50 Swimming Pool Designs That Are Summoning Summer

Integrate a fountain element into your pool for the ultimate spa-like sound effect. Consider three simple passageways at the end of the pool, like those in the Odessa stone pool edging at this Napa Valley home by Marshall Watson Interiors and architecture firm Zimmerman Miller Montanari.

Make your pool feel as though it's immersed in nature by setting it in aggregate-seeded concrete decking and populating the surrounding area with a lush canopy of low-water, low-maintenance plants—as design studios Terremoto and Studio Shamshiri did at this California home. Bonus points if the plants are native to your area where possible.

Enhance the landscape even further by selecting a pool that blends in with its surrounding. "We wanted a black pool so it felt more organic with all of the mature trees around it,” designer Justin Hafen says of the pool at his Napa Valley home.

In a backyard by designer Nickey Kehoe, the pool features deep teal square mosaic tiles for a calming effect. Clay tiles around the exterior along with the brick patio and terracotta shingle roof add warmth and contrast.

Around a sleek pool and deck—by Danielle Fennoy of Revamp Interior Design and Morrel Landscape Associates—the barely-there glass enclosures let the geometry of the house's architecture take the spotlight. Better yet, it prevents the outdoor seating from being in a splash zone.

At a poolhouse created by a team of pros—interior designer Nestor Santa-Cruz, landscape architect Lila Fendrick, and contractor Mauck Zantzinger—the simplicity of the garden and pool brings out the area's natural beauty. "We brought the lawn up to the edges of the pool hoping to make the pool look like it’s floating,” Fendrick says. “The pool acts as a mirror to the sky when seen from inside of the pool house.”

This infinity pool, by Rachel Lynch Swimming Pools and Spas, provides a glistening segue from the bright off-white pool patio edges to the grasses and trees opposite. Nearby, the Hamptons home has an area dedicated to outdoor cooking and ample lounge chairs for eating and relaxing.

For the pool area of Hadas Dembo’s upstate New York home, the designer selected vintage furnishings and decor for a historic feel. “I wanted it to be, you know, not as grand as Versailles, but this ornamental body of water surrounded by old tables and benches,” Dembo explains.

Make your pool easily accessible to all with built-in steps. Here, the small saltwater dipping pool at designer Fitz Pullins's Jacksonville, Florida, home includes steps—proving you can add them to any pool no matter what size!

Pretend as though you live at a resort full-time with a pool inspired by your favorite getaway. Just take it from this Los Angeles home by designer Leanne Ford. The irregular stonework on the deck hugs an oblong-shaped pool, making it feel like a lagoon hidden in a tropical forest. Need more inspiration? Browse photos of the pools at The Ritz Carlton Maui, Kapalua and the private Fiji resort Laucala Island for more pool shape ideas.

With a Baja shelf in the pool, a nearby semi-covered dining area, and an indoor-outdoor home bar, this backyard designed by Ken Fulk is the perfect place to unwind or entertain outside.

If you're planning to use your pool only for exercise, stick to a rectangular shape. Long and linear is the name of the game. This shape works well in the backyard too because you'll have more pool cover options.

Designed by Aamir Khandwala, this swimming pool is optimized for summer relaxation. The extended Baja shelf accommodates loungers and built-in side tables for all your in-pool bar needs.

A large awning window and exterior counter extension connect the poolhouse kitchen to the swimming deck. Los Angeles–based design firm Studio Lifestyle creates visual cohesion with modern matte exterior stains and finishes paired with sleek concrete flooring.

Designer Madeline Stuart gave the backyard of this Southern California home by architects Wallace Neff and John Byers plenty of personality, from the eclectic tiles lining the pool to the blooming bougainvillea and playful umbrella. It's cheerful and unique without being overly eccentric.

Designer Jenn Feldman tells us it was difficult to fit a pool into this backyard given regional restrictions about property lines. So she made it work by planting ficus trees to tighten up greenery (other plants would be too deeply rooted to work with the desired pool depth) and opted for smaller floor cushions instead of loungers. She also installed a swimming jet so the occupant could still do "laps" and also comfortably hang out on the low pool bar with a refreshment in tow.

Design a pathway that visually draws the eye to the pool and also provides a clear way for people to approach it. Here, Janice Parker Landscape Architects opted for an offset stacked bond pattern.

Ike Kligerman Barkley designed this circular pool to play off the wave-like shingles of the pool house's showstopping roof. The combination feels whimsical yet sophisticated and creates softness in the landscape design that you don't get from rectangular swimming pools. The yellow-and-white awning over the indoor-outdoor bar enhances that fairytale whimsy even further.

Whether you opt for a minimalist fence like landscape architect Edmund Hollander did here or go for something a little more classic, such as a stone wall, fencing in your pool area will provide extra privacy and safety.

Why have only one infinity pool when you can have several levels of infinity pools in a tiered stack? The raised design can also be a good way to separate a jacuzzi and a swimming pool. We think it's even especially brilliant when it overlooks a cool landscape feature, like the life-size chessboard in this backyard designed by Ken Fulk.