In warm seasons, when thinking about the best way to spend your free time at home in maximum relaxation , your mind immediately goes to the swimming pool: fresh, inviting, an oasis of peace.
In the dreams of those who want a perfect home, however, there is not only the moment when you float idly in the water. There are also (or above all) long breaks lying in the sun, enjoying a drink, chatting with friends, or reading a book, in other words, the external correspondent of a living room.
In fact, the swimming pool is more than a large pool; it is a large environment that also includes an area to which we can dedicate all our attention during the design phase: there must be places to sit and lie down, beautiful objects to admire and a whole series of comfort needed to enjoy the beautiful days fully.
In addition to seeking a general aesthetic that fits in with the rest of the house and expresses the right style, the poolside lounge must be functional. The furnishings and accessories are responsible for the comfort and convenience of the whole place: they are, in a nutshell, an integral part of the pleasure linked to the use of the swimming pool.
For these reasons, wise choices should be made when designing a poolside lounge. The goal is to choose and position the furniture to enhance the pool’s beauty and value, with the foresight to avoid obstacles to functionality.
Therefore, we have collected some tips to help you make the right considerations in this delicate, fundamental task.
1. Evaluate the space available
For most swimming pool owners, the area around the pool is made to be used not only as a relaxation area but also as a cocktail area, solarium, place to receive guests, etc. All these features take up space, which must be carefully planned when designing a poolside lounge.
Every single detail, including the shape and dimensions of any piece of furniture to be included in the project, must be decided in advance, to avoid uncomfortable settings, areas that are cluttered or other inconveniences, when it is too late to remedy. Particular attention should be paid to leaving enough openings for the smooth passage of people.
Orientation is also a design factor to consider. For example, the area equipped for relaxing should be placed where the sun beats down the best, while deck chairs and sun loungers should always be facing the swimming pool.
If there is plenty of space available, you can arrange furniture and seats to create different seating areas to make more areas of intimacy and socialization available to guests.
A touch of class is represented by bars or outdoor kitchens, which can be positioned by the pool. This allows you to serve snacks, aperitifs, or real meals in a practical way to friends and family without leaving the party.
2. Select the right plants
Plants are excellent elements to decorate the area around the pool: they are beautiful to look at and provide a natural screen to create privacy, especially when they grow in height. It is necessary, however, to choose suitable plants, so that they do not cause any inconvenience. The last thing a swimming pool owner wants is to see twigs and leaves floating in the water or, worse, clogging the pipes or drains.
Trees that don’t have falling leaves, needles or seeds or anything else should be chosen because they get dirty easily and create disorder. For the same reason, fruit trees, which among other things, attract insects and pests, should be avoided. You should also avoid those with bulky roots, which can ruin the bottom or walls of the pool.
Broad-leaved evergreen bushes and plants with thorns, on the other hand, are usually more suitable for a poolside lounge project and also enrich the furnishings from an aesthetic point of view. In any case, if there is a risk of being pricked, they should be planted far from the seating or passage areas.
A mix of plants with beautiful leaves and others with beautiful flowers is often used to ensure a certain appeal at any time of the year, even when the latter are not blooming. However, keep in mind that flowers attract bees, so it is better not to abuse them.
Potted plants are very practical: more orderly and manageable, they can be freely moved as needed. In addition to their natural element, they add design, which enriches the space with personality and style.
3. Choose only suitable furniture
Outdoor furniture is the most important part of the poolside furniture. They must ensure maximum comfort, the ability to move them quickly and durability.
The choice of materials is particularly critical from this point of view because outdoor furniture is subject to many different types of stresses due to the climate: sun and heat in summer, cold in winter, and rain and water from the pool. Each piece of furniture must withstand all these conditions for years.
In past years, treated wood and metal furnishing accessories were used; today, lighter materials such as aluminum and synthetic rattan are preferred, which recalls the aesthetics of traditional rattan but is more resistant and easy to clean.
Concerning style, the furniture must harmoniously match; for this reason, coordinated sets that include different types of seats and tables are increasingly preferred. At the same time, the colors and design must match with the overall style of the home, to avoid excessive contrasts that can undermine the overall aesthetic balance.
There must also be sunbeds, deckchairs and chaise longues to ensure maximum relaxation and allow you to sunbathe. The tables allow practical support for a drink, a bag, or other objects, while some benches add more seating without taking up too much space.
Those who want a more comfortable and intimate atmosphere can add a hammock, perhaps embellished with a blanket and cushions. Poufs are also widely used elements; the important thing is that they are made of washable material, resistant to mold, and water repellent, as well as resistant to ultraviolet rays and climatic agents.
4. Don't forget covers and shades
With the summer heat, the use of umbrellas, sails, or other shades becomes almost indispensable. In fact, it is advisable to provide enough shade for all the people who are expected to use the swimming pool, without exaggerating, however, overly covering the view of the sky.
Functionality, but also style: the shades and other similar tools do not just protect from the sun and other climatic agents but contribute decisively to the aesthetic impact and the overall layout, for this reason, they must be included immediately in the project of the pool lounge.
If there is a pergola or a canopy, these will provide a good part of the shelter. The designer can also plan to install a gazebo, perhaps enriching it with outdoor curtains that add color and dynamism. If white is preferred, the result is that of a fresher, equally elegant look. Furthermore, a gazebo with curtains can serve as a place to allow guests to put on or take off their bathing suits.
Among the aspects to consider, it is important to make sure that the larger covers do not cast too much shadow at certain times of the day, perhaps obscuring the entire area of the pool.
5. Match flooring and lights
At this point, our poolside lounge is almost complete, but it is not enough: you need to complete the scenario with the last, suggestive details.
First of all, it is necessary to cover the walkable surface adequately, which represents an opportunity to introduce a new stylistic element, flooring.
It is important to choose weather-resistant, waterproof, durable, and stain-resistant materials. At the same time, the color and style must match the rest of the furnishings. The most common choices include treated wood, outdoor tiles, or concrete, for those who prefer a more contemporary look.
A solution with a great effect is mosaic floors, made by expert master craftsmen in composing splendid designs with small colored tiles. This type of decoration, which can also be applied inside the same pool, transforms the surfaces into real works of art, bringing the ancient Mediterranean tradition up to date.
If you intend to use the swimming pool even in the darkest hours, you must also provide for correct lighting, which is practical and scenic at the same time. Lampposts, appliqués, arc lamps, on the ground or suspended, help to enhance the whole design of the poolside lounge. On the market, there are lines of highly decorative lighting objects, designed to create coordinated outdoor furniture with a total luxury look.
Bonus tip: design a poolside lounge with personality
There are many furnishings, accessories, styles, and configurations, and the choice can be expanded indefinitely by relying on expert manufacturers to customize their products. To orient ourselves in this multiplicity, our advice is to design the lounge by the pool following the specific tastes of its future user.
The swimming pool is a magical place, at the same time, intimate and representative, where the landlord dreams of experiencing their best moments. That is why it is good to emphasize their personal taste, the specificities that fully express their character.
Therefore, before starting to design the poolside lounge, it is useful to discuss it with the client for a long time, allowing them to explain their ideas, vision of the space around the pool, and how they imagine using it.
The style preferences of the outdoor areas usually reflect those already adopted for the interior of the house: if the indoor style is sober and minimal, for example, it will most likely be the same for the outdoor area.
Accessories are also a way to make a poolside space unique and very personal. For example, those who love to enjoy cocktails outdoors will always want an ice container at hand, while those who spend most of their time relaxing in the water might like floating speakers that spread soft music in a perfect spa style.
If you prefer natural sounds to music, a good idea is setting up bird feeders, thus inviting them to sweeten the atmosphere with their songs. Alternatively, a yoga enthusiast will want to recreate their own meditation area with comfortable rugs, ottomans, candles, and hot drinks on hand.
The tips mentioned above are only examples: the possibilities are as many as the imagination of the person proposing the project. The key to everything always remains the satisfaction of the end-user, the only real compass of any design path.