Hello again From the HartLand! This week we’re so excited to FINALLY reveal our completed pool house. Yes, it took way longer than expected, but it was worth the wait! To recap…
What is the Purpose of a Pool House?
The main reason we want a pool house is to keep wet people from dripping through the house when they need to use the bathroom. We were able to build the foundation of the pool house when the foundation of our farmhouse was laid, so the pipes are in, and the hard stuff is already finished. We also wanted our pool house to have a nice shower where we and our guests can freshen up after a day of swimming.
What Do You Put in a Pool House?
Our pool house is designed to look like a miniature cottage-style farmhouse, but with cuter details. The exterior will match the exterior of our Four Gables, complete with the same standing seam silver metal roof and Hardiplank siding. The pool house will have charming details: window boxes, a small weathervane, and double french doors with vintage-style screen doors on top. The entrance will have a sweet little portico with a vaulted ceiling painted the same blue as the porch ceilings in the main house. We took it a step further and included a tiny kitchenette with open shelving, a two-burner cooktop, microwave, and the icing on the cake…a full-sized Smeg retro-style fridge. With a small banquette tucked in one corner and a little seating area in the other, guests can also help themselves to a drink or a snack while taking a break from the heat.
Our Pool House Interior Finishes
Choosing the style of the pool house was very simple since we wanted it to be a smaller version of our main farmhouse with a cozy cottage feel. Simple white shiplap walls and wood-look porcelain tile will keep the interior cool and fresh. With a footprint of only 12’ x 14’, we packed a lot of function into a small space! Our custom cabinets and open shelving will be painted the same Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, and we chose the same Caesarstone countertops in Pure White that we have in the main house.
Where Is the Pool House Located?
Our pool house is situated behind the shallow end of the pool, joined by our herringbone patios. This is an ideal location to enjoy the view of the pool and the surrounding fields. Who says the pool house has to be used just for swimming? We can imagine sitting at the little banquette having a cup of tea on a breezy summer morning. Just because!
The Tiny Sitting Room
Our pool house has a tiny sitting room right inside the double doors. Guests who want a break from the heat can relax in our super-comfy Capistrano lounge chairs from Serena and Lily. With durable Sunbrella fabric in Canvas White on the beautiful wooden frame (color: Driftwood), who knew outdoor furniture could look so good indoors? A large gingham outdoor pillow, also from Serena and Lily, in soothing shades of blue adds the perfect cottage touch. A natural wooden side table from Hayneedle that we painted Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace looks fresh and clean. A sweet pink ginger jar lamp from Lo Home adds a soft glow to the room in the evening, along with our hand-painted tulip chandelier from Wayfair.
The Kitchenette
We have a small kitchenette complete with a lovely Kohler farm sink, two-burner cooktop, and a full-size retro-style refrigerator from Smeg! We can serve snacks right from the pool house, or a nice lunch on the patio just outside the doors. Our kitchen cabinets were custom-made by Galen Shelly of Misty Meadows Cabinetree, who also crafted our cabinets in the main house. The pool house cabinets are the same shaker style and are the same white (Chantilly Lace). We have the same open shelving decorated with our favorite GreenGate dishes and accessories. Our fabulous Barn Light fixtures in Delphite Blue coordinate perfectly with the blues and pinks.
The Dining Area
If you follow us on Instagram or read our blog, you already know we love banquette seating. A well-designed banquette is a big space saver and looks so charming! This one is no exception, plus it has a hinged top for storing all our beach towels. So handy! We purchased a cute little 30” round white tulip table and two Serena and Lily Riviera outdoor chairs (color: Atlantic) to complete the look.
Our Little Bathroom
To save big on space and to allow for a small bench outside the shower, we installed a handy pocket door. We have a nice-sized shower all done up in white subway tile with a white penny tile floor. A Kohler round bowl toilet and a small pedestal sink are all we need for a tiny but functional bathroom. I found a pretty scalloped mirror from Horchow for over the sink, and of course, a pink Barn Light hanging pendant in Blush Pink.
The Exterior Window Boxes
Our builder, Shawn Smith, of Knight Builders, built us the cutest little flower boxes! After talking it over with Shawn, we decided not to have drain holes in the bottom of the boxes, which means we can really only use artificial flowers. Why did we choose this option? Simple…I don’t want brown dirt streaks running down my white siding, which invariably happens when it rains and the boxes drain. After choosing all the flowers and arranging them, Paul sprayed them with UV protectant spray for artificial flowers. So far so good! No fading. Since it is late in the season and faux flowers are expensive, I will probably leave them as they are until winter, and then switch to pastel or white Christmas flowers.
The Exterior Doors
We encountered a dilemma that significantly increased the cost of the pool house, for which we hadn’t originally planned: we needed smaller than normal doors. No ready-made doors existed that fit the scale of the house, so what were we to do? Vintage Doors came to the rescue once again and created custom doors to fit our little pool house. No, we were not happy about the added cost, but are we ever loving our new doors! We have the perfect farmhouse style french doors with vintage style screen doors over top. Both sets of doors are painted Benjamin Moore’s Yarmouth Blue.
Outdoor Accessories
I will not finish accessorizing the outdoor space this summer, but I plan to work on that more next summer. For now I have two cottage-style planter boxes painted in Benjamin Moore’s Rose Garden to coordinate with my Radio Flyer Town & Country wagon. I had to sand down the original red so I could paint it pink. These pinks tie in with the gliders on my screened-in porch. A wagon full of flowers will look picturesque this fall! I have a small outdoor wicker dining set from Lloyd Flanders that will last at least the next 30 years. Its small scale complements the tiny pool house nicely, don’t you think? I brought that set from our last house. I like to mix it up so my furniture isn’t matchy-matchy. I also like to mix up the prices. If I make an investment in one area (custom doors, custom cabinet, Lloyd Flanders wicker, for example), I’ll find something that looks great but is inexpensive for another area (how about my ten blue metal dining chairs for less than $250 from Amazon [screened porch], the $40 bench in the pool house bathroom from Hobby Lobby, or the $170 pedestal sink).
Thank you for Following Along
Thank you so much for following our pool house building journey. We appreciate your time and interest, and we look forward to a pool house accessories update next summer.
Until next time…