Why the trend towards ‘spools’ is heating up

With summer upon us, and the mercury already rising, many homeowners will be turning their minds to ways to stay cool.

But with backyards shrinking, are the days of the pool sinking?

Not according to the aquatic architects, those folks whose job it is to craft a design to fit any space.

Often called plunge pools, spools, even cocktail pools, smaller pools are popping up in increasingly small spaces.

Tim Chown of Gold Coast-based Australian Plunge Pools said the trend towards smaller pools first took off in Sydney and Melbourne, where vacant space costs a premium.

But he said they were now getting more inquiries from southeast Queensland as block sizes here also shrank.

“We fitted one on to a balcony just last week,” he said. “We have done a lot of rooftop and balcony pools.”

Mr Chown said consumers were also becoming more focused on fit-for-purpose, year-round pools, incorporating smaller designs, and the option for a heated spa in winter and a cool pool in summer.

He said plunge pools, as opposed to the larger lap-style pools, were also cheaper to maintain and run, and often offered the option to go chemical-free.

Queensland Family Pools construction manager Terry Nicholls said buyers needed to look at the shape of their backyard.

Queensland Family Pools construction manager Terry Nicholls said that as houses continued to get bigger, leaving less land for yards, buyers needed to look at the shape of the space they had.

“Access is the key with the smaller yards that we have these days,” he said. “Nice and simple and straight lines is the trend at the moment.”

Director of Queensland landscaping business Bioscapes, Noel Brown, agreed, saying smaller, rectangle-shaped pools were becoming more common.

However, he said there would always be a place for tropical styles with landscaping.

Mr Brown said extra features were also being added to pools to make them look like the centrepiece of a backyard.

“Water features intercepting with the pool, that seems to be the way it’s all going,” he said. “Then in the cooler months when you’re not using the pool, you can still enjoy that feature.”

Ray White New Farm agent Matt Lancashire said he had seen it all when it came to pool designs

 “I have seen glass edged pools, they are amazing and there is a big resurgence in that,” he said. “There is also one I know of that is being built into the basement garage so you will be able to drive in and see people in the pool.

“I have also seen an indoor pool that is cantilevered so it is built inside the house.

“People are also using glass mosaics with lights … pools are really becoming a statement piece in their own right.

“But I still love seeing a big pool.”