So you thought an inflatable chair with built-in cup holder was the epitome of pool side cool? Think again.
These days your swimming pool won’t make a splash with potential buyers unless it’s got a full bar, media hub and even a fireplace.
In 2008, the term outdoor room was coined by Australia’s home grown gardening guru, Jamie Durie who even has a US television show of the same name.
The globally celebrated landscaper-turned media personality says that local architecture has only just “started to adopt a truly Australian style and reflect, and make use of, our beautiful climate”.
And now that the outdoor room has become part of the great Australian dream, it has also become an asset when selling in summer.
Here are our dream poolside cabanas you can dive into right now.
Spanish style
A 1920s Spanish mission-style home on Tivoli Ave in Rose Bay, NSW, this grand dame on 1126sq m was designed by renowned architect Alan Edgecliff Stafford, who during the 1920s worked with design firms in Los Angeles and Palm Beach in Florida. The property has landscaped gardens, sweeping views across Sydney Harbour and the enviable poolside cabana has a kitchenette, full bathroom and bespoke cabinetry.
Fiesta or siesta? This cute cabana comes with a $10 million home attached.
Japanese serenity
With more bells and whistles than the average inner-city studio, this pool cabana at on Kingslangley Road in Greenwich, NSW is out the back of a five-bedroom family home on 1012sq m in Sydney’s North Shore. The home’s not so shabby backyard has a 10m in-ground pool, lush Japanese gardens complete with a waterfall and lily pond, plus a groovy cabana with a kitchen, television, and adjoining blackbutt timber deck with a spa.
Pool parties never looked so good.
Poolside pod
Out the back of this contemporary home on Kimberley Grove in Rosebery, NSW there’s a 10m pool with a neighbouring self-contained cabana. As well as a wraparound veranda, the poolside pod has a main living space, a storage room, separate kitchen and full bathroom.
People in glass houses should definitely throw pool parties.
Outdoor pavilion
OK, so it’s not exactly pool side, but this outdoor room on Bobbin Head Road in Pymble, NSW is on a palatial 2790sq m estate beside a champion-sized tennis court. The uber “outdoor pavilion” has a dining space with a barbecue kitchen, wet bar, fireplace, automatic awnings and chandelier. Oh, and around the corner there is an in-ground saltwater swimming pool.
So where have you put your chandelier?
Moroccan splendour
With a five-bedroom Moroccan residence as a stylish backdrop, this pool pavilion at Formosa Road in Gumdale, Queensland is part of a 1ha estate designed by architect Harry Poulos. The swimming complex has an alfresco dining area with an outdoor kitchen and sun deck.
Rock the casbah.
Resort feel
On a sprawling 2795sq m estate at Bollard Circuit in Clear Island Waters, Queensland this seven-bedroom home is a resort within itself. The long list of luxury features includes a large garden terrace under a remote-control vergola roof, a 16m pool with its own “rock grotto” and a huge barbecue pavilion with wine fridge and adjoining spa and outdoor shower.
Holiday house in the backyard, anyone?
Hot Melbourne nights
Too hot? Jump in the pool. Too cold? Cosy up next to the fire in this poolside cabana. The Melbourne home is on Dunoon Court in Brighton East, Victoria and as well as a four-bedroom house out the front, there is a solar-heated pool out the back with neighbouring Jamie Durie barbecue, Bose surround sound, an automatic gas fireplace and a commercial bar fridge.
Casa di Leone
After a slice of pizza, guests at Casa di Leone can marinate in the 10-person hot tub then sidle up to the poolside bar. This six-bedroom palatial Perth home on Badgerup Road in Gnangara, WA not only has a hotel-sized pool with pizza-themed outdoor room, it has a grand entry foyer paved with marble from Melbourne’s Crown Casino, a mosaic head of Medusa, a function room that caters for up to 350 guests, board room, gym, wine cellar and a 10-car garage.
Every pool cabana needs a pizza oven.
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