- Cocktail pools are a compact alternative to traditional pools, fitting smaller yards while preserving space for patios, dining, and other outdoor features.
- Made for lounging and entertaining, these shallow pools often include built-in seating, tanning ledges, lighting, spa jets, and decorative tile.
- Their smaller size can simplify pool ownership, typically requiring less water, energy, and chemicals than a full-size pool.
Installing a backyard pool is no simple undertaking. Aside from cost, which can run tens of thousands of dollars, there’s also the construction of it all. You might look out your kitchen window to see heavy machinery excavating a large hole for your in-ground pool, or concrete being sprayed to form a pool’s shell.
For a growing number of homeowners, both the investment and the commitment are no longer worth it. Instead of daydreaming of swimming laps, they’re picturing ways to cool off with their friends in the backyard, drinks in hand. Enter: the cocktail pool.
Why Cocktail Pools Are Taking Off
Courtesy of Latham Pools
The cocktail pool is another name for a plunge pool intended for lounging. Often measuring 8 to 12 feet wide and 10 to 20 feet long and only reaching roughly 3 to 5 feet deep, they take up far less space than a traditional swimming pool. Cocktail pools also have two key differences from your average plunge pool: First, they prioritize benches for folks to sit and relax on; second, they’re stylish, flaunting splashy mosaic patterns or sleek hardscaping.
The Practical Perks of Going Smaller
Compact pools are among the fastest-growing models in Latham Pools’ portfolio, explains Mike Fox, vice president of fiberglass product at Latham Pools. It’s a direct reflection of how homeowners are rethinking their backyards. “Their smaller footprint can create a more intimate setting for outdoor gatherings,” he says. “Built-in benches and seating give homeowners and their guests a comfortable place to relax, cool off, and spend time together in the water.”
Courtesy of Latham Pools
Another benefit? They can be easier to maintain. Since they’re a good deal smaller than full-size swimming pools, they require less water, use less energy, and need fewer chemicals. Their modest footprint makes them a fitting addition to smaller backyards in urban settings, allowing homeowners to still have room for a patio or outdoor dining space. But they work just as well in large yards, providing more flexibility to create a multifunctional outdoor living space, Fox adds.
Make a compact pool feel like part of your outdoor living area by coordinating its tile, hardscaping, lighting, and water features with the surrounding patio and landscaping.
Fox says he’s also heard plunge pools referred to as dipping pools. But cocktail pools are specifically designed for lounging and socializing rather than dipping or swimming. And aside from plenty of seating, they might have tanning ledges, LED lighting, water features, or spa jets. New Hampshire-based Soake Pools, for one, has begun selling cocktail pools with colorful checkerboard mosaic patterns.
“With the right design, a plunge pool can become a natural extension of the home’s outdoor entertaining space,” Fox says.
We’ll cheers to that with a glass of something refreshing—and from a stylishly submerged bench.
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