Room of the Day: Pool House Welcomes Guests in Style
Its great room with sofa bed, outdoor kitchen and bath accommodate parties, barbecues and overnight guests
When you live somewhere that people love to visit, and you like to entertain, what better solution than a pool house with an outdoor kitchen that doubles as the guest quarters? The team at Acorn Garden Houses designed, built and styled this Australian pool house so a social couple and their children could entertain their friends without infringing on the peace or privacy of anyone in the main house.
Australia’s Mornington Peninsula is the perfect weekend getaway for Melbournians in need of some seaside relaxation; Mount Martha is about 35 minutes southeast of central Melbourne. With its sofa and sofa bed, bathroom and outdoor kitchen, the pool house is a comfortable and welcoming place for guests to call home during their stay.
Sofa: Red Fox Run
Sofa: Red Fox Run
This outdoor kitchen is a winner largely because of the knockout tiles. The designers chose handmade fish-scale tiles for the backsplash for a wow factor, and a vintage copper range hood that they had modified as an extraction fan, says Acorn Garden Houses director Steve Magliano. The barbecue is built into an Italian Pietra Serena limestone countertop, and Magliano designed and built the cabinetry using solid ash.
Barbecue: Electrolux; tiles: Academy Tiles
Barbecue: Electrolux; tiles: Academy Tiles
Magliano and his team found the recycled copper range hood at a demolition yard — retrofitting it was the biggest challenge of the project. The goal was to get high-volume air extraction while retaining its old-fashioned good looks — a task they assigned to a commercial range hood manufacturer.
The pool house serves as an attractive backdrop for anyone lazing by the pool.
Exterior paint: Monument, Dulux
Exterior paint: Monument, Dulux
A fully integrated wireless music system inside and out is well used when the children have their friends over for parties. Their parents can enjoy relative peace and quiet in the main house, though, because of the distance between it and the detached pool house.
The large-format TV and open space mean the great room can work as a cinema space.
The floor, made of wide oak planks, is just the thing to accommodate wet feet in summer, but choosing the color was a challenge. “We made up five or six sample boards for consideration,” Magliano says. They decided on a gray wash with a matte timber finish.
The bifold doors off the great room open up the pool house to the deck and pool. The teak decking boards have hidden fixings and are finished with Cutek CD50 protection oil to shield them from the elements.
Decking: Woodform Architectural
Decking: Woodform Architectural
The subway tiles, washstand basin and lining boards in the bathroom give it a country feel. “The space is kept modern by the walk-in shower, large-format floor tiles and white walls,” Magliano says.
Mirror: Red Fox Run; vanity: Recollections
Mirror: Red Fox Run; vanity: Recollections
European-style lever taps give the bathroom an elegant edge.
Taps: Reece
More:
8 Dream Poolside Retreats
8 Tips for Pool House Perfection
See more Rooms of the Day
Tell us: What do you think of this poolside space? Share pictures of your pool house in the Comments.
Taps: Reece
More:
8 Dream Poolside Retreats
8 Tips for Pool House Perfection
See more Rooms of the Day
Tell us: What do you think of this poolside space? Share pictures of your pool house in the Comments.
Who it belongs to: A couple and their 3 children (ages 13, 18 and 20)
Location: Mount Martha, Mornington Peninsula, Australia
Budget: $150,000
Size: Includes a great room, bathroom and outdoor kitchen
The goal of the family’s being able to gather with friends outside by the pool at any time of year drove the pool house’s design.