World of Design: 15 Swimming Pools With Dream Views

One in a new series from Houzz international editors on how lives shape home design around the world

If you could have any view of the world from your backyard swimming pool, what would it be? A long stretch of sunny blue coastline, a range of rugged age-old mountains, a deep green forest or maybe rolling hills of vineyards? Here on Houzz you can have it all. Relax and cool off with our tour of scenic swimming pools from around the world. You’ll find breathtaking views, inspiring designs and gorgeous landscapes in a dozen countries — Italy, France, Canada, Australia, Russia, the United States, Japan and more.

1. Private Waterfall in Canada

Location: Lions Bay, British Columbia, Canada
Who swims here: A couple
Builder: Alka Pool Construction

These homeowners wanted a geometric infinity pool where they could swim while taking in the spectacular view of Horseshoe Bay on Howe Sound. A custom-blended black quartz finish on the pool gives the water its deep, dark color while drawing heat into the water to save money on mechanical heating. A Sheer Descent waterfall and bluestone patio round out this awe-inspiring backyard oasis in the village of Lions Bay, north of Vancouver.

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2. Sea Views on the French Riviera

Location: Var region, southern Provence, France
Who swims here: A Parisian couple who vacation here with their 2 children
Architect: Frédérique Pyra

This idyllic swimming pool in southeastern France seems to flow right into the sea. In fact, you can access the beach from here, thanks to a small door near the pool. The pool area is at the end of a long, narrow, sloping lot, with a three-level house at the top. Architect Frédérique Pyra designed the contemporary house in neutral colors using natural materials. “I imagined a three-story half-buried house, stretching out as a linear progression toward the sea,” Pyra says. “The swimming pool is at the end of the architectural composition.”

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3. Pool With a Treetop View in Sweden

Location: Rönninge, outside Stockholm, Sweden
Who swims here: A family with 2 adults and 2 teenage daughters
Architect-builder: Elithus

Due to the cold climate in Sweden, this pool is used only during the summer months. But when the weather is good, the family swims here often. The pool is constructed of concrete and is lined, and the decking is made from larch wood. Stockholm is built mostly on hard rock, so some dynamiting had to be done to install the pool, which was built at the same time as the house. Central to the pool’s design was giving swimmers a view of the landscape. Because the pool is elevated, family members can have the sensation of floating amid the treetops while they swim.

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4. Italian Style in the United States

Location: Cordillera, Colorado, United States
Who swims here: A family, for whom this is a primary residence
Architect: Andre Pierce of Pierce + Frye Architects

When building a vacation house in Italy didn’t work out for these homeowners, they turned instead to 100 acres (40.47 hectares) they owned in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. Here they spent two years building what architect Andre Pierce describes as a “re-created Italian village on a mountaintop.” Two 2,000-square-foot (185-square-meter) guest houses connect by tunnel to the 10,000-square-foot (929-square-meter) main house, which is filled with antique furniture and reclaimed materials the homeowners purchased in Italy. A garden path leads up from the house to this picturesque mountaintop pool with decking made of local stone. From here, the peak of New York Mountain can be seen jutting up in jaw-dropping fashion. Not a bad view for a lap pool 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) above sea level.

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5. Eco-Friendly Pool in Italy

Location: Scena, Bolzano province, Italy
Who swims here: A young couple
Architect: Manuel Benedikter in partnership with Daniela Wendlandt

This natural pool adjoins a contemporary home built with sustainability in mind in the mountains of northern Italy. The pool needs no chemicals or mechanical systems to keep its water clear. The purification is done by a system of tanks filled with sand and plants that filter the water. The pool is made of raw concrete and the deck is of larch wood, which came from a forest owned by the homeowners. The pool marks the boundary of the property and overlooks the Gruppo di Tessa mountains in the Alto Adige region near the Austrian border.

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6. Texas Barbecue and Good Times

Location: Austin, Texas, United States
Who swims here: Traci Cavender
Architect: Murray Legge

As the daughter of James Cavender, who founded the Cavender’s Boot City chain of western clothing stores, Traci Cavender knows a thing or two about the great outdoors. So when it came to designing her backyard pool amid the rambling, steep hills of Austin, Texas, she tapped architect Murray Legge to create something special. Traci wanted not only a place to swim, but also room for gardening, cooking and throwing parties. This was a tall order for such a steep site, but Legge responded with a terraced design that incorporates a zero-edge pool and a pool house with a kitchen and rooftop garden. There’s also an outdoor lounge area with a fireplace. Lueders limestone surrounds the pool. A large slab of granite creates a swim-up bar in the pool with built-in seating for three that allows Traci to cook meals, walk a few steps from the pool house and serve food to guests in the pool.

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7. Spa for the Cold Russian Winters

Location: Moscow countryside, Russia
Who swims here: A family of 3
Architect: Olga Freimann

This country house is in the middle of a pine and birch forest near Moscow. The owners insisted that most of the trees be saved during the construction process, and the building is shaped to curve around them. Russian winters are very cold — temperatures fall to minus 22 Fahrenheit (minus 30 Celsius) — so the pool is located inside the main building. To bring nature indoors, the room has two levels of windows. Panoramic views can be seen from the water and from the promenade on the upper bridge, which connects private rooms on the second floor. The pool area also houses a whirlpool tub.

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8. Nature in the Heart of Tokyo

Location: Meguro Ward, Tokyo, Japan
Who swims here: Apartment dwellers
Architect: Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

A view doesn’t have to be of an open landscape. This pool, part of a rental apartment complex called Dancing Trees, Singing Birds, has a huge mirror on one end that adds a beautiful and mysterious depth to the space. As the name suggests, the designer created the building so it integrated with the trees that were growing on the site. Though the complex is in central Tokyo, the space is surprisingly quiet and full of nature. The greenery and water reflected in the mirror give the space a contemplative quality. The use of the mirror is an ingenious way to create an idyllic view in a city’s busy center.

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9. Relaxed Beach Life in Australia

Location: Palm Beach, New South Wales, Australia
Who swims here: A businessman who uses it as a weekend home
Architect: Justin Long Design

Built on a hilltop overlooking Australia’s iconic Palm Beach, this weekend home has ocean views that are hard to beat. But those views also presented one of the designers’ main challenges. Justin Long and his team were asked to build a resort-style pool for lap swimming while staying within a limited space and not impeding the spectacular view or creating an eyesore from the beach below. To minimize the view of the pool structure from the beach, the designers added a garden bed on the hill below. Having a wet edge on the pool meant they didn’t need to install a view-blocking fence. They built a wood-framed day bed with a bamboo awning next to the pool to give the homeowners a shaded place for relaxing at the end of a swim.

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10. Danish Modern Style on View

Location: Solrød Strand, Denmark
Who swims here: A Danish family
Architect: NB Architects

These homeowners wanted to modernize their 1960s house, located on the coast of Denmark south of Copenhagen. Travels abroad had inspired them, and they wanted to create a light, open-plan space integrated with a pool. They also wanted to stay true to their home’s original modern style, made famous in Denmark in the ‘60s by architect Arne Jacobsen. The house reflects the light — which is ideal since Denmark doesn’t have a lot of sunlight most of the year. The view from the pool is of this house, whose style combines classic Danish ‘60s architecture with influences from Southern California and Miami, Florida. The rectangular forms and clear blue skies and water bring to mind the David Hockney painting A Bigger Splash. But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the pool is that it exists at all. The country’s cold climate and high water costs make swimming pools in Denmark rare indeed.


11. Poolside Family Gatherings in Japan

Location: Lake Yamanaka, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Who swims here: A family who uses it for their weekend house
Architect: Raum Associates

This house was built on a sloped property of just under an acre (3,300 square meters) near Lake Yamanaka. The compact pool is in a sunny conservatory with a view of woods by the lake. The family uses the pool and adjacent dining room as a relaxed living area where they can enjoy not only swimming and soaking in the spa, but also eating and drinking poolside. The climate is cold in this highland resort, but the residents can enjoy the comfortable heated indoor pool year-round. From the pool they also have a magnificent view of Mt. Fuji.

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12. Inspiration for a Painter on the Spanish Coast

Location: Jávea, Alicante province, Spain
Who swims here: Friends of the architect
Architect: Ramón Esteve

This sun-washed house in Jávea, on the east coast of Spain, was designed around the site’s beautiful sea views. The hillside house opens up to the infinity pool and patio, which sit high above a turquoise cove on the Mediterranean Sea. Pines, lemon trees and aromatic plants encircle the property. The architect, Ramón Esteve, says the owners are good friends of his, and they found this property together. “It was love at first sight,” Esteve says. They also discovered that Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) painted at the site. “Still now, you can find in front of the house the bench from where he used to paint,” the architect says.

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13. Ready for an English Garden Party

Location: Near Bath, Somerset, England
Who swims here: Christina and Mark Strutt

The owners of this beautiful 16th-century home in England’s Somerset countryside had always wanted a swimming pool. When they finally got one, this addition to their garden took planning and creative problem solving to get it onto the site. “We found a fiberglass pool, but it then had to be delivered across the field on a tractor,” Christina says. The pool, like the rest of the house, is heated by a wood-burning system. “My son is a tree surgeon, so we have a good supply of wood to fuel it,” Christina says.





The swimming pool is tucked away in a beautiful wooded valley, so it’s sheltered from prying eyes but has beautiful views of the country home’s private gardens, where vegetables, roses and other cutting flowers grow.

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14. Hillside View in Germany

Location: Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Who swims here: A family with 2 children
Architect: Rosenberger + Neidhardt

This homeowner wanted to be able to swim laps, so the length of this pool in southern Germany was more important than its width. Because it’s on a hillside, it was a challenge to install, which is why the terrace has been extended and built up. Now the pool can be accessed on the same level as the living room and terrace. The concrete wall on the right offers privacy from the neighbors, and a waterfall shower adds interest and fun for the kids. Stuttgart is surrounded by many vineyards, and some of them are seen here, along with typical German homes. The small hill in the background is the Württemberg, and on top of it is a Neoclassical mausoleum designed in the 19th century by Italian architect Giovanni Battista Salucci. King Wilhelm I erected this chapel in memory of his wife Katharina, who died at age 30. Some say this is the most romantic spot in Baden-Württemberg.

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15. Modern Tuscan Farmhouse

Location: Manciano, Grosseto province, Tuscany, Italy
Who swims here: An extended family
Architect: Marco Tagliapietra

This weekend villa in Tuscany is a new farmhouse built in the style of traditional homes in the area. The deck around the infinity pool is made of local peperino stone. From the pool you can see the Maremma Toscana fields and hills with olive trees, oaks and sheep. On sunny days you can see the sea as well.

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Do you have a dream view of your own? Please share it with us in the Comments and tell us what country you’re in.

URL: World of Design: 15 Swimming Pools With Dream Views http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-26630.html