How to Enhance Your Pool with New Features

A custom pool is more than just a place to swim—it’s your own personal paradise, your backyard escape tailored to your lifestyle and style. While the pool is the main event, various custom features and add-ons can make it more fun, functional and beautiful. Here are some cool options to consider when designing your dream pool.

Water Features: Movement and Serenity

Water features can add so much character and uniqueness to your custom pool design. They can even bring visual interest and sound to a pool area. Here are some:

Bubblers

This water feature makes a fun spout of water bubble up from a shallow part of the pool’s surface. These can be added to steps, sun shelves and beach-entry ways. Bubblers can create an added sensory experience, with the bubbles giving you a gentle massage to your legs and back as you sit on your sun shelf. Kids love bubblers too as they can keep a younger child entertained for hours.

Deck Jets and Laminars

These features create playful streams of water, add a dynamic element and a cool atmosphere. With lighting they can create a beautiful environment and mood day or night. The sound of the deck jets can really enhance the auditory environment of your custom pool. The sound of the water streams hitting the surface of your pool can mask unwanted noises of your surroundings and give you a peaceful retreat to escape to anytime.

Sheer Descent/Scuppers

These features create a gentle flow of a thin, clean sheet of water from one level to another. Make sure to add these if you want an elegant and regal look with your pool. A sheer descent can give your custom pool a relaxing ambiance. The sound of flowing water is so peaceful and calming and will help you unwind and decompress.

Water/Fire Bowls

Water and fire bowls can add drama to your pool. During the day they can flow clear water. Then at night they can emit a flame creating an atmosphere you have to see to believe. Fire bowls are the perfect conversation starter for that nighttime pool party as they can be the centerpiece of your custom pool. They also add functionality, just enough extra light and heat without being overwhelming.

Smart Pool Technology: Convenience

Smart pool technology brings many modern conveniences to pool maintenance and the overall experience. Remember the old days of having to go to multiple pieces of equipment? Pull out a pH test and dunk it in the pool and find out you need to add more chlorine to the water and then do it all over again? With smart controls and technology those days are gone. Here are some of the benefits:

Automation

The iAquaLink app will allow you to control and consolidate everything in your pool like lighting, temperature, water features and more; all from a smartphone, tablet or web connected device. Having your pool automated makes adjustments super simple, fast and instant. Automation also eliminates having to physically go to each piece of pool equipment and change each setting one by one. For example, automatically scheduling your pool pump to run with a variable speed pump can lead to optimal energy usage and save you big time on your electric bill.

Salt Water Chlorinators

Tampa Bay Pools specializes in salt water chlorination systems which eliminates the need to add chemicals to your pool constantly and makes pool maintenance a breeze. These types of chlorinators can work with your automated control system and monitor and adjust automatically so you always know what’s going on in your custom pool. This makes pH and chlorine level monitoring and testing much easier and reduces the constant testing that comes with other types of chlorination systems. Salt water chlorinators are also better for the environment and your family’s safety since you’ll use less harsh chemicals and handling of those chemicals is greatly reduced.

Built-in Tables and Benches: Aesthetic and Functional

Having a place to sit and relax, maybe enjoy a cool drink with a friend or family member while in your pool is a pretty cool experience. With a built-in table and bench you can create a fun gathering place where you can entertain guests without ever leaving the comfort of your pool. Here’s a few ways a built-in table and bench can take your custom pool to the next level:

Social Interactions

Built-in tables and benches create a dedicated spot for socializing in your custom pool. Your friends and family can gather together and have a meal or drinks while staying cool in the water. It’s a convenient way to turn your pool into a social hub, making the area so much more than just a place to swim.

Comfort

Built-in tables and benches can have seating with or without backrests. Depending on the design you choose, a backrest can be created by using the pool wall so you and your friends can recline and relax.

Aesthetic

Built-in seating and tables can be designed to match the pool’s design, making it all look cohesive and stylish. Since many of the same materials used in the pool design can also be used in the table and bench design it can all blend together seamlessly.

Practical and Functional

Built-in tables and benches maximize the use of your custom pool’s space without cluttering the area with furniture that has to be moved around. This is especially important if you have a smaller pool where space is at a premium. Removable pool furniture will also degrade and fall apart over time while built-in tables and benches are built to last the life of the pool. It’s also nice to just be able to reach over and grab a cold drink on a hot day without having to get out of the pool and drip water all over the house.

Lighting: The Mood Setter

Pool lighting is for safety and to set the mood for evening swims or poolside gatherings. Adding LED lighting to your custom built pool can add so many cool and fun aspects to your backyard retreat. Here are some lighting options to consider with their benefits:

LED Lights

Available in many colors and programmable settings, LED lights can change the pool’s mood with the touch of a button. These lights will work with your custom pool’s smart technology and automation so you can control the lights from your device of choice. LED lights use much less energy than incandescent and fluorescent lights. You’ll save a lot of money over time. LED lights also last much longer, often 5x longer than other lighting solutions.

Underwater Lights

These lights shine from within the pool, highlighting the design and making night swims magical. Want to have a romantic swim with your spouse? Turn the pool pink! Fan of the classics? Turn the pool blue! Whatever the mood may be, these lights can be programmed to any scene you want.

You may think it’s a luxury add-on but at Tampa Bay Pools colored lighting is included with every pool build. You can’t beat that!

Heating and Cooling Systems: Extend the Swim Season

Temperature control systems are a great option for those who want to extend the swim season or be comfortable no matter the weather. Both have their benefits. Here are the features and benefits of both:

Pool Water Heaters

Maybe you like to swim warm, maybe the warmth eases the muscle pain you experience; whatever the reason having a water heater installed in your custom pool can be a big plus. These can warm the pool water with the touch of a button, so you can swim even in cooler months. They work by extracting heat from the air, which passes over an evaporator coil containing a liquid refrigerant which absorbs the heat and turns it into a gas which is then compressed to increase its temperature. The hot gas then passes through a condenser, which then transfers the heat to the pool water circulating through the heater itself. In cooler months having a heater will make your pool more comfortable and accessible for the whole family.

Water Chillers

In hotter climates, chillers can cool the pool water, a refreshing escape from the heat. These work similar to the above mentioned heaters but instead the water is cooled by extracting heat via a refrigeration cycle. Cooler water also prevents algae growth in your pool, reducing the need for additional water treatment and maintenance.
And another great benefit of working with the team at Tampa Bay Pools, you can get both! In fact most equipment from Tampa Bay Pools now have both heater and chiller as standard.

Sun Shelves: Soak Up Some Sun

A sun shelf is the perfect add-on to your custom pool that creates another area to relax and get therapeutic benefits. A sun shelf is a flat ledge usually located near an entry point in the pool. These can be designed to blend in with the pool, a great space to unwind, soak up the sun, all while being in the water. Here are a few more benefits of having a sun shelf with your custom pool:

Child and Pet Friendly

The shallow water on a sun shelf is a safe play area for young children and pets. It’s a space where they can play in the water without the risks of the deeper ends of the pool.

Aesthetic

Sun shelves can add to the visual appeal of a pool, making it look luxurious and high end. They are often featured in high end pool designs and can be customized with bubblers, LED lighting and loungers.

Increased Use

A sun shelf can increase the use of your custom pool by providing a versatile space to use for various activities. Whether it’s a spot to tan or a place for young kids to splash around, a sun shelf adds many more options.

Your Custom Pool Reality

Customizing a pool with these features and add-ons not only increases its functionality but the overall experience, making the pool area a retreat. Whether relaxation, entertainment or aesthetics is your priority, the options are endless.

Tampa Bay Pools builds custom pools that reflect the individuality of their clients. From design to final finish, they walk you through every step, making sure every detail is tailored to your space.

Get in touch to get started on your custom pool today!