Swimming In Southern Charm

Some pool houses are meant to impress, while others pull double duty as entertaining spaces. A homeowner in Durham, NC, however, wanted a pool house with one simple function: to house an indoor lap pool so he could swim year round. The challenge was figuring out how to blend a newly built structure onto a parcel of land that includes a historic home and a traditional red barn within close proximity.

The homeowner turned to Georgia Bizios, FAIA, of Bizios Architect and her team for the pool house’s design. Bizios says that designing a contextual, functional and joyous place was key to the project.

“The homeowner swims every day,” she shares. “The pool house is not meant to be shown off or to be a place to throw parties.”

Bizios designed the pool house in a modern farmhouse style that complements the main home as well as the barn. She clad the building in red cementitious siding, a practical choice for North Carolina’s climate. The double story structure has clean lines that echo the vernacular of a traditional farmhouse, and the metal roof is low maintenance, stylish and regional. An attached screened porch provides the entry to the pool and a place to relax alone or with family and friends.

The designer chose the same materials for the interior, which is both consistent and practical. “The interior of a pool house is a difficult environment because you need to heat and cool it,” she explains. Therefore, exterior-siding panels line the walls, and the pitched ceiling is made of fiberglass panels.

Lighting the interior was also a challenge. “You can’t have lights that would rust or hang any fixtures above the water,” notes Bizios. Instead, she attached outdoor sconces to the walls and strategically placed a few spotlights to illuminate the pool, emphasizing its spaciousness and adding sparkle at night.

The end result? A pool house that Bizios says “is of our times and belongs to its vernacular context.”

Photography | Andrew Rowe

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