Design-Build Firm Freshens Up an Indoor Pool for Entertaining

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Once their son entered his teenage years, this couple in Canada was ready to update their indoor pool room from a kid-centric play space to a more grown-up entertainment area. The design-build pros at LD&A renovated the space, giving it fresh contemporary style. This included an expanded bar area, a home theater screen, a lounge space, a steam shower and vented lockers to keep the area tidy. The refreshed space makes it easier to get through Calgary’s long winters.

Indoor Pool at a Glance
Who uses it: A couple and their teenage son
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Size: 1,200 square feet (112 square meters)
Designer: Lindsey Tsang of LD&A

Different spaces and special features surround the 26-by-17-foot pool. “The space had great bones but needed an update,” says interior designer Lindsey Tsang. “It was dark and there was a lot of brown. Our clients wanted a light and bright California feeling that mixed whites and creams with wood.”

The cedar on the walls and ceiling was existing. It was in decent shape, but the team worked on some dark spots and other blemishes to freshen it up and make it look like new.

Before: The tiles around the pool were dark, and the pool had blue tile coping. The homeowners wanted a lighter, sleeker look. They also wanted to enlarge and open up the small, closed-off bar area.

After: Tsang replaced the tiles around the pool with large-format cream-colored porcelain tiles. These tiles have a nonslip rating for safety. She also replaced the tile pool coping with a streamlined brushed metal band for a more modern look. This created a smooth transition between the concrete pool and the new tile floor.

Opening up the bar area was high on the family’s priority list. “They wanted it to be more conducive to entertaining,” she says.

Here’s a close look at the bar’s live edge. Tsang sourced a local slab of wood, and a local craftsman transformed it into a waterfall counter. They coated it with epoxy, so it will never need treating or additional protection. “This gave the bar an acrylic-like finish,” she says.
The client selected the beautiful glass pendant lights and added fabric sleeves to cover the metal rods at the top. “These fit over the rods like a scrunchy, and they have a rope-like look,” Tsang says. The lights are a subtle nautical touch.
The backsplash is ceramic picket tile with a variety of textures. Tsang chose two different colorways from the series, mixing blue and green tiles. The effect of the blend is beautiful and watery. The countertop is quartz.
Before: This was the view from the bar. The pool room was set up more for kids’ activities than grown-up gatherings. Removing the slide and finding a way to conceal the pool cover were part of the project.
After: Tsang designed an attractive cedar surround to house the pool cover. The right side of the box has a crank, and the cover comes out through the gap along the bottom.
The homeowners requested a projector and large screen for their new entertainment area. They most often use it to air sporting events when they have friends over.
Across the room from the screen is a cozy lounge area. “Outdoor furniture that can stand up to weather was appropriate for the pool room,” Tsang says. “It’s nice for washability, it’s not too precious and it can stand up to pool splashes.” The homeowners already had the trio of woven pendants, and they were a great fit for the relaxed California-inspired vibe.
This is the entry from the home’s den into the pool room. The pool also has direct access outdoors through glass doors next to the bar area.
Across from the bar is a new roomy steam shower. It’s large enough for multiple people to sit and have a steam inside.
“These clients wanted to keep the pool area neat and tidy, so they wanted places to put everything away,” Tsang says. She designed these new lockers for items like pool toys, extra towels and life jackets.

“Because these lockers will store the kinds of things that are often put away damp, we added vents,” Tsang says.

There is a humidity monitor and a system that pulls humidity out of the pool room. And Tsang specified marine-grade paint finishes for all the cabinets and other built-ins to stand up to any humidity and moisture in the space.

Once their son entered his teenage years, this couple in Canada was ready to update their indoor pool room from a kid-centric play space to a more grown-up entertainment area. (cited)