We all buy what we love so keep that in mind!
A vast majority of the earliest pools on the planet were simple rectangles. With the emergence of the kidney shaped pool in modern pool design the door opened to the vast world of Free Form Shaped Pools. So which shape is the best value?
Using the example of a 450 sq ft Cloud shaped pooL the initial base price will be 5% less expensive than a 450 sq ft rectangular shaped pool. Here is why. The Cloud will have maximum dimensions 21 x 30 and the rectangle will be a consistent 15×30. Here is the catch. The perimeter measurement of the Cloud will be only 80 feet while the rectangle is 90 feet.
Perimeter is the driving force of the initial base price of your pool due to cost of building a structural wall versus one square foot of a pool floor.
Choose a shape that gives you the most usable Pool Surface Area with the least Perimeter and you will always have the best value.
Freeform shape taken to extreme could be called lagoon, natural or even organic shape. By using small radius curves, we can recreate that organic look. When we reach the example 450 square feet of pool surface area the perimeter could swell to well over 100 feet and result in a significant increase in initial base price.
In the 90’s and continuing through the 2000’s the industry was immersed in free form pools and a lot of rocks were used to create the natural look. During the decade between 2010 and today the pendulum swung boldly back to geometric watershapes. Savvy buyers will today will still take a hard look at a 450 sq ft Cloud shape to get the best bang for the buck.
In a recent edition of the magazine Luxury Pools + Outdoor Living there were only a handful of freeform forms pictured. The front cover, inside front cover, back cover and nearly every page in between was laced with straight line rectilinear defined watershapes.
A good designer wants to capture what you love, what your vision is and what makes sense for your personal budget while creating a distinctive backyard environment.