A Peek Into A World Underwater

South Yarra Pool Project

Partnering up with Preferred Properties, who are another local family-run business, we got the chance to build a really unique pool for a South Yarra home. We’d worked together before, so it felt right when they asked us to get involved in this. The homeowners wanted something that’d work with the modern look of their newly built house - a place you’d feel excited to be in and proud to show off. I know that’s how I’d want my pool to feel. So, that’s what we aimed for here too.

The pool itself is lined with bright white tiles. It looks sharp and sophisticated. People always seem to love swimming in it. There’s an underwater viewing window too that looks straight out into the basement of the house. We cut big round portholes into the bottom, and it’s a real highlight. The way the light shines through creates such a striking effect in the lower level, and you can look right through into the house from the pool too. It adds an unexpected twist - much better than having either of those features on their own.

We added some simple landscaping with green shrubs around the pool, and set up deck jets along the edge that spray water in. They’re fun and they make the whole space feel a bit more alive. We like to pay attention to little things like that. They seem small, but it’s what makes a pool feel more interesting to people.

Like with all our pools, we set up the equipment on timers so that it only runs during off-peak hours. A lot of people don’t realise this can be done, so we make a point of mentioning it and showing them how it works. It’s an easy way to save money on electricity and water, and it suits our energy-saving approach perfectly. I don’t think building a pool should mean having to run up huge utility bills. This way, it’s much more sustainable for everyone involved.

People who swim here often say they love the salt water system we’ve used as well. We put in automatic dosing to take care of the chemical maintenance with minimal effort required from them, so keeping it clean doesn’t end up taking over their lives. This is especially important for us, so we like to do as much of it as we can.

This project ended up being something special - a pool that fits in with the house, but is also really exciting and unexpected. It’s hard not to feel proud when you make something that makes people go “wow” every time they see it. We’re grateful to our partners for giving us this opportunity, and for our incredible team who did a great job bringing all of this together.