Your outdoor living space is the prime location for your family to spend time together or for you to entertain guests. Adding a luxury swimming pool can elevate your backyard to a whole new level. Whether it’s enjoyed by your loved ones or the focal point of your best outdoor parties, an in-ground pool is a long-term investment that can entice your family to spend more time outdoors and provide endless hours of fun and exercise.
While you might be wondering about the cost of luxury pools, they’re a great investment. As a popular home addition, they can add value to your property. While some statistics show that an in-ground pool can increase the worth of your home by an estimated 7%, the impact can be far more substantial in the right environment. For example, a luxury pool next to a sunny Los Angeles home can increase the property value by about $95,000.
Yet, a luxury pool does more than add monetary value to your property. It helps you create an outdoor oasis that can be designed especially for your lifestyle and serve your family for many years. The features you add to a luxury pool can make it the perfect environment for boisterous play during the day and a sophisticated party in the evening. It can act as a focal point for your outdoor living space and a way to gain tranquility from the soothing sights and sounds naturally derived from water.
What Factors Influence the Cost of Luxury Pools?
While you may already have your heart set on adding a luxury pool to your property, building an outdoor experience is not an endeavor you can just dive into without careful consideration. You have a lot of decisions to make, especially if you are looking at luxury pools that have all the bells and whistles.
Beyond your available space, you have to think about the type of pool, the design, and the extras that will make it a showpiece—something unique that fits your aesthetic and your way of life. The great news is that there are so many options for luxury pools these days that the sky’s the limit when it comes to making your ideas a reality.
Of course, the cost of luxury pools is an important consideration for most homeowners. You might dream of a backyard oasis that would make a Hollywood celebrity (or at least your neighbors) jealous, but your budget has the final say on which features and extras you add to your pool. The sky may be the limit with your imagination, but your budget likely has a ceiling, so you need to balance your vision with the reality of what you can afford.
Luxury pool builders consider many factors to determine the cost of luxury pools. From the type of pool you choose to the add-ons you can’t live without, your custom price will come down to exactly what you expect from your luxury pool.
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The most basic elements that affect the cost of luxury pools are the pool size, type, and design. Extra features that make your pool the ideal addition to your lifestyle will also affect the cost. We’ve put together this guide to advise homeowners about how to make the most of their luxury pool budget and get exactly what they expect from their new dream outdoor oasis.
Types of Inground Swimming Pools
You may not realize that there are many types of pools you can have built in your backyard. Different types of materials yield distinct results. They also affect the cost of your pool. If you’re planning to have an inground pool, there are three basic types based on the materials used.
1. Concrete/Gunite
One of the most common types of pools uses steel-reinforced concrete and plaster to create a shell. The Concrete is durable and porous while the plaster-coated shell allows it to hold water. While this option is likely to have the highest up-front cost, it’s known for longevity and durability. Concrete pools are maintenance-friendly and can be replastered if needed.
2. Fiberglass
Fiberglass pools come as a pre-formed shell that is lowered into the excavated hole. It’s known as a ready-made option. Most manufacturers offer several different models and sizes. Because these types of pools are ready-made in a factory, there isn’t as much room to build a custom design. A fiberglass pool can help you save some money compared to the cost of the gunite/concrete option, but it doesn’t have the same lifespan or options for customization.
3. Vinyl
This type of pool combines vinyl with a metal or plastic frame. It can be set above ground or in-ground. The supporting walls are made of plastic, steel, or aluminum. The vinyl liner then forms the shell around the walls. Vinyl is the least expensive option for an inground pool. However, vinyl deteriorates over time, and liner replacement is costly.
Types of Luxury Pool Designs
There are many different options when it comes to luxury swimming pools. Many of these designs allow for infinite customization that allows your pool to fit into your unique lifestyle. These popular luxury pool designs are an example of how creative you can get when you work with a qualified luxury pool builder.
Infinity Pool
Infinity pools are one of the hottest trends in pool design. These luxury pools are custom-built to offer an unobstructed view of your surroundings. The “disappearing” or “zero” edge gives the illusion of dropping over the edge of the property. As a result, it creates a seamless transition into the surrounding scenery to provide the natural appearance of a larger body of water.
Architectural Pool
This pool is designed to match the architectural style of your home. These pools are often created when the home is being built, but the process can be done later with additional landscaping and hardscapes. Your custom pool builder will likely create a pool size and shape to match your outdoor space and home features. Landscaping features can be added and most architectural pools include surrounding decks or patio areas.
Recreational Pool
A variation of the architectural pool, this design can include fun features such as water slides, shade cover, tunnels, or caves. If you have young children, this style can give you lots of fun and unique options.
Freeform Pool
This type of pool has an irregular or naturalistic shape. They often have curves or flowing lines that can follow the natural shape of your property. A big benefit of a freeform pool is the ability to customize landscaping features to fit the freeform shape of the pool.
Cocktail Pool
A cocktail pool comes in a smaller size and offers a sophisticated and luxurious feel. These smaller-sized pools usually cover around 400 square feet and are only three to four feet deep. They’re a good choice for homes with limited outdoor space. A cocktail pool can also help you stretch your budget to add elegant design details like water features, custom lighting, and sun ledges.
Enhancing Your Luxury Pool with Added Features
Your pool is just the beginning of how this water feature will enhance your outdoor living space. While any pool is refreshing on a hot summer day, a luxury pool is an experience that can create an entire environment. The features you choose to increase your pool’s appeal can create a mood, add to the fun, or make you feel like you’re spending each day at a luxurious resort. Imagine how these exciting features can transform pool space to create a backyard oasis.
Pool Waterfall
Waterfalls around or in your pool add to the pool experience with the soothing sights and sounds of cascading water. Waterfalls can feature natural elements like rocks that surround a section of your pool and blend seamlessly into your landscape or dramatic descents that range from a few inches to several feet.
Pool Renovation
If you already have a pool, renovations can help you upgrade it to gain a more luxurious appearance and feel. When you work with a luxury pool builder, you can add luxury details like fire pits, custom decking, fire bowls, water features, and lighting to your pool space. Just because your pool wasn’t designed as a luxury feature doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy all the amenities of a luxury pool.
Pool Fire Bowl
Fire and water within the same space create a magical combination that transforms any space into a luxury environment. Pool fire bowls are shallow vessels built into the structure of your swimming pool to provide decorative appeal and unique lighting. They’re available in a variety of different shapes and finishes to compliment the unique appearance of your custom luxury pool.
Sunken Fire Pit/Pool Fire Pit
A sunken fire pit takes the powerful combination of fire and water to a dramatic new level. Imagine an evening spent outdoors by your luxury pool with a sunken fire pit at the edge, or even in the middle of your swimming pool. A sunken fire pit sits below ground level where guests can gather around a cozy fire. It usually features steps leading into the seating area and surrounding walls of various heights. The feature can be placed in a swimming pool for a striking appearance and tranquil seating space.
What Do Luxury Swimming Pool Builders Charge?
Ultimately, the cost of your luxury pool will be derived from the price of labor and materials for the various custom features you choose. While you know the payoff will be amazing, putting in a luxury pool can be very costly.
The base cost of an inground pool can range from $30,000 to over $100,000, depending on the materials, shape, and size of the pool. This is why it’s essential to know your budget and plan accordingly. Your total cost will depend on many things, including the size, depth, materials, pool type, and add-ons like rock features, a heated spa, or a waterfall.
On the cheaper end, homeowners in certain markets might be looking at around $60,000 for the installation of a 400-square-foot gunite inground pool. However, most often, base pools cost around $85,000.
Once you’ve planned for the cost of the luxury pool itself, it’s time to consider all of the fabulous amenities that will make it a showpiece and the focus of your outdoor living space. Features like custom decking, heaters, a hot tub, water and fire features, fencing, landscaping, and lighting will add to the base cost of your pool.
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An above-ground pool is much less costly, running from $8 to $16 per square foot or $1,800 to $5,000. However, you don’t often have as much freedom to create a custom swimming pool luxury design.
This list of starting prices for common pool projects can help you get a ballpark idea of the base cost of your in-ground pool.
- Concrete/gunite: Starting at $60,000
- Fiberglass: $21,528 – $77,740
- Vinyl liner: $29, 900 – $53,820
- Lap pool: $23,920 – $83,720
- Lagoon style: $59,800 – $119,600
- Plunge: $17,342 – $29,302
- Indoor: $13,1560 -$26,3120
- Hot tub or spa: $9,568 – $29,900
- Saltwater pool conversion: $718 – $2,631.20
How to Finally Get A Dream Luxury Pool that Fits Your Budget
If you have a specific vision of what you want your backyard to look like, luxury swimming pool builders are the way to go. California Pools can custom build a luxury pool with high-end materials and feature options to your specifications that will ensure your oasis is everything you’ve dreamed of.
Our expertise helps you get more for your money with a carefully timed installation process that ensures each piece is installed in a timely fashion with no expensive rework or unexpected changes. Find your closest location today and start designing the pool of your dreams to make those fun summer memories in!
