There’s a particular kind of smugness that comes with having a pool house. Not just having a swimming pool – anyone with a big enough garden and a bigger budget can manage that – but somewhere to towel off, mix a drink, and pretend for a moment that you live somewhere a bit more tropical than the UK. Though, with summers creeping hotter each year, that gap is starting to close, and a pool house is fast becoming less of a fantasy and more of a useful addition to the home.
When done well, pool house ideas can turn a swimming pool from a novelty you use for six weeks a year into something you'll get proper use out of, whatever the weather is doing. But building a pool house is slightly more demanding than it looks. It needs to cope with water, humidity and heavy footfall in a way a garden room never will, and getting the ventilation, services and layout wrong is a far costlier mistake to fix.
Whether you're picturing a simple changing room or a fully kitted out wellness retreat with a sauna and a bar, here's everything you need to think through before you start your build.
Will the pool be covered or open-air?
Whether your swimming pool is open-air or under cover changes the relationship between it and the pool house, and, if your pool doesn't already exist, it's worth deciding early on which one you will build, since it affects layout, humidity and how the two buildings connect.
With an open-air pool, the pool house stays a straightforward support space; changing, storage, somewhere to sit with a drink, with humidity limited to what wet swimmers and towels bring in through the door.
A covered or indoor pool changes that considerably. Even with the water sitting in its own enclosure next door, a pool house serving it will see far higher footfall from damp swimmers moving between the two spaces. Because of this, a covered walkway or close physical connection between the buildings becomes worth considering, both for convenience, and to stop humidity travelling further than it needs to. Expect ventilation to play a bigger role when your pool is indoors, and budget for it accordingly.
Selecting a location for a pool house
Where you put a pool house matters almost as much as how you build it, and it's worth settling on the best place before a single spade goes in the ground. The pool itself is the obvious anchor, but orientation deserves equal billing.
Sophie Chapman, associate and interior designer at The Vawdrey House, puts it plainly.
"Consider how the location and orientation of the building relate to the house, neighbouring properties and the sun's path, as these decisions will have a lasting impact on how successful the space feels."
On her recent Sussex Pool House project (pictured above) that meant mapping sun paths with 3D models before deciding on the roof overhang and glazing, so the space stayed cool in summer rather than turning into a greenhouse.
A pool house's distance from the main house is its own trade-off. Close by and you've got easy access to power, water, and a quick dash back for a forgotten towel. Further away and you get more privacy and a proper sense of escape, at the cost of longer utility runs and a less convenient changing routine.
Boundary distance is worth checking early too, since it shapes both your layout and whether you need planning permission.
Finally, wind and tree cover are easy to forget until they're a problem – a pool house that catches the worst of the wind will lose heat fast and make outdoor swimming a harder sell on cooler days, while a pool under overhanging branches can become a full-time leaf-skimming job.
Associate and interior designer at The Vawdrey House, and a founding member with a BA in Interior Design and Environmental Architecture. Sophie develops bespoke furniture packages and leads styling across the studio's residential projects.
Planning permission and building regulations
These are two separate approvals, and it's worth understanding the difference before you start rather than assuming one covers the other:.
Planning permission
Most pool houses fall under permitted development, meaning you won't need to apply for planning permission at all, provided the building meets certain size, height and positioning rules.
"The vast majority of our garden rooms used as pool houses can be installed under permitted development, meaning planning permission is not usually required," confirms Makenzie Polden, marketing executive at Green Retreats.
That said, consent becomes necessary, "if a customer wants to exceed permitted development limits with a larger building, or if the property is located in a conservation area, is listed or has other planning restrictions," she adds.
Sophie Chapman echoes this from the architectural side, warning that listed buildings and sensitive sites bring extra layers of approval. "Alongside planning permission, listed building consent may also be needed, and there are often wider factors to assess, including the impact on the site's heritage, landscape and ecology. Depending on the location, additional surveys, such as ecological or archaeological assessments, may also be required." Her advice is to bring in a planning consultant early if your site falls into this category, since they can flag constraints before they become costly redesigns.
These rules vary by local authority and by what's already been built on a plot, since previous extensions or alterations to the property can affect what you're allowed to build next, so it's worth checking with your council before committing to a design.
Building regulations
Building regulations are a separate matter to planning permission and are assessed independently, so you might need approval for one, both or neither.
Many pool houses actually turn out to be exempt from full building control, since small detached buildings under 30m² with no sleeping accommodation are generally exempt, provided they sit at least a metre from the boundary or are built from non-combustible materials. Go over that size and full approval kicks in, covering structural safety and, for larger builds, fire safety and accessibility too.
Marketing Executive at Green Retreats, the UK garden room specialist founded in 2005. Makenzie writes on design and layout for the brand's range of sustainable, bespoke garden buildings, including pool houses.
Buying and building a pool house
There are two broad routes into a pool house, and which one suits you depends on how much control you want over the finished result, how much budget you have, and how much time you're willing to spend getting there.
Modular pool houses
A modular pool house (often adapted from a standard garden room) arrives largely pre-manufactured and can be installed on site within days once the foundations are down.
You're choosing from a defined range rather than a blank page however, so it's worth checking exactly what's included before comparing prices. Makenzie Polden notes that finish matters as much as spec here. "Customers also tend to get far more use from their pool house when it's fully finished and furnished from day one," she adds, "rather than leaving it as a basic shell to complete over time."
Bespoke pool houses
A bespoke build takes longer and costs more, but gives you a pool house designed around your specific site and equipment rather than a standard footprint.
George Lucas, marketing executive at Vale Garden Houses, advises thinking beyond the obvious from the outset. "Build in every facility you think you may need. After all, it could be a long way back to the house to grab a drink or a few extra ice cubes," he warns – a reminder that a pool house needs to work as its own self-contained space, not one where you'll need to keep nipping back to the house to make it functional
Either route can deliver something you'll use year-round. The real question is whether you'd rather choose wisely from what's on offer, or build to your own exact spec.
George Lucas is the marketing executive at Vale Garden Houses. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding conservatories that contributes to all areas of the company.
The best materials for a pool house
Timber frame construction is the default for most pool houses, as it's quick to build, easy to insulate well, and forgiving if you need to add doors or glazing later. Brick and block give you a more permanent, house-like structure with better sound and thermal mass, at the cost of a longer build and a bigger budget. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) sit somewhere between the two, offering strong thermal performance with a faster install than traditional brick or block.
Exterior cladding is where a pool house can do a lot of the aesthetic heavy lifting, and it's worth choosing something that can cope with a damp environment without constant upkeep.
Sophie Chapman recommends using, "larch timber cladding and overhang [to] keep direct sunlight off glazed doors," – a detail that's as functional as it is good-looking, since the overhang reduces glare and heat gain as well as protecting the cladding itself from weathering.
Whatever materials you land on, check what's actually included before comparing quotes across suppliers. Makenzie Polden warns that, "what initially looks like a cheaper option can quickly become more expensive once essential upgrades are added."
Insulation, glazing spec and finish all vary hugely between providers, and a lower headline price can mean paying twice once you add back what was missing.
Utilities and services
Getting power to a pool house
Power usually runs from the main house via armoured cable, either buried underground or clipped along a fence line, into its own dedicated consumer unit rather than an extension of an existing circuit. This falls under Part P of the Building Regulations, so the work must be carried out or signed off by a qualified, registered electrician, whatever else you take on yourself.
What you're powering will shape the spec considerably. A pool house with just lighting and a socket or two is a modest job, but add a pool pump, sauna, hot tub or gym equipment, and both the load and the running cost climb fast.
Modular garden rooms typically build the electrics in as standard. As Makenzie Polden puts it: "A quality garden room should come fully insulated, with electrics, quality glazing and everything needed to create a space that's ready to use from day one."
A bespoke build takes more planning, but lets you size the supply around your actual equipment from the outset. It's also worth knowing what's possible beyond a standard mains connection, an approach Sophie Chapman has seen work well on her own projects.
Photovoltaic panels, a ground source heat pump and battery storage can work together to push a pool house towards off-grid running.
Managing humidity and condensation
"For an indoor or covered pool, we would always specify a dedicated pool dehumidification system," says Sophie Chapman. "This needs to be considered early in the design so that it works properly with the heating, ventilation and layout of the building."
The pool itself should sit within its own enclosed, controlled environment, with the surrounding facilities, WC, shower, bar, storage, planned to stay dry. Getting the zoning and airflow right between the wet pool area and the drier adjoining spaces is, in her words, essential to the relationship between the two.
Heating a pool house
Treat the swimming pool and the building as separate heating jobs. Pool water is typically heated by a heat pump, or less commonly now a gas boiler, sized to pool volume and how many months of the year you want to swim.
A cover, left on whenever the pool isn't in use, can also cut heat loss from the water significantly and is one of the cheapest ways to bring swimming pool costs down.
The pool house itself needs its own heating system entirely, and this is where the specification actually matters. Underfloor heating is the popular choice here specifically because it copes with wet feet and tiled floors better than radiators do, and it frees up wall space in a room that's often tight on it already.
An air source heat pump is generally the cheapest system to run day to day, though it heats more slowly than a direct electric option – worth factoring in if you want the space warm at short notice rather than a couple of hours ahead.
Whatever you choose, sizing the system to the building's insulation standard matters more than the system itself, a well-insulated pool house needs meaningfully less heating capacity, and a smaller ongoing bill, than one that's cutting corners elsewhere.
Lighting for a pool house
Sophie Chapman treats lighting as a whole-setting decision, not something confined to the pool itself.
"Lighting should be considered across the whole setting, rather than treating the pool on its own," she explains. "This includes the pool house, exterior of the building, surrounding landscaping, pathways and the transitions between each area."
Around water specifically, fittings need the correct IP rating for their location, while a layered scheme, combining practical and ambient sources rather than one light doing everything, tends to work best, kept warm in tone and free of glare or abrupt changes.
Along pathways and entrances, PIR sensors are worth considering too, lighting the space exactly when it's needed rather than being left on all evening.
Interiors and finishing touches
Pool house interiors need to work a little harder than your average garden room, contending with wet feet and chlorine in the air. And Makenzie Polden makes the case for finishing properly from the start as it will be instantly useable and designed in the right way to prevent any damage to unfinished surfaces.
Flooring is the decision to get right first, with slip-resistant floor tiles typically beating anything soft underfoot. Furniture-wise, think marine-grade over Instagram-pretty, since outdoor fabrics will outlast anything living-room-soft.
You should build in proper outdoor storage too, as towels, robes, pool toys and the cleaning kit will all need a home.
Beyond the practical calls, interiors are where the space gets to have a bit of personality, whether that's a full spa-style retreat with a garden sauna and changing area, or something simpler that just makes the most of being steps from the water.
This wooden furniture set is made from sustainably sourced, naturally weather-resistant tropical hardwoods and features shower-resistant cushions that are perfect for poolside lounging.
Made of sturdy plastic, this outdoor storage box is designed to withstand splashes and anything the great British weather throws at it. Its large-capacity can easily store cushions and various pool toys.
FAQs
How much does it cost to build a pool house?
Costs vary hugely depending on the specification. At the lower end, a basic timber structure can start from around £5,000, though this typically won't include much beyond four walls and a roof.
For something more permanent and higher quality, with proper insulation, heating and finishes, prices from established manufacturers start from around £40,000, with bespoke architectural projects likely to sit well above that depending on scope.
As a rough rule, the more infrastructure you build in, heating, ventilation, electrics, plumbing, the more you'll spend upfront, but the more use you'll get out of the space year round.
How long does it take to build a pool house?
This depends heavily on the route you take. Makenzie Polden says the company's typical lead time, from ordering to installation is around twelve weeks, with the modular garden room itself usually installed in one to four days once it arrives on site.
However, George Lucas puts a bespoke project without planning complications at around three months from first conversation to completion, rising if planning permission is needed, since he says that alone, can take around three months until a decision is made.
For a fully bespoke, architect-led pool house, Sophie Chapman says, "allowing around a year from the initial design conversations through to completion is a realistic expectation," particularly where listed building consent or a sensitive site is involved.
Browse our favourite swimming pool ideas for design inspiration, and read up on common swimming pool mistakes before you break ground, since small early decisions can save serious money later.
