Issue Date: April 7, 2002
Suited for swimming
Today's homeowners aren't treading water with typical backyard pools.
By Kevin Markey
Like kitchens and bathrooms inside the house, pools have evolved into displays of the owners' personalities.
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Once a potent symbol of summer in the suburbs, the big blue backyard box is fast going the way of lawn darts. It's not that pools are disappearing from the American landscape -- they're just coming in all sorts of new shapes and sizes.
Buoyed by advances in materials and technology, as well as by consumer demand for originality, swimming pool design has come a long way from its cookie-cutter origins. "People are setting out to create something no one else has," says Patty Hulbert of the National Spa and Pool Institute, a trade organization. Homeowners willing to plunk down the $25,000 or so it takes to build an in-ground pool increasingly want the investment to reflect their own taste and personality. In place of the old rectangle with a diving board, they're creating contoured swimming holes complete with beach areas, coves, molded-plastic rock formations, arches, columns, statuary, fountains and even waterfalls.
"More and more people are asking for beautiful designs," says Hulbert, who has seen backyard oases that simulate everything from Tahitian beaches to ancient Roman baths. "Natural pools are a big trend. Many homeowners are letting the existing landscape drive the shape of the pool, then adding waterfalls and other details."
The creativity doesn't end at the water's edge, either. In place of the old-fashioned concrete deck, today's showcase pools might feature terra-cotta tiles surrounded by exotic landscaping -- everything from palm trees to lush ferns to showy flowering shrubs. "People want to create their own world," Hulbert says. Like kitchens and bathrooms within the house, pool areas have become opportunities for artistic expression.
One factor contributing to the trend is the flexibility of fiberglass and concrete, the top two pool-building materials. Factory-made fiberglass models now come in more than 40 configurations, each installed in a single piece. Once an owner selects a style, all the contractor has to do is dig a matching hole, drop in the shell and connect the plumbing. People wanting a truly one-of-a-kind design might opt for concrete, which is even more malleable than fiberglass. At a slightly higher overall cost, it can be poured into virtually any shape. Want a guitar-shaped pool? An octagon? One that duplicates the coastline of Maine? They all can be done. But keep in mind that concrete pools start at about $10,000; the average price is $26,000. Average fiberglass pools run from $16,000 to $35,000 but cost less to maintain over time. Options such as fabricated plastic boulders, waterfalls and ornamental sculpture cost extra regardless of the material. A true Xanadu can run into the millions.
Not only are shapes changing -- depths are, too. Off-the-rack pools typically used to come with a shallow end and a deep end of at least 7 feet. These days, many people opt for less extreme gradations. Not only do relatively shallow pools eliminate diving boards and the liabilities associated with them, but they literally level the playing field. That's important because games such as volleyball and basketball have moved off the court and into the water. Flatter bottoms allow everyone to stand at about the same depth while playing. "Today's pool owners want to spend time with their families," Hulbert says. "They want a gathering place where everyone can be included."
Two innovations on the real cutting edge of design are vanishing-edge and zero-entry pools. A European development that has caught on in a big way in the United States, the vanishing edge creates an optical illusion whereby the pool appears to be missing a wall. From inside, the surface of the water seems to extend dreamily into space. In reality, water drains over the edge and is recirculated into the pool via a catch basin. A few years ago, a pool with one vanishing edge was rare. These days they're being built with three, four or even five such walls.
Zero entry offers an equally pleasing sensation, letting swimmers wade into the water as they would at a beach. "The entry point at the shallow end is nearly even with the deck," Hulbert explains. "You enter into half an inch of water, and it gradually gets deeper." Some zero-entry pools enhance the illusion with naturalistic bottom treatments: The shallows are painted a sandy beige, which gives way to aqua-green and then a darker blue as the water deepens.
Color, in fact, is all the rage. Not only do some pool owners finish their pools in vibrant hues, but many also choose to include tile mosaics on the floor or to install fiber-optic lighting (and sometimes both). Mosaic subjects tend to run to the aquatic, with fish, feisty crabs and mermaids all popular. With fiber optics, deployed both underwater and along a pool's perimeter, your options are more wide open. "It's one of the brightest trends," Hulbert says. "The right lighting can enhance the whole environment." Her personal favorite: a pool with a light-covered bottom that re-creates the starry night sky.
Clearly, the only limit to today's pool design is the customer's imagination. If you can dream it, it can be built. And if you build it, the neighbors surely will come. Which quite possibly is the only thing that has remained constant over the years.
The only thing Kevin Markey's 30-year-old in-ground pool has in common with the pools in his article is water.
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