The Designer's Palette: Understanding Your Pool Shape Options
Every pool shape has a personality and a purpose. Let’s explore the most popular styles to find the one that speaks to you.
Geometric Pools: Clean Lines and Classic Style
Geometric pools use straight lines and defined angles, creating a sense of order and elegance that often connects directly to the architecture of your home.
The Classic Rectangle Pool: The timeless, go-to shape for a reason.
- The Design Idea: A rectangle provides a clean, elegant focal point. Its straight lines create a sense of calm and are a natural fit for modern or traditional homes. It’s also the most practical shape for swimming laps.
- Designer’s Touch: You can enhance its classic look with a grand, full-width set of steps, or add a modern twist with an infinity edge that makes the water look like a sheet of glass.
The L-Shape Pool: The smart shape for families with different needs.
- The Design Idea: These clever shapes are perfect for creating distinct zones for different activities. An L-shape, for example, naturally creates a shallow area for kids or sunbathing, and a separate, long lane for swimming.
- Designer’s Touch: The inside corner created by the “L” is a perfect spot on the patio for a cozy fire pit or an outdoor dining table, creating a natural gathering spot.
Freeform Pool Shapes: Natural Curves and Relaxed Living
Freeform pools move away from rigid lines, using gentle curves to create a more relaxed, organic look that feels like a natural part of the landscape.
The Kidney Pool: The perfect middle ground.
- The Design Idea: The kidney’s soft curve feels natural and relaxed, making it a versatile choice that fits well in many backyards. It strikes a beautiful balance between a formal geometric pool and a completely natural one.
- Designer’s Touch: The curved indentation is an ideal spot for a cascading rock waterfall or a lush pocket of tropical plants to create your own private grotto.
The Lagoon or Naturalistic Pool: The ultimate backyard escape.
- The Design Idea: The goal here is to create a total escape, blurring the lines between the pool and the surrounding nature. It uses a series of flowing curves, boulders, and waterfalls to feel like you’ve discovered your own secret swimming hole.
- Designer’s Touch: Details are everything with this style. A gently sloping “beach entry” where you can walk right into the water, large sunbathing rocks, and lush plantings are what make this style so magical.
Smart Solutions for Every Yard
Plunge Pools & Spools: The perfect answer for smaller Sacramento backyards where a large pool won’t fit. A plunge pool is small and deep for a refreshing dip, while a “spool” is a hybrid spa-pool with jets for relaxation, giving you the best of both worlds.
Unique Shapes and Use-Cases: Whether its play spaces for kid, baja shelfs, bubblers, and so many other ideas can be incorporated into a pool if the pool shape is thoughtfully designed.
Designing for Your Space: Making the Pool Shape Fit Your Yard
The perfect pool isn’t just a great shape—it’s a great shape that fits your yard perfectly. We see your yard’s unique features as opportunities for great design.
Yard Size and Proportions
- For Smaller Yards: The right shape can make a small space feel bigger. A long, Linear Pool can draw the eye and make the yard feel more expansive. Tucking a Plunge Pool into a corner can add luxury without sacrificing your entire lawn.
- For Larger Yards: In a big backyard, a pool helps create structure. A large L-Shape or a rambling Lagoon pool can anchor the landscape, creating different zones for dining, lounging, and playing.
Working with Slopes and Hills
A sloped yard isn’t a challenge; it’s a fantastic design opportunity. This is the perfect scenario for a stunning Infinity Edge pool. We can also design beautiful, multi-level decks and patios that follow the flow of the land, creating distinct, usable areas with a high-end, custom look.
Integrating Trees, Sun, and Shade
In our hot Sacramento summers, shade is gold. We love to design around beautiful, mature trees. A Freeform pool can gently curve around a majestic oak, using its canopy to create natural shade over a shallow lounging area.
We also map how the sun moves across your yard to position your pool perfectly—ensuring it gets plenty of sun to stay warm, but also has shady spots for comfortable afternoons.
Matching Your Pool to Your Home’s Style
Your pool should feel like a natural extension of your home. The final step is to ensure everything works together. If you have a sleek, modern house, a Rectangular pool will create a clean, cohesive look. If your home is more traditional or rustic, a softer Freeform or elegant Roman shape might be a better fit. By matching the pool and surrounding materials to your home, we create a beautiful and unified backyard experience.
See Some Examples of Pool Shapes with Our Construction Gallery
Looking for inspiration? Explore our featured projects to discover the possibilities for your backyard. Then, dive into our full construction gallery for even more pool designs and features.
Ready to Find Your Perfect Pool Shape?
Choosing a pool shape is an exciting process of blending your personal taste with the unique character of your home and yard. It’s a journey we love guiding our clients through. If you’re ready to explore the incredible possibilities for your home, our design team is here to help you bring that vision to life.