Pool In!

When it comes to the style quotient of city homes,it can make the nation proud. From flaunting luxe mini theatres,eco friendly technology,gyms,offbeat designs to now all-weather pools,they have it all. “The latest addition this summer are all-weather pools in homes,” tells Annu Bains,an interior designer who has got her hands full with orders to do up the “relaxing retreat” in glass mosaics,anti-skid tiles,motive surfaces and themes like mediterranean and ornamental. “All forming the royal central part of homes,none of the pools are basic,” Bains tells us,as she shows around one in the basement in Sector 8. Overlooking the lounge,here it is done in shades of gold and is accentuated with a landscape. Besides this being in an enclosed area,it greets you to take a dip anytime!

Elsewhere at Dr SPS Grewal’s residence in Sector 5,the swimming pool gets an update with two tuffen glass walls. “While it was earlier covered with cemented walls at two sides and was open from the other two,we thought it befitting to convert it into one that we can use throughout the year,” he shows us the plush place that’s punctuated with a slanting roof and is done up in shades of green,orange and deep turquoise. This one’s a vanishing edge pool and gives a feeling that the water feature is never-ending. “The effect was tough to achieve,but was worth the effort,” he smiles. Dr Rajan Chugh,Eye Surgeon and Laser Specialist,too agrees,“A swimming pool has to be aesthetically sound. For now it forms the centre of the house,” he shows us the under construction house and areas that will surround the water feature — a landscape,an area to read and another corner to just sit back and relax. “The idea is to inculcate healthy habits in children and let them relax,” Dr Chugh sees it as a bonding and a de-stressing zone for family. “Besides,it is the tops for a swimming aficionado like me,” he smiles,reeling the dynamics of a practical pool. “The pool is situated in a fashion so that it receives direct sunlight in winters but not in summers,” Dr Chugh tells us that the place also has sufficient reflectors so that electricity is not consumed to heat or cool the area.

The home,becoming a sanctuary for many people,providing a welcoming retreat from the outside world,at Babu Walia’s residence in Sector 9,Chandigarh,the pool on the ground floor stands apart in wood finish and fibre glass. About 15 by 30 foot in dimension,“this one’s close to the gym and sauna and overlooks my room,” Walia tells us.

As for Karan Kapoor,who’s just started building the pool in his Panchkula house,“From splashing around,playing Marco Polo,to doing swim laps I will do it all here,” he says that now what he’s looking for is ‘Counter Swim Pool’. “The swim jets in these when switched on,give you the effect of a treadmill so you swim against the current created by swim jets of water powered by a pump at one end of these pools,while you remain at the same point!,” Kapoor chirps. Fancy a dip?