10 ways to an affordable pool house

Pool houses can be tricky beasts and when designing and decorating a home the pool house may come a long way down the list of things to address when allocating time, energy and money, however, they can be achieved at a much lower cost than many envision.

Pool houses do have to be robust to combat the rigors of water, chlorine, sun light and, in a lot of cases, hordes of excited wet children, however that does not mean you have to break the bank, but it does mean you have to get creative.

The pool house in the following pictures was created with a budget of under a $1000, that said the owners were lucky and the kitchen was already in place and they only needed some paint to 'help' with some of the less than attractive tiles and cabinets.

Most of the furniture came from their own home or nearby consignment stores with a trip to 'Home Goods' and some hours on the internet thrown in; for example, the  brown and cream zebra 10x8 ft indoor/outdoor area rug was a great internet find at $115 and it was not alone in the outstanding value to be had in today's marketplace. Put down that credit card and re-think how to get affordable design and style.

So, 10 ideas to make a pool house makeover affordable-

1. Shop your own home first. Those old chairs and sofa that are on their way out are exactly what a pool house needs on a budget.  Before re-upholstering, in year one get slip covers made up (a cheaper option) in sun and water resistant fabric. Even though it seems impractical, cream is a great color so you can change your theme if you want in a few years without a massive amount of expenditure; the upholstery cleaners on the market today and machine washable slip covers make this color a viable option. In this case the old family room sleeper sofa was re-purposed, as were cushions from children's bedrooms, the homeowner's lanterns were spray painted blue, an old candlestick was converted into a lamp base, the coffee table was previously owned, the lamp shade and side table came from 'Home Goods', the shell was picked up from the beach and the ceramic finial was a consignment store find for $2.

1. 

   Blue and white pool house designed by Ele Blackshaw
   
   

2. Pick a theme and stick with it. When operating on a budget the easiest way to stop impulse buys and mistakes is to really stick to a theme. It doesn't matter what the theme is, by color, by motif, country influences, however, it really should be an expression of what you like. In a pool house blue and white is probably the most straightforward and, because of that, the cheapest style to pull off, blue and white is chic, stylish, easy and timeless, which is exactly what the penny conscious needs.
   
   
   
   

   

   Blue and white predominates in this pool house.

3. Add in a splash of the unexpected. In this case the unexpected came in the shape of a brown and cream zebra rug in indoor/outdoor fabric; it is the pop of whimsy that takes the design from predictable to chic and fun and, after all, fun is what is a pool house is all about. There are also flashes of green dotted around the pool house; a vase, the water dispenser, in the textiles and rug designs which gives added depth and solidity to the design. A great piece of design doesn't have a stand out 'star', but is rather a complex layering of pieces which interplay with their environment and each other.

   

   The brown and cream zebra stripped rug brings a touch of unexpected punch to this blue and white space.

   

   Table cloth changing room curtain.

4. Think outside of the box. When is a table cloth not a table cloth?  When it is a changing room curtain. Two navy blue table cloths were used to create privacy for the changing cubicles, they were given a 'pelmet' effect by turning over 8" (20.3 cm) of fabric, ironing it flat and hanging the new 'curtain' from the ironed seam with curtain clips. No sew and no cutting enables the table cloths to take on different guises in the future if need occurs. The rolled up blind in the bathroom was created from a shower curtain, previously owned fabric from another project and some ribbons that came with a gift packaged hot water bottle (!!). The lamp base was formerly a candle stick, the kitchen area curtains were another set of table cloths and the waste paper basket was a re-cycled plant pot.
5. Keep things personal. A pool house is a mix of private and public space, but one that is definitely more personal than say a formal sitting room, so those family vacation photographs are an appropriate and very affordable way of filling up blank wall space, print them on standard paper and put them in affordable frames; children's art work would also be at home here. If you ever wondered what to do with your nephew's first pinch pot, this is a great landing spot, filled with daisies, it would an ideal addition next to the sink. Fill up empty glass jars or even glasses with pebbles, shells or sea glass from the beach, or whatever you like to pick up on walks in your neighborhood or on vacation. Personalized pieces make that extra layer of detail that is the essence of good design.

   

   A plain glass vase in the bathroom filled with shells from trips taken all over the world.  (Shower curtain and 'hot water bottle ribbon' blind.)

6. "God is in the details'". Who said that? Whoever it was had the right idea. Making the bathroom work in this pool house was a matter of spending time and effort carefully re-painting the multi color pastel ceramic tiles (yes they did have a Big Top feel) white and blue with a teeny tiny brush. That combined with a new mirror, towel ring, navy hand towel (all sourced at Home Goods) and a consignment blue and white soap dish gave the space a complete lift for $28 plus the cost of a small tin of enamel navy paint. The owners already had Grippe (the magic ingredient that allows paint to adhere to ceramic tile, plastic, metal etc, think of it as your own fairy God-mother in the battle against designs and colors that just didn't age well) and white paint from other house projects.

   

   The wall and multi colored triangular shaped ceramic tile were painstakingly painted navy blue for a more sophisticted edge to the sink.  The multi colored inserts in the sink surround were painted white. 

7. Paint, paint, paint! You probably already know that paint is your most cost effective way of revving up a space, making it your own and fooling the eye. However, I have found is that a lot of people don't know what can be painted and with the advent of modern products is almost anything.:- counter tops, ceramic tile, guttering, plastic, metal (including that stainless steel fridge with hand prints all over it that can drive a sane person mad), floors, concrete, wood, plaster, glass, wicker, cane, fabric; the list today is practically endless, which is all to the good when the budget didn't really include a pool house this year. THE most important part about paint is getting the right type of paint for the job, or the right undercoat for the job, whichever is appropriate. Paint can create mood, style, fool you, make architectural detail where there is none, take visually away things that are too big, too ugly or just too not your style. Paint can make things look bigger or smaller, newer, older, shiny or flat, polished, rustic. What do you want? Because if you are on a budget paint is going to be your next best friend. Paint those kitchen cabinets, paint the counter top, even paint the stove top, grill and fire pit (with heat resistant paint that even comes in a spray can), re-paint that orange wicker consignment chair that was sitting in the rain for $5. For this project we even re-painted the frames on some of the cheap pictures we bought and re-purposed.  

   

   Painting the multi colored pastel tiles a calming white lent an instant sophistication to the space.

8. After paint come textiles. In the hierarchy  of what you can get for your buck and how influential it is in the design, textiles come in at number two. Textiles come in the form of window dressings, rugs, cushions, lampshades, throws, placemats, napkins, towels, slipcovers etc and can lend quick splashes of additional color, additional texture or an additional depth through layering (or a combination of them). Textiles can be sourced relatively inexpensively, or made easily and have a lot of visual bang relative to their price, textiles are also easily sourced from your own home and bed sheets dyed in your own washing machine do count and are a very effective way of keeping costs down. There are also a large number of fabric warehouses that sell discontinued or bolt ends at heavily discounted prices on and off line.

   

   The rug, cushions, throw, curtains and even the napkins all contribute to the depth of the space.

9. Add something grand. One cheap and effective way of making this space feel more expensive was the addition of larger sized curtain poles and fixtures in a classic rubbed bronze for an additional feeling of weight and importance. We also added a substantial looking glass cabinet stained a dark coffee color and referenced classical Palladian architecture in some of the accessories we collated - the mirror on top of the glass cabinet, the wire urn, the candlestick to lamp conversion. We also used oversized pieces like the wall clock to add whimsy, fun and heft to the design.

   

   An oversized clock, wire urn, classical styled mirror all allude to a richness unexpected in a pool house and belies the actual cost of the items.

10. The imperative, but FREE part. The most important element is, of course, making sure the pool house works and that is absolutely FREE. It means when you wrote out your list of needs vs wants that you checked off every single one of those needs as being addressed; this is why a professional designer spends so much time with their client in the first meeting and then sends a re-cap of their conversation in the form of a 'brief' to confirm they have understood exactly what those requirements are.  However sexy an interior looks, if it doesn't check off the 'needs' it will fundamentally fail as a piece of design. 'Wants' are the things that people can get bogged down with, because to be honest these are the 'sexy' red lipstick and mascara part of the deal, but after a month their 'appeal' loses appeal and what is left is a space that either works for our needs or doesn't and if it doesn't work it becomes an irritant or an under utilized space. Examples of needs are: affordability, easy to clean, space for xx number of children and adults, space to change, distinct seating area, need for a table to eat at or a preference for people to eat where the cooking is done (as was the case in this design). In other words it does not matter what your needs are, they will be as unique as you are, but they need to be met in order for your space to work for you.

The pool house view.

Good luck in your design projects!

Color inspiration - the Polar Vortex

It may not be the most obvious inspiration, but as I was looking through pictures on my phone I was bowled over by the staggering beauty of the brutal early start to 2014.

Waves frozen on the beach in the early morning light.
Cape Ann, MA

With the miracle of 'Chip It' (thank you Sherwin Williams) that image becomes a variety of colors.

Singing beach during the Polar Vortex and the color ideas from 'Chip It'.
Photograph by Ele Blackshaw

The color 'Hearty Orange' is the right mix of paprika and pumpkin to be warm and not anywhere near the Halloween spectrum, which can be a problem for some oranges and the name suits it well as a robust and grounded color.  I would love to see a 70% diluted version of 'Butterfield' on the walls, which could be quite a magnificent 'neutral', in that every other color would co-ordinate beautifully with it.  In that dilution the yellow would remain warm, but not over powering; comfortable in a North facing room.

The colors seemed to be intensified in the clear, cold scenes.  I love the idea of the color 'Dignity Blue' as an accent color, it reminds me of the blue we re-painted a client's lanterns for their pool house make over.

Singing Beach during the Polar Vortex 2014, photographed by Ele Blackshaw.

Teenage boy's room - Before and After

 This teenage boy's room was designed to be calm and restful, which was very much needed after he had lived with the previous owner's purple room - purple carpet, purple trim and another three different purples on the walls (please see the before photographs at the end of the post) for а year.

A quiet spot to dream.

The bed was made in the early 1600s (and still in daily use 400 plus years later!) and grounds the light colors which reflect the sky and ocean seen from the window

There was a clear decision not to make any references to sports or the ocean or any obvious design motif for this sophisticated young man, even though he is a keen sports fan and participant on both land and water.  His design brief was for a relaxing space in which to read and do work and for a room that he would want to stay in, which was had not been his experience in the 'purple dungeon'.  The bed, which was his father's before him, is a beloved piece of furniture and was the jumping off point that brought the room together.

After

Before

Before - Lots of different purples clashing for attention.

The purple had to go! The wall color is now a green/blue that changes hue throughout the day and has enough grey in it to combat the full Southerly exposure this side of the house experiences.  The soft blended colors of the wall, trim and carpet now allow the eye to travel out through the window to the spectacular ocean views beyond and an overstuffed armchair in cream is now a favorite place to watch the white sails go past in the distance or settle down with a good book.  The artwork was bought to reference the colors of the room and the close proximity to the ocean.

The slight red tone of the four hundred year old bed was blended into the design with a toile bed hanging with splashes of red, the chair cushion, a red and blue carpet for the side of the bed and a red and cream small check lamp shade.  The heavier early style furniture is offset by the lightness of the carpeting and wall color.

Hallway re-fresh. Before and After photographs.

The Entrance hall and staircase for a house of this size was unusually small and undefined and not helped by the jazzy striped wood floor.  

Before...

View of the stripy floor - Before

Before

Before - the two Doric columns were beautifully made, but out of proportion, over hung the ceiling so the rough tops could be seen from the upstairs floor and stairs and made a cramped space feel even smaller.

The newel post was designed to look like a lighthouse and did not suit the sophistication of the house

First the pillars were removed and the floors re-finished

After...

The floors were stained a custom mix to match the patina of a 17th century chest belonging to the owners 

Remember?? 

 The walls are the same color, but the unfinished part of the baseboard was painted and a cohesive more restful and hopefully sophisticated look achieved.

The wall color was left the same and trim re-painted a brighter white to add visual contrast and interest.
A sisal carpet was laid down to soften the edges and absorb some of the noise from the large open plan space. 

After - Design by Ele Blackshaw

To give an illusion of space the pillars were removed and a Persian carpet picking up the colors of the sisal and the newly stained floor was laid in the  'empty' area which now became an extension of the entrance hall and gave it the appropriate space it needed for a house of this size.  Trees blocking the view were removed and there was now a direct sight line from the front door through the entrance hall to the ocean (seen in the glass reflection),

The before photograph of a sitting room

I was asked by someone recently to show them what the room in the  old background of my blog looked like before it was designed.  After all, she surmised, it may well have been elegant (the look we were discussing and which I think this room has in a relaxed, up to date way) beforehand.  She continued that the design magazines shoot their photographs in unfeasibly beautiful rooms that could even make a potato look chic.

So here is the room with the preceding owner's furniture and layout.  In this brief I worked mostly with the new owner's existing furniture that came from their previous home which I had designed the interiors for.   I hope that I have succeeded in making a transformation.

Before

and

After

The differences: 

My brief for this room was to make an elegant, but relaxed, contemporary room that could deal with a relatively large family with numerous furry friends.  The family invariably has lots of friends and guests in the house and they wanted to have a room that could cope with additional numbers whilst not resembling an airport lounge when it was just them at home.

The floor was stained a darker color which evened out the tone and got rid of the 'Zebra' affect, two medium sized carpets were laid down horizontally to give the room width and to divide up an essentially long and, proportionally, narrow room into two distinct seating areas, which can be brought together for larger groups.  The Sitting Room can sit thirteen without the addition of additional furniture.

 The installation of valances brings the eye down from the high ceiling to a lower level and the blinds can add to that affect depending on how low they are drawn.  They are essential for light and heat control in a South facing room. The valances also get rid of the 'raised eyebrows' on the windows.  Before installation the windows looked like eyes with raised eyebrows and the fireplace looked like a mouth going "oh!" in surprise!  The cartoonish windows now exude relaxed elegance in a stripped silk that reflect the colors of the oversized (and not particularly loved) fireplace and therefore diminish it's presence in the room.

The paprika and pumpkin colored cushions bring a pop of color, stop the eye from traveling and foreshorten the room visually whilst referencing small items that the clients already owned.

The sofas are slip covered for easy washing and have mole grey colored velvet covers which are cosy  and soft and bring an intimacy to this large space in the winter.  In the summer the white covers are airy and fresh and appropriate for a home overlooking the ocean.