Kew East Project: A Perspex Pool Wall That Wows

Hawthorn East

We loved the challenge of transforming this family home into something that feels so much more than it was. The owners had a fairly big vision – they really wanted to open up their living area, blur the line between indoors and outdoors, and have something a bit unique that makes the house feel special. We wanted to give them a space that could do all that and still feel like it fits right in with the rest of the property - nothing too loud, just seamless.

You walk up and see how everything is lovely and open, from the floor-to-ceiling glass in the kitchen and living space right through to the frameless glass fencing outside. That beautiful Quartzon blue interior of the pool just pops, and you get a good look at it from inside the house, too, because that’s all intentional. We wanted the border between inside and outside to feel sort of invisible. It’s clean, a bit minimalist, and big on light. All together, it feels very welcoming, like you’re inside and outside all at the same time.

But there’s a feature about this pool that we’re quite proud of. See, from downstairs it’s a whole other world. There’s this incredible 4.5-metre Perspex pool wall in the rumpus room that creates this striking effect. You get a full view inside the pool from the lower level of the house. From down there, it’s not just light, but the water itself playing with the space. It makes for a pretty impressive centrepiece. And that was tricky to pull off. That Perspex wall? It runs along the house side of the pool and has to look great on both sides, plus feel very sturdy and watertight. The whole pool is 4.5m by 4.5m in concrete, so it’s solid and won’t ever go out of style.

There are more little touches we quite like - underwater LED lights add to the drama at night, all running on timers. It keeps things very energy efficient - run it on off-peak hours and you save a fair bit in the long run.

And even with all the show-stopping features, there’s something about how open it all feels from every angle that makes the whole home feel totally relaxed. We think it turned out lovely, and the family is over the moon about their new space.