While in Palm Springs earlier in the week, I got a taste of what it would be like to live in a house with a pool. It's pretty awesome and really provides an instant sense of calm. I remember I used to want to pool so badly when I was a kid…which is actually kind of ridiculous because I could never really swim that well (and still can't).
Have you guys ever lived with a pool? Is it awesome, or is it a ton of work? I love these two homes above and how the swimming pools blend in really well with the surroundings…
{Image sources: Gaurav Nanda's pool via West Elm, Barbara Bestor's pool via House to Home.}
Pools are amazing but so much maintenance especially if you live on the east coast and have to empty the pool for the winter etc. But it is a nice thing to have for those hot summer days!
Those photos look amazing.
xo Quinn
Quinn Cooper Style
When I was 5 we moved to the home where my parents still live. It has a pool and it was rad growing up there! We had so many gatherings around the pool, so many birthday parties, family reunions, graduation parties, etc. Now, whenever my brothers take their kids down there (I don’t have any yet) all the grandkids think my parents’ house is a resort with such a cool pool. They all jump in right when they arrive, even if it’s nighttime.
All that being said, I know for my parents it’s been a lot of work… Cleaning, keeping up the all the equipment, heating system, surfaces, etc.
But if I were to call them right now and ask I’m sure they would say it’s been TOTALLY worth it!
Pools are fantastic! The key to enjoying them is hiring a pool guy to come and do all the maintenance. It’s a little spendy, but totally worth it.
I hope you get your own pool soon, but in the mean time we look forward to seeing you in Palm Springs more often!
I was always sooo jealous cause I didn’t have a pool! We lived in an apartment till i was about 11 and then we moved into a house with a garden but there would have been no space for a pool.
Don’t take this the wrong way (I am the least racist person you’ll ever meet), but whatsup with Asians and not knowing how to swim/being bad swimmers? It’s kinda funny cause most of my Asian friends are terrible swimmers and their parents often times don’t know how to swim. I giggled when I read about your lack of swimming.
Make sure you get Ruby into swimming asap :p
That is quite a generalized statement you are making alicia! I’m asian and I can swim and most my other fellow asian friends took swimming lessons when they were little. I guess you just happen to have friends who don’t know how to swim that well haha!!
I like very much the second swimming pool in length, but with the color from the liner of the first one! I dream about it for my house !…
I’ve never lived in a house with a pool, but I would love too. They are a lot of work, but think about how beautiful they are and how much fun they are. It’s an instant party in your backyard.
If you do get one be careful with Ruby if you do get one. They can be so dangerous for young kids. That would probably be my biggest fear.
hmmmm…. that’s the first time I’ve ever heard ‘Asians not knowing how to swim/being bad swimmners’…. I’m Asian American and all the Asians I know, my family, my friends, co-workers, neighbors, my 3 kids, their friends, etc. all know how to swim. My nephew was swimming when he was only 3 months old. And many of them compete in swim meets on a regular basis. We live in CA so maybe it’s a regional thing?
Pools are awesome. I dream of having house by a pool all the time.
xo Janika
http://crazysketchbook.blogspot.com/
Ha! Im totally a stereotype! I know a lot of Asians that cant swim, but also a lot who can swim really well…so I guess it depends on who you know. I took swim lessons in college finally and learned how to swim, but I still dont love the water, sadly!
Were definitely teaching Ruby early!
Joy
What a dream! I’m not sure the upkeep would be so fantastic…maybe I could have a bff neighbor who has a pool. That would be the best ♥
xx Ashleigh
http://www.ashflynn.blogspot.com
It was awesome when I was a kid and it’s great to visit my parents in the summertime and have a pool available a few feet away. What I didn’t see as a kid was how often my dad had to skim leaves off the surface, scrape algae growth off the side walls, and every time there was a huge thunderstorm, he had to go outside in the rain to drain the pool so it wouldn’t flood over.
So — totally worth it for the fun aspect but you need to be willing to put in the work or have the dough to pay someone to clean it and care for it weekly. Otherwise, you’ll have a nasty green waterpit in no time 😉
I grew up with a pool, and I know it did create work for my parents, but all in all I think they were happy with the investment. Hanging out on a warm day is so much more enjoyable when there’s water nearby! And we hosted a ton of summer parties as a result…people loved coming over.
As a young child with a pool, my parents made me take swimming lessons with a swim coach. Although I never swam competitively, having my own pool was a great motivation to learn all the strokes and become very good at swimming. So it definitely fostered a useful skill, too!
http://folledejoieblog.com
I put up a new post about an hour ago, and I’d love it if you checked it out!
Well if you got that Cromwell house, you could have a pool. Just saying… 🙂
I love pools! The house I grew up in had a pool and I was always very popular in the summertime when friends wanted to come over and swim :). I loved it. Sadly, my parents ended up closing up the pool to make the backyard larger and more kid-friendly for all of the grandchildren who go over for visits. Also, I think the maintenance got a little pricey. Nonetheless, it would be so nice to have a home with a pool again someday!
ah so stunning! the colors are all so gorgeous!
tr[i]b[e]cca
I never grew up with a pool (east coaster) but since moving to CA, we now have one. The upkeep really is not bad at all. It’s great for gathering friends, relaxing, and we’re going to start teaching our 2 year old to swim. When I come home from work it’s like stepping outside into a vacation. Just make sure to have a fence around it for the wee ones!
Well my in-laws are the ones with the pool – I just visit it – that’s the way to have a pool 😉
I grew up with a pool in Australia and still remember the lovely midnight swims when it was too hot to sleep.
I’ve had a pool, and living in San Diego it’s been great. Pool guys typically charge around $125 a month here,but LA might be a little more. After a while my husband decided to do the pool maintenance himself. It’s not too bad if you make sure to do it on a regular basis. The expenses add up though when you consider the additional electric and water usage, and if you ever heat it,it’s a fortune. There’s also the safety consideration-my younger child was 5 when we moved in, and though she could swim, I often felt anxious. Now that she’s 10, it’s smooth sailing.
They’re a LOT of work unless you hire a company to maintain it for you. They also cost a lot to repair and maintain. But they’re so much fun!
Lucky are people who own/such lovely pools!
http://saltexports.com
It is both awesome and hard work, to have your own pool that is. Growing up, I used to have all my birthday parties at our pool and never grew tired of it. Also, I would spend every single day of my spring break and summer vacations on the water. Surprisingly, I learned to swim on my own, I guess thanks to all those years having fun at the pool.
Ahhh, that looks so heavenly right now…it’s snowing in Denver!!
I had a little indoor pool when I was little. It was not the kind in the ground so it wasn’t too bad. When we had to clean it, we just opened it up and since it was in the basement near a drain, it would just drain out.
I loved it! That is where I learned how to swim. I definitely want a pool when I get my own place and have a family in the future!
I didn’t grow up with one but always wanted one. I actually just ordered a livestock tank to convert into a small pool for now. I plan to add a spout for draining and using it as gray-water for the garden and yard. It doesn’t get very hot here often so we don’t have AC and always wish we had it or a pool when it does get hot enough.
I grew up at the beach in SoCal and learned to swim at about age 4 years. But I never lived in a house with a pool until we put one in. I now live in the CA Central Valley and it’s ESSENTIAL to have a pool to keep cool in our famously hot, dry summers. I love having my own pool. I can swim any time I want, day or night, with or without a swim suit. It’s a real treat!
Lovely!