheltered walk from door to spa is what actually determines whether it gets used through winter, so keep the path free of steps, wet leaves or exposed paving that punishes bare feet in the cold. Built in towel storage within arm's reach of the spa saves a cold dash back inside after every session.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Mosaic tiled spa and spillway with the pool in a matching blend, and rough textured pavers on the whole surround because spa users walk wet more often than swimmers. Small format mosaic tile is also easier to lay over the curved or stepped surfaces a raised spa typically has than large format tile or stone.

Maintenance & durability

Spa water heats and evaporates fast, so a fitted spa cover is essential. Balance and sanitise it separately from the pool when it runs at temperature. An insulated cover can cut spa heating costs substantially, and a smart controller that schedules heating to finish just before the household's usual evening use avoids paying to keep it hot all day.

Family Pool with Pergola & Umbrella

The everyday pool that families actually live around: safe shallow end, floats, a shaded pergola, an umbrella and a table within a few steps of the water. Shade is what makes a family pool usable at midday. A beach entry or wide first step at the shallow end lets toddlers wade in safely, and a permanently fixed pergola over the table earns its keep by staying put in wind, unlike a market umbrella that needs weighting or storing. Solar heating strips run beneath the coping are a cost effective way to stretch the swimming season either side of summer without a gas or electric heat pump.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Set the pergola or shade structure on the northern or western edge, with the table under full cover and lounges in the sun. Keep a clear 1.2m walkway between water and furniture so nobody squeezes past chairs. Orienting the shaded dining zone to block the harshest afternoon sun, generally the western side in most Australian backyards, keeps meals comfortable well into the evening. The 1.2m clearance is also a safety margin, giving enough room for an adult carrying a child or a tray of food to pass without stepping close to the coping edge.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Non slip textured concrete pavers in a light tone so they never burn small feet, and a rough cast step edge at the shallow entry. Light coloured concrete pavers are also one of the most budget friendly paving choices available, which matters on a family pool where the surround area is often larger than the water itself.

Maintenance & durability

Highest bather load means the highest chlorine demand: test after any pool party, run the filter longer in summer and hose sunscreen residue from the waterline weekly. A salt chlorinator with an automatic boost setting for entertaining days takes the guesswork out of dosing after a party, and rinsing the filter cartridge or backwashing straight after a big gathering keeps the system from clogging under the extra load.

Deck Mounted Spa & Swim Spa

A plug in spa or swim spa set into a timber deck delivers hydrotherapy, or a swim against a current, in a footprint smaller than a car space. The most practical water option for a small or cold climate yard. Because most units plug straight into a standard power circuit rather than needing a dedicated pool pump room, they are one of the few water features that can go into a rental friendly or small courtyard build with minimal site works. Look for a unit with app based scheduling, since heating a swim spa from cold overnight rather than on demand cuts running cost noticeably in colder climates.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Right outside the living room doors, under the roofline or a pergola so it is used in winter, screened from neighbours and with a dry landing area for towels. Positioning the spa within a few steps of an internal doorway is what makes a genuine difference to how often it gets used on a cold night, since even a short walk across an exposed deck discourages use. A simple slatted screen or planting box on the overlooked side buys privacy without the cost of a full pergola structure.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Grooved decking with a slip resistant coating and a wide, well lit step. Wet feet on a smooth painted deck is the most common backyard fall. A slip resistant coating reapplied every few years is a cheap insurance policy compared with the cost and disruption of replacing a whole deck surface after it becomes dangerously smooth.

Maintenance & durability

Filters need rinsing monthly and the water fully changed a few times a year. An insulated hard cover pays for itself quickly in power savings. A hard cover with a locking mechanism also doubles as a safety barrier for small children, which matters given how compact and accessible these units usually are compared with a fenced pool.

Rooftop Pool with Shade Sail

A shallow rooftop pool with a shade sail and city outlook makes an unusable roof into the best room of the house. Depth is kept low to control structural load while still giving a real plunge. Typical depths sit between 900mm and 1.2m, since every extra hundred millimetres of water adds meaningfully to the point load an existing roof structure must carry. Rooftop installations are also where drone based building surveys are increasingly used before construction, checking wind loading and sightlines without scaffolding a building's full height.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Requires structural engineering and waterproofing from day one. Place the sail over the lounge deck rather than the water, and use glass balustrades so the skyline stays the feature. Waterproofing membranes on a rooftop pool need to be detailed by a specialist and inspected before the deck is laid over them, since any leak is effectively invisible until it shows as a stain on the ceiling below. Shading the lounge deck rather than the pool itself keeps the water surface open to the sky, which is usually the whole reason for building a rooftop pool in the first place.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Lightweight porcelain pavers on adjustable pedestals with a high slip rating, and a tiled interior in a mid blue that reads well against a grey city backdrop. Pedestal paving also conceals waterproofing membranes and falls to drainage points beneath, which is essential on a rooftop where any leak has to be found and fixed without disturbing the paving above.

Maintenance & durability

Exposed to wind borne dust, so skim daily and expect higher top up volumes from evaporation. UV stable shade fabric should be tensioned annually and taken down in storms. Automatic top-up systems linked to a rainwater tank reduce the manual work evaporation otherwise creates at height, and a wind sensor that alerts the owner's phone before a storm gives time to drop the sail before it is damaged.

Beach Entry Zero Edge Pool

A gradual sandy beach entry with a broad zero depth shelf lets toddlers, older swimmers and anyone with limited mobility walk in without steps. It is the most inclusive pool design there is. The shelf typically extends three to four metres before reaching swimming depth, so the shell needs considerably more excavation and formwork than a stepped entry of the same water area. Because shallow water heats and cools faster than the deep end, a variable speed pump paired with a solar cover is the most effective way to keep the whole pool at a consistent temperature.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Needs length, so use it on a wide block with the shallow shelf facing the house and the deeper water furthest away. Ring the shallows with a cabana and low loungers set in ankle deep water. Facing the shallow shelf toward the house means the people most likely to need supervision, usually young children, are always the closest to view from indoors. In water loungers set right on the shelf are an increasingly popular addition, letting adults sit in ankle deep water while still watching over the shallows.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Pebblecrete or quartz beach shelf with a deliberately coarse texture, and rough travertine or shell stone paving running straight into the water without a step. The coarse texture on the shelf is a genuine safety feature, since a smooth beach entry becomes slippery within weeks of algae or biofilm forming in the shallow, warm water.

Maintenance & durability

Warm shallow water is algae's favourite place, so brush the shelf twice a week and keep the sanitiser at the top of range through summer. A dedicated circulation return aimed across the shelf, rather than relying on the main pool jets, keeps the shallow water moving enough to discourage algae without needing constant manual brushing.

Sloping Site Pool with Stone Terraces

On a falling block, dry stone retaining terraces let the pool sit level while the garden steps down around it, turning the slope from a problem into the most characterful part of the design. Engineering the retaining walls correctly is not optional here — each terrace has to be designed to hold both the soil behind it and, in the upper tiers, part of the pool's hydrostatic load, so a geotechnical assessment is standard practice before excavation starts. The under terrace void created by this approach is ideal for housing the pump, filter and a future battery unit out of sight and close to existing power runs.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Cut the pool into the high side and build the lounge terrace on the fill side. Keep the equipment bay in the under terrace void, screened and drained, close to power. Building the terrace on the fill side rather than cutting further into the slope keeps excavation costs down, provided the fill is properly compacted and engineered before paving goes down. The under terrace void doubles as a naturally ventilated, weatherproof plant room, which is often the cheapest place on a sloping block to house pumps, filters and a future battery unit.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Split face sandstone retaining walls, sawn stone coping and rough riven stone treads on every level change, with handrails where steps exceed three risers. Matching the retaining wall stone to the coping and tread stone ties the whole terraced composition together, so it reads as one designed landscape rather than a pool with separate retaining structures bolted on around it.

Maintenance & durability

Watch drainage above the pool: subsoil drains behind retaining walls stop silt and run off entering the water after storms. Inspect wall weep holes each year. Clearing weep holes and subsoil drains before the wet season is a small yearly task that prevents the far larger cost of a retaining wall failing under waterlogged soil.

Cantilevered Sky Plunge Pool

A plunge pool cantilevered off a raised terrace so the water edge meets nothing but sky. Pure spectacle for a view block, and surprisingly compact because it only needs to be big enough to sit in. The cantilever is generally a post-tensioned concrete slab designed with a structural engineer from the earliest concept stage, since the water load acts well beyond the last supporting column and cannot be an afterthought. Because access for maintenance equipment is difficult once built, owners increasingly fit remote water level and leak sensors that report straight to a phone rather than relying on a visual check.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Site it on the view axis, projecting past the terrace edge, with lounges set back behind so the drop is uninterrupted. Engineering, not styling, drives the position. Every metre the pool projects past the supporting terrace edge adds significant cost to the structural design, so the final position is usually a negotiation between the desired view and what the engineer will certify. Keeping all furniture set back from the cantilevered section also reduces live load on the structure and keeps the drop genuinely uninterrupted.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Dark tiled interior, thin profile stone coping and heavily textured deck paving right up to the edge, because a fall here is unforgiving. The thin coping profile is a deliberate design choice to minimise visual weight at the cantilever's edge, but it still needs to be fixed with a structural adhesive rated for the loads a projecting slab experiences.

Maintenance & durability

Fully exposed to wind and sun: cover it when unused, monitor water loss carefully since a leak in a cantilever is serious, and have the structure inspected periodically. A remote water level sensor that flags unexplained loss straight to a phone is worth fitting here, since a leak in a cantilevered structure can undermine the supporting slab long before it is visible from below.

Enclosed Pool Pavilion

A glazed pavilion around the pool converts a three month pool into a twelve month one. It suits cold or windy climates, serious lap swimmers and households who want to swim in the dark of winter. Double glazed sliding or bifold walls are worth the extra cost over single glazing, since they cut heat loss dramatically on cold nights and mean the pool heater is not fighting a losing battle against a cold glass box. Integrating the pavilion's climate control with the home's smart thermostat lets the space pre-heat automatically before a scheduled morning swim.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Attach it to the house or place it as a garden building with sliding walls that open completely in summer, so it does not feel like an indoor pool for half the year. Fully retractable glazed walls on a decent sized track system let the whole pavilion open to near-outdoor conditions on a warm day, avoiding the closed-in feel of a fixed glasshouse. Attaching the pavilion to the house also means the pool circuit can share existing electrical infrastructure rather than needing a completely separate supply.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Full body porcelain tiles with an R11 rating around the water, tiled coping and a floor drain grid. Condensation makes indoor pool surrounds slipperier than outdoor ones. Full body porcelain also resists the etching that pool chemicals and constant humidity cause in cheaper glazed tile, which matters given how much longer an enclosed pavilion pool stays in daily use each year.

Maintenance & durability

Ventilation and dehumidification are as important as water care — trapped humidity destroys timber and steel. Run the extraction on a timer with the filtration. Linking the extraction fan and dehumidifier to a smart home schedule, running them harder overnight when the pool is covered, keeps humidity in check without the running cost of constant full speed operation.

Formal Circular Garden Pool

A perfect circle set in clipped hedging reads as a garden ornament that happens to be swimmable. It suits formal and Mediterranean estates where symmetry matters more than lap length. A circular shell is more expensive to form than a straight edged pool because every piece of formwork is curved, but it pays off in a garden built on strict symmetry, where any deviation from a true circle would be obvious from the surrounding radial paths. Underwater lighting on this style works best set at even intervals around the full circumference rather than clustered at one end, keeping the symmetry intact after dark.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Place it on the central axis of a formal garden, with radial paving and hedge bays framing it. Set the seating on axis under a stone pergola or arbour for shade with symmetry. Any planting used to frame a formal circular pool needs regular clipping to keep the geometry crisp, since a single overgrown hedge bay breaks the symmetry the whole design depends on. Seating placed precisely on axis, rather than to one side, reinforces the sense that the pool is the ornament the entire garden was planned around.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Cut stone circular coping, rough riven radial pavers and a pale interior so the circle glows against dark hedging. Cutting true radial pavers for a circular pool is more labour intensive than laying a straight pattern, but it is what keeps every joint reading correctly as the eye follows the circle around.

Maintenance & durability

Circular circulation is efficient but hedge clippings are the enemy — cover the pool before trimming and skim afterwards. Keep hedge roots outside the shell zone. Scheduling hedge trimming for a low pool usage period and running the filter on a longer cycle afterwards clears any missed clippings before they have a chance to sink and stain the pale interior finish.

Glass Wall Viewing Pool

An acrylic or structural glass panel in the pool wall lets light and swimmers be seen from the terrace or the room below. The most dramatic feature you can add to a pool and a genuine architectural statement. Acrylic panels of this scale are custom manufactured to the exact radius and thickness the engineer specifies, and the surrounding steel or concrete frame has to be built with zero tolerance for movement, since even minor shell flex can crack the seal. Because the feature is effectively unrepairable once tiled over, most builders now fit a continuous pressure sensor on the panel seal that reports to a monitoring app rather than relying on periodic manual inspection.

Siting, shade & surrounds

Only works where there is a level below or a terrace alongside to view from. Aim the panel toward a lounge or living space, not toward a boundary fence. The room or terrace on the viewing side needs its own waterproofing and drainage plan, since it effectively becomes part of the pool structure even though nobody swims there. Orienting the panel toward an occupied living space rather than a boundary makes the feature earn its cost every day rather than being seen only by the occasional visitor.

Paving, coping & slip resistance

Dark tile everywhere except the panel reveal, with heavily textured non slip stone on the deck above and controlled drainage so run off never sheets down the glass. Controlling surface run off is critical here, since even a light film of water sheeting across the acrylic panel from above will streak and dull the view from below within days.

Maintenance & durability

Acrylic scratches, so clean it with soft pads only, and keep water chemistry stable to avoid clouding the panel. Specialist installation and periodic seal inspection are non negotiable. Booking an annual specialist inspection of the panel seal is far cheaper than discovering a failure after the fact, since repairs to a structural glass or acrylic wall usually mean draining the pool completely.

Maintenance you can actually keep up with

A pool is only as good as the half hour a week it gets. Choose a robotic cleaner and a variable speed pump, keep the skimmer basket clear, brush the waterline and the sun ledge weekly, and test chlorine and pH twice a week through summer. Size the filter one step larger than the minimum and give the equipment a screened, ventilated, drained bay close to the water with its own power circuit, so servicing is quick rather than a job you avoid. A variable speed pump run on a low overnight setting for filtration and a higher daytime setting for the cleaner and water features uses a fraction of the power of a single-speed pump, and most models now report run hours and energy use straight to a phone app. Where the equipment bay sits within reach of a solar array, wiring the pump and any heat pump onto the same circuit as the house battery lets the pool run largely on daytime solar rather than grid power.

Rough pavers so nobody slips

Wet feet plus polished stone is the most common injury in any backyard. Specify sandblasted, riven, split face or shot blasted surfaces with a certified R11 slip rating, and take the rough finish right to the coping edge and across every step and ramp. Light coloured stone also stays cool enough for bare feet in full sun, while dark polished porcelain around a pool burns and slides in equal measure. Ask the supplier for the wet pendulum test result rather than relying on a sample that has only ever been handled dry, since some finishes that feel rough in the showroom slick over once algae and sunscreen build up on them. Steps and ramps deserve the roughest finish on the whole job, along with a contrasting nosing strip, because that is where a slip actually becomes a fall.

Hard wearing materials that will not fade

Everything around a pool is attacked by UV, chlorine and salt at once. Fully vitrified glass mosaic and full body porcelain hold colour for decades; cheap printed tile and painted render do not. Use marine grade 316 stainless fixings, powder coated aluminium frames, solution dyed acrylic for shade fabrics and cushions, and granite or dense limestone coping. Sealing natural stone every few years is what stops chlorine splash bleaching the surround. On a salt chlorinated pool the corrosion risk climbs further, so anything less than 316 stainless around the waterline — including handrail brackets, ladder anchors and light fitting bezels — will show rust bleed within a couple of years. Resealing coping and surrounds every three to five years with a breathable penetrating sealer, rather than a surface film, keeps the stone able to release moisture instead of trapping it and blistering.

Shade and the outdoor setting around the water

A pool with nowhere shaded to sit gets used for twenty minutes a day. Plan the poolside setting with the water: a shade sail or pergola over the lounge and dining zone on the western side, sun lounges left in the open on a 2m deep strip, and a clear 1.2m walkway behind them. Keep towel storage, a fridge and the BBQ under cover, and the pool becomes the room the whole family lives in all summer. Building the shade structure at the same time as the pool, rather than adding it afterward, means posts and footings can be positioned clear of the shell and coping from the outset instead of being squeezed around an existing excavation. A retractable sail or louvred roof over the lounge zone earns its keep on the hottest days, while leaving the sun lounge strip open lets the same space swap from full shade to full sun as the family's habits change through the season.