Swimming pools are an excellent investment for your property and a fantastic way to cool off and relax during those hot summer days. Pool ownership can be a beautiful experience, and there are numerous designs to enhance any shape of a yard and meet any needs you have whether for exercise, relaxation, or both. As a Florida homeowner or business owner, you have a chance to make your dreams come true from a variety of pool designs.
Modern Design
Modern design pools often feature brightly colored mosaic glass tiles. These pools are generally designed with clean lines and geometric shapes. Being considered a ‘modern’ swimming pool does not indicate that it will have all high-tech features and materials. The modernly designed pool dates back to the 1930s when famous movie stars were able to have swimming pools in their backyard.
These residential or commercial pools are created to enhance your architecture rather than compete to be a stand-alone feature.
Classic Design
A classically designed pool offers a more traditional style swimming pool. Many people are reminded of Roman architecture when seeing these pools. Their designs use more right angles and defined lines and can be accented with clean, round juts. Some of these pools start as a rectangular shape in the shallow end with the lines and angles and then add semi-circles at the pool’s end and sides. These pools will often have their corners rounded as well towards its deeper end.
Free Form Design
A free form swimming pool is designed to look more natural or irregular in shape. These pools are comprised of curves or flowing lines. They often incorporate water or rock features to bring in elements of nature. Many consider a free form pool to resemble a pond, oasis, or small lake.
The free form pool is often constructed of concrete or vinyl after a hole is excavated in the ground. The concrete is poured into the hole which can be any choice of shape, configuration, or size.
Infinity Edge Pool
An infinity swimming pool produces a visual effect of water that has no boundaries. These pools are typically designed, so one edge appears to merge with another, more significant body of water such as the ocean or gulf. Some of these pools are designed with an appearance of blending with the sky as well.
The concept of the infinity pool is said to have originated in France. The first of its kind was built in the late 17th century. This pool design was brought to the United States in 1960 by architect John Lautner, who used the design in various residential projects.
360-Degree Spillway
The 360-degree spillway is often referred to as a spa and offers a simple reflection on the surface of a 360-degree spillway. With the use of overflowing tension, the water is allowed to rise higher than the top of a finished edge, creating a beautiful reflective quality on your water's edge. This design can also be achieved on swimming pools as well.
The design of swimming pools is almost endless; your imagination can play a large part in creating one that fits your wishes and space. Not all swimming pools have fancy names or titles attached to them; these are some design ideas you may want to use in building your dream swimming pool.
- An inground pool can have an enclosed pool spa built right into the pool's edge. A small waterfall flows over the side where the spa and pool meet.
- Use your complete backyard space to build a swimming pool of the size and shape you like best. In the area surrounding the pool, you can lay down tile or stone to complement your pool.
- A white pool with a grey patio surrounding it makes a fantastic combination. Accenting with matching patio furniture and possibly stone or brick bar-b-que will finish off the look of this area nicely.
- Automated pools can create a magical aura to your swimming pool. Having your pool connected to an app on your smartphone gives you the ability to activate bubblers, LED lighting, or streams of pink, yellow, green, or blue water. The app also allows you to adjust a sound system or turn on the fire pit next to the pool.
Having automation designed into your pool system gives you flexibility and control to manage all your pool settings with a simple click on your tablet, computer, or smartphone. This app also lets you control the settings of your water temp and other features without even being home.
Automation also gives you the ability to keep your swimming pool perfectly balanced. You can program the gradual release of chemicals and keep them at a lower level as you are able to monitor and adjust them on a 24/7 basis. With this monitoring ability, you can keep your water and chemical levels more comfortable.
- Tiles give your pool a creative and sophisticated look. Today’s market has some cutting-edge pool tile designs and materials. You can have glow-in-the-dark tiles that will add magic to your pool at night, or maybe install ones that make it appear as though the stars are shining right at the bottom of your pool.
You can custom pick your tiles, so they compliment your view, home, business or even outdoor furniture. Blending colors can also put some creativity into your pool area theme and even to the color of your pool. Custom-blended colors allow you to design a pool no other neighborhood backyard or business can match.
- With the use of acrylic glass in your pool’s side, you create a window beyond the pool’s edge. This glass can be as an infinity edge spillway into your spa or give you a great view of the spa area. If you have oceanfront property or are on the gulf, you can swim in your pool while viewing the beach.
- Pools that capture images of the surrounding architectural features or trees provide you with a quiet and reflective value. With reflective value, you will enjoy pure, calm beauty in your pool as you are allowed to see surrounding palms, the glow of a setting sun, or perhaps the warm blaze from your fire pit.
This type of pool is accomplished by allowing water to flow over the perimeter overflow edge and then filter back into the pool system. There will be a need for two separate pump systems with this pool as well as filters for the overflow pool to function correctly.
- Waterfalls can go a long way beyond the old rock outcroppings with mossy trails. In the swimming pool world, waterfalls come with variable speed pumps, so you control the flow. Controlling the flow allows you to gain energy efficiency and gives you the benefits of technology to create different effects.
With the waterfall system, you can opt for sheer descent or rain descent, or even turn it off completely. With a flip of a switch you are able to activate jets and create a splashing sound to mimic raindrops hitting the surface of your pool, or you can install a pool deck so water will pop up like a spiral with just a push of a button.
These ideas for designing a swimming pool in your backyard or for your business can become a reality. Talk with the experts at Oak Wells Aquatics who are able to work with you to create the perfect swimming pool design to fit in your landscape.
Why You Want to Design and Install a Custom Pool
A swimming pool not only allows you to cool off without having to take time to drive to the beach, but it is also a relaxing area right in your backyard to relieve yourself from the stress of a workday. This beautiful experience of owning your swimming pool will also increase the value of your property. There are other benefits of installing a swimming pool in your backyard.
Exercise
Having a swimming pool right in your backyard makes it convenient to enjoy some low-impact exercise. An excellent way to improve your cardiovascular strength and help stretch and soothe sore muscles is to swim as a form of exercise. You can design a swimming pool to meet whichever form of exercise you want to accomplish.
Increase Property Value
Your property value will increase once you have installed a swimming pool. In-ground swimming pools boost both desirability and value of a property. Many homeowners have found they can recoup some of the expense of installing a pool with the increase of their home’s value. Creating and designing your pool will make it possible for you to offer a unique piece of property should you decide to sell.
Create an Oasis in Your Backyard
When you design your swimming pool, you create an oasis in your backyard. In-ground swimming pools are a great place to gather with friends and family, and you may find more people gravitating to your home making your backyard a friendly and fun destination.
Should the Design of Your Swimming Pool include a Heater?
Summer months in many parts of the country, including Florida, are the best times to enjoy a swimming pool; however, the temperature of a pool is not always favorable to everyone, with kids being the most tolerable to cooler temps. You can extend the use of your swimming pool if you install a heater and allow it to be used for an extended season. These are some of the benefits you will get from your swimming pool if you design one with a heater.
Extend Your Swimming Season
Having a longer time in the year to use your pool is probably the number one reason for incorporating a heater into the design of your swimming pool. The typical season in Florida to use a pool is approximately three to four months, but with a heater controlling the water temps, you use it longer and more often.
Florida often experiences a mild winter, so you may even extend your swimming times well into the winter months when a heater is incorporated into your pool design. By being able to make the length of time the pool is useable, also gets you a higher return on the investment.
Comfortable Swimming
Depending on where you locate your swimming pool and how you incorporate the design into your landscape, having a heater can provide you more comfortable swimming even in the summer months. Ideal temps for a pool are between 82 and 84 degrees, and this temperature will fluctuate with Florida’s inclement weather conditions. Daily afternoon thunderstorms that are so common will affect the temperature of the water in your pool. By having it designed with a heater, you will control the temps and keep them at a comfortable level for swimming when you want and not when the weather dictates.
Improved Exercise
Swimming is a great exercise and a benefit to all ages. This low-impact workout will keep you cool as it helps all your muscle groups. Swimming is often a recommended form of exercise for anyone suffering from joint issues; however, if the temperature drops in the water, you will not find yourself taking advantage of this excellent exercise option.
Cold water can have an adverse effect on joint stiffness, and if you have arthritis, cold water can be quite uncomfortable. Other disadvantages to cold water are it can lead to respiratory stress in both children and older adults who have weak immune systems. When you plan a heater into your pool design, you can exercise longer and more often in water temps that help your muscles relax and provide excellent cardiovascular exercise.
Find Help With Pool Designs Near Me
Oak Wells Aquatics has a long history installing and designing some of the most beautiful and durable swimming pools. Call our pool contractor at 904-619-3281 if you are considering installing a swimming pool on your property. We can help with the design and installation of swimming pools for residential or commercial properties in the Jacksonville area and beyond.