Indoor Swimming Pool Design 101

An Indoor Pool – Photo Courtesy: Porto Bay Trade

When you are designing an indoor swimming pool, there are so many different things that have to be taken into consideration that creating your swimming pool design is a lot like putting together a jigsaw puzzle! All of the different design (and technical) elements must fit together to create a single design which is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Here is a look at these design elements needed to construct a nice indoor swimming pool:

The Elements & Principles of Design

The beautiful Hearst Castle (California, USA) Indoor Pool from diving board end – Photo Courtesy: Justin Ennis

There are many people who do not realise that a swimming pool uses exactly the same interior design principles that any other room does! This means that anyone who is interested in designing an interior swimming pool must have some knowledge of both the elements and the principles of interior design if they have any chance of creating the right balance in the finished design.

The five elements of design are as follows:

• Line
• Texture
• Colour
• Form
• Space

These elements are then used within the principles of design. The elements are almost like the raw ingredients while the principles are the recipe and the techniques used to mold them into your dream indoor swimming pool.

It’s All About The Balance

In the world of interior design, balance is important for creating unity within the space in question. This means having to give careful consideration to where objects will be placed. In the majority of cases, a swimming pool is a very symmetrical object, but it doesn’t have to be!

In interior design, balance can be achieved in one of 3 ways – symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial. Any of these can be applied to a swimming pool design to create an imaginative indoor swimming pool in an unusual shape! Since indoor pools do not require swimming pool closing in the winters, there is no need to worry about custom covers and so on if you stray from the standard shapes!

Creating Rhythm In Your Pool

Repetition goes a long way towards creating rhythm in a design and this is something that swimming pools have in abundance. Think about the repetition of the coping stones, tiling and even evenly spaced lighting. There are other features that can be introduced to carry this repetition through the entire pool area including a series of windows, ceiling vaults or even wall art. Creating rhythm draws the eye around the room progressing from one area to the next smoothly.

The Importance of a Focal Point

When designing a lounge or a bedroom, it is standard practice to include a focal point to act as a centrepiece for the space. When you are designing an indoor swimming pool, the pool itself can provide that focal point naturally, but that does not mean that the pool should get all of the attention! Instead, the swimming pool should work in harmony with the rest of the room and one way to do so is make sure that there are enough interesting features to draw the eye around the entire room before drawing the attention to the main focal point which is, of course, the pool.

As you can see, creating a really great indoor swimming pool is so much more that installing a rectangular pool in a tiled room! If you want something that looks great then you need to consider the elements and principles of interior design and apply them to your pool room.

Ameline Clerk writes for many publications on the topic of interior and exterior design. Her love of swimming has led her to specialize in swimming pool design.