Caroline approached Preston Pools to design and build an indoor swimming pool for her home in the Forest of Bowland — an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the edge of the Lake District. The brief was clear: the pool hall should feel rooted in its surroundings, using natural materials and a restrained, country-house aesthetic.
An indoor pool hall can easily feel like a leisure facility detached from its setting. In an AONB location surrounded by woodland and open countryside, that contrast would have been jarring. The challenge was to design a fully functional swimming environment that read as a natural extension of the landscape outside.
We specified a natural materials palette throughout: oak beams, bare wood doors and frames, green slate poolside surrounds, grey slate walls, and dual-tone green tile inside the pool itself. Generous glazing draws the grounds into the room. A long-reach chrome linear step-ladder and counter-current swimjet keep the detailing minimal.
The finished 10m pool feels less like a leisure addition and more like a quiet, considered room — a place to swim that sits comfortably alongside the beams, slate and woodland views. The restrained chrome fittings and level-deck edge let the surrounding materials do the work, and Caroline uses the pool year-round.
Photography from across the build, capturing the construction shell, the finished pool, and any integrated features.
Every Preston Pools commission begins with a conversation. We will visit your property, listen to your vision, and help you understand what is possible within your space and budget.
