SPACES - JULY 2008

By Candace Karu

Photography François Gagné

Five Pool Houses Ready to Celebrate Summer

Maine summers are a time to be savored. Warm days filled with seemingly endless hours of sunlight give natives and visitors alike the chance to revel in all that nature has to offer. For many of us, summer means time spent by the swimming pool—cooling off on a sultry afternoon, soaking up the sun’s rays, or gathering with family and friends for a summerlong celebration.

A pool house can be a beautiful thing, and those families blessed with a poolside retreat are quick to extol its virtues. “We live out here from May to October,” says Kerri Berman of her pool house. “It’s so easy to entertain adults and children together; no one has to go into the house.” The Bermans host everything from class parties to Little League celebrations to family gatherings in their pool house. “I only wish the season was longer,” says Berman wistfully. “We do virtually all our entertaining in the summer and it’s centered around the pool.”

Joe Waltman, architectural designer for Anastos & Nadeau in Yarmouth, has designed pool houses for clients around the state. “Pool houses can have a dual reputation,” says Waltman. “For some people they represent a lifestyle of opulence; for others, they’re all about family living and having a good time.” Waltman finds that his Maine clients generally lean toward the latter interpretation. He is often charged with combining an interior that lets ideas take flight with an exterior that doesn’t call attention to itself. “If you want to understate the structure,” Waltman observes, “it has to become part of the landscape.”

The siting of a pool house is often dictated by both natural and legal restrictions. Neil and Suzanne McGinn of Cape Elizabeth wanted a pool house that would take advantage of their magnificent ocean view, but local building codes limited where it could be placed. Working with Joe Waltman and Ted Carter of Carter Design Group in Buxton, the McGinns built a pool compound across the yard, away from the main house. “The restrictions required that this be a totally separate area,” says Waltman. “There was just no way to relate it to the house.” Tucked into a natural alcove of ledge, the pool area has both protection and privacy, making it an oasis of tranquility with an incomparable view of the Casco Bay shipping channel.

Pool houses are like snowflakes; no two are exactly alike. One might be tiny and utilitarian—simply a place to change into a suit before heading to the water. Another might be a sophisticated retreat replete with luxurious furnishings and high-end appliances. A pool house can serve as a media center or a guest room, a home spa or a children’s playroom. The options are limited only by imagination and budget.

Maine pool houses run the gamut from simple to sumptuous, compact to incomparable. Here are five unique interpretations of the perfect summertime retreat.