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10 Incredible and Amazing Swimming Pools

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This is a guest article by Brian Thibault,  CEO of International Listings LLC.  He owns a international real estate listings site.

Have you thought about adding a pool to your home? Or, if you have a pool, have you wondered how you might alter the design to fit your lifestyle? Pool designers and home owners have taken pool designs to another level recently, bringing pools indoors, adding fountains and fire pits, and creating shapes and landscapes that imitate small, private lagoons. And, as you’ll see below, at least one home owner decided to change a pool into something else altogether.

In the spirit of adding an essential element to your home (water), a tool for relaxation (beautiful decks and scenery), and a means to stay fit (swimming), we offer some of the most beautiful pool designs found on the Internet. Additionally, we made a few calls to the pool designers listed here to bring you some ballpark prices on what it would take to replicate some of these ideas. Although most pool builders and designers are localized, they do not mind a call for help or for ideas when you decide to make the leap into a new residential pool. You can contact those builders and designers through the links connected to the pool descriptions.

The list below is in no particular order. While the sites are numbered, the numbering does not indicate that we favor one pool design over another or that they are listed in order of value.

1. Australian Delight : What caught our attention to this pool is the seemingly endless scheme to its design. Partly informal, yet dripping with elegance, this pool is just one of many redesigns and builds offered by Renovations Perth and New Pools Perth. This western Australian-owned company specializes in unique pool designs and landscapes, and they can redesign or newly design a custom pool to suit a particular lifestyle and budget. They specialize in the use of Nylex Aqualux, a product that won’t chip, crack or flake and it resists algae and fungal growth. Additionally, its multi-layer construction protects against damage caused by UV rays. Glance through their portfolio to fire up your imagination. Their styles range from a mix of Roman classic to cabana to an amazing waterway such as the one shown here.

2. Waterfall Pool: This pool, built as part of Kodiak Home overlooking Corner Canyon in Draper, Utah, is an amazing feature for its attached home (view more photos of the home through the link). The rock walk includes a climbing feature and the pool is fourteen-feet deep, so swimmers actually can dive from the top of the rock formation into the pool. The back yard for this home is small, and the designers fit this pool into the yard and still provided the owners with a lawn. Kodiak Homes is Salt Lake Valley’s newest premier builder, and the homes are
built with natural materials and with refined taste. A pool like this, according to Kodiak Homes, can easily absorb $400,000 from your wallet. But, how can you pass it up?

3. Genesis Pool and Spa: This company works out of Austin, Texas, building pools with a personal touch. They also deal with rough landscaping situations like the one shown here, with a slope that many homeowners would dread to own (let along mow!). The rock, which is plentiful around the Austin area, is not the issue here – it’s the landscaping and the ability to provide a pool that is easy for the owners to maintain. Additionally, Genesis offers complete packages that include the swimming pool, spa, landscaping, patio, outdoor kitchens, waterfalls or water and fire features, and decks surrounding the pool or spa. When you’re going all out like this, it might be wise to choose a company that fulfill all the tasks involved in that project. This pool, which was built in 1999/2000, would go for about $110,000 today in the Austin area. If you live in an area where rock would need to be shipped, the price might skyrocket.

4. Laguna Pool: Founded by Robert Traugott in 1973, Laguna Pools has long been recognized as one of the premier pool design and construction companies in the greater Houston, Texas area. Their pools are custom-designed, which means you can choose from designs that range from classic Roman to natural freeform. This family-operated business also maintains an in-house landscaping, irrigation and design department and they partner with Trendmaker Homes, so you can build a home with a pool that compliments your house style from the get-go. If you want to design a pool like this, no matter where you live, expect to spend from $40,000 and up, depending upon the layout, number of waterfalls and other extra features.

5. Morrow Pool: Vicki Morrow takes her pool designs seriously, and this example – located in Paradise Valley, Arizona – shows acute attention to formal symmetry. Surrounded by a travertine deck, this pool sports fountains, palm trees and fire pits. It’s an ideal party pool, or one that will lull the love of your life into a trance with its spa features. This swimming pool also is the focal point from inside the adjoining home, where diners can view the fountains and fire through a front beveled-glass and iron door. Not all of Morrow’s designs are so formal, as you’ll see from the gallery on her site. She specializes in pool designs that take into consideration her clients’ wants, family needs and budgets. But, if you desire a pool like the one shown here, Morrow states the cost is about $140,000. This price does not include the travertine deck, and the cost of materials and construction may vary from region to region.

6. Florida Home: Golden Beach, Florida, is an exclusive community located in the northern-most part of Miami Beach, between South Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Golden Beach offers exclusive oceanfront, intracoastal and dry lot homes priced from $900,000 to over $16,000,000. The pool situated on this property is representative of the homes in his area – secluded and out of the way, yet close to large-city amenities. The town of Golden Beach enjoys all of the Miami-Dade County attractions, such as wide, sandy beaches, turquoise blue ocean, year-round sunshine and trendy hot spots. You can take advantage of full-service marinas, boat ramps, boat rentals, diving facilities, championship golf courses, tennis, horseback riding and more – or, you can stay home and relax in this spa pool. An in-ground pool such as this one, that includes a hot tub, can start at $60,000, depending upon the materials used for the pool.

7. Movie Pool: What if didn’t care for the pool in your home? Would you consider turning it into an indoor movie theater? The owners of a Wisconsin home decided to do just that. Flooring and carpeting were added to the concrete bottom of the 20-by-40-foot area, and draperies were hung over the room’s windows and metal walls to soften the space. The sloped floors in this pool provided perfect levels for for stadium-style seating, and the wiring for sound was hidden in the pool’s existing plumbing system. The AV system includes a 106-inch Draper screen suspended from the ceiling and a Marantz mounted projector. The projector was mounted to the ceiling, and the audio and video components were stowed inside an equipment rack at the back of the room. A redesign like this one can begin at $150,000, if you’re a serious bargain-hunter.

8. Sensuous Pool: This pool is one of many designed by a dedicated team of swimming pool, spa, water feature and landscape design professionals in Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. We included this site, as their pool concepts are some of the most creative we’ve seen for both above- and in-ground residential pools. Tucson Swimming Pool Builders design pools first with computer animated or hand-drawn 3-D renderings based upon the design of the pool, spa, or water feature, and then style the pool to your specific landscape. But, other designers can do architectural renderings as well, so use this idea when you decide you want to add a pool to your property. This pool would be $29,000 in the Tucson area, and about $2,000 less in the Phoenix area, with the difference attributed to the cost of subcontractors. That’s a though to consider in your area as well when it comes to pricing your pool.

9. Specialty Pool: The exotic informality in the design of this pool might appeal to homeowners who appreciate casual yet elegant relaxation. The sound of the waterfall can drown out nearby traffic or neighbor noises, and the landscaping can be altered to fit any style house or climate. This particular pool was designed and built by Specialty Pools and Spas, a company that builds custom-designed, professionally constructed gunite swimming pools, and that specializes in difficult pool site locations. The beauty of gunite is that it can be formed and shaped to fit the customer’s requests and requirements while blending with the existing surroundings and landscaping. Prices for this type of pool would depend upon whether or not a local pool developer could work with gunite (such as South Shore Gunite Pools in Pembroke, Massachusetts), and whether that material was available locally.

10. Palm Springs Pool: Homeowner Bob Greenbaum can swim in his pool and glance into his living room to the left. When he’s relaxing in his living room, he has the advantage of viewing his sleek and ultramodern pool to his right. When Greenbaum, an environmentally-conscious father of three and a dedicated athlete who swims 132 laps (almost two miles) every day, imagined this home, he visualized a dramatic modern estate in which the pool was central to the house. In fact, the house was built around the pool and it proudly reigns as one of the largest sustainable residences of record in the Coachella Valley, California area. The water seems to accentuate the use of natural fabrics, abundant use of recycled and prefabricated products, and custom finishes. Priceless.