Poolside Arcadia: A Family Leans into Togetherness with a New Pool House

By   |  Photos by Rikki Snyder  |     |  Design Feature

When Gabby Slome had her second child in late February of 2020, and her first child’s school went on a “brief” hiatus two weeks later, she and her husband retreated to her parents’ extended-family farm outside Elizaville. “We came up for what we thought would be a long weekend,” says Slome, who cofounded Your Cooper, a parenting, education and community platform. It was familiar terrain for Slome, who’d spent childhood summers in the property’s original farmhouse. “It was sort of a silver lining timing-wise because I knew my parents would be around to help.”

The former farm property also included the original barn, a recently built, larger house, plenty of surrounding acreage to roam, and a small lake the family affectionately refers to as “the pond.” With space to accommodate youngest to oldest, Slome’s siblings eventually followed suit. Ten days quickly became 10 months. With everyone hunkered down together, Slome made a realization: She’d stumbled into something really special. “My husband had more time with us than ever before; my dad was teaching the kids how to swim; and my mom was playing with them in a way I don’t always have patience for,” she explains. “It was all really nice.”

The pool house on a large property was designed to create spaces for multi-generational enjoyment. The house’s inception and design was a collaboration between family member Gabby Slome, architect Carol Kurth and interior designer Hilary Matt. Inside a hallway and staging area Matt incorporated rock climbing walls from Project Playroom (and safety mats) for active use throughout the seasons.

So Slome and her husband decided to dive in. “The more time we spent here, the more we continued to love it,” she says. “We wanted to invest in additional features to make the property more useful for everyone.” Their idea of how to successfully achieve their design goal came that lockdown summer, when they took a brief hiatus from their hiatus and visited the Hamptons for a week. “We stayed in a house with a variety of spaces that just flowed from the house to the pool,” says Slome. “The design was an inspiration. It was a way to spend time together but also prioritize harmony and comfort.”

They realized with the right design, a pool house could provide relaxed spaces for adults, hangout areas for cousins to deepen bonds, and ample overflow space for guests. To manifest their vision, the family turned to architect Carol Kurth, who had designed the “modernist, minimalist, barn-inspired” main house in 2017. Kurth quickly got onboard with the plans. “The main house was a vision the family had to create a country home where they all could gather,” Kurth explains. “They wanted to extend that vision to shelter in place, with the ability to have other family members shelter with them.” Directive in hand, Kurth set out to make the family’s multi-functioning, multi-generational pool house a reality.

Multiple beds to accommadte the whole extended family

Just Dive In

First things first: By definition, a pool house required a pool. Kurth set out to site the project so it was both accessible and aesthetically pleasing. “We wanted to preserve the panorama from the main house to the lake,” says Kurth. “But we also didn’t want the family walking a mile to get there.” They chose a spot adjacent to the foot of the lake, down slope from the main house. Kurth angled the 55-foot-by-25-foot pool so that one long edge would offer a water view, then designed submerged seating along the length. The opposite side accommodates a lap lane and the pool’s shallow end has an extended submerged sun shelf for safely splashing around.

The pool’s proximity to the lake required closely coordinating with the Department of Environmental Protection to minimize the project’s environmental impact on the nearby wetlands. The lakeside setting also influenced Kurth’s aesthetic choices. “We wanted the pool’s surface to mimic the color of the nearby lake,” says Kurth. “We didn’t want it to be a bright Florida blue.” Kurth chose a French gray shade of gunite for the pool’s inlay and, to further blur the aesthetic boundary between lake and pool, added a waterfall infinity edge along the deep end that visually flows into the setting (but actually flows to a catch basin below). “It gives a very natural, soft water effect,” says Kurth. “On some days the pool water and lake look exactly the same.”

The living room area.

Double Duty Design

The pool was finished in 2021 and the next year Kurth broke ground on the 2,560-square-foot pool house pavilion. The siting had been planned in coordination with the pool, and the design took its cue from the property’s main house. “The property’s peaked roof barn inspired the architecture of the main house which we wanted to carry over to the pool house,” says Kurth. “So we worked with the gable-and-wood truss effect to create a modern, barn-like structure, infused with a playful-yet-refined aesthetic.” Incorporating shade was vital, so Kurth extended one gable to create a covered patio poolside and added deep overhangs to keep the interiors cool during summer.

Kurth clad the structure in rustic horizontal Thermory beams which blend with the wooded surroundings but provide superior weather resistance. “The family wanted to use the house during the winter months as well,” says Kurth. “So we fully winterized the rooms.” Throughout the structure oversized windows and full-glass walls provide abundant, unimpeded views to the landscape and pull the outdoors inside. The structure’s outdoor spaces were just as carefully planned, with a cascade of stone steps leading from the main house to the pool pavilion, and natural wood and bluestone elements incorporated throughout the patio design.

The playful, multi-functional bathroom has both interior and exterior entrances and focuses on an all-ages aesthetic. A double-wide trough sink makes washing up easy and Matt incorporated open shelving to ensure pool towel accessibility. The wallpaper, from “Walls Need Love” adds a pop of color and whimsy to the design. “We wanted to create a functional bathroom for running in and out of the pool,” says Matt. “But we didn’t want the space to be taken too seriously, which made designing it so fun.”

True to its anti-hierarchical nature, Kurth incorporated a series of entrances leading to multi-use spaces that are designed for double duty. One side door leads to a mudroom with a long bench and concealed storage. “It can accommodate both pool supplies and suitcases,” says Kurth. “I also added a concealed laundry here for convenience.” Another door provides direct access from the pool to a full bathroom, which can be closed off alternatively from both the interior and exterior for swimmers or guests. “It’s a compartmentalized design that allows flexibility for multiple users,” says Kurth. A double-wide trough sink and a full bathtub add to the space’s flexibility. Throughout the house, additional sliding glass doors lead directly poolside or to the surrounding meadow.

Climbing the Walls

To further the interior’s summer camp aesthetic, Slome enlisted interior designer Hilary Matt. Matt, who’d worked with Slome on previous projects and understood the family dynamic, got the idea right away. “It’s a free-spirited weekend retreat,” she says. “The family’s main focus was to create fun gathering areas for the kids and family that remained sophisticated and appealing to adults.” That meant incorporating durable, kid-friendly surfaces that could easily be wiped down throughout the interior and exterior spaces (”I pictured wet kids sprawled all over the spaces,” notes Matt) but keeping the color palette soothing for the grownups and infusing a warm, welcoming vibe throughout the complex.

With floor-to-ceiling windows and an 18-foot vaulted ceiling the dining area feels immersed in the lakeside surroundings. Both Matt and Kurth maximized the setting throughout the design details, both small and large. “The linear architecture of the pool, landscape, and pool house leaves off where the nuanced soft interiors begin,” says Kurth. “Keeping with a minimal color palette of gray and cream creates visual harmony, drawing your eyes outdoors to the changing surroundings.”

Matt also wanted to maximize the structure’s indoor-outdoor flow, pulling as much of the surroundings inside as possible. “The property is such an important part of the design,” says Matt. “We didn’t want to take away from the expansive views so we kept the interiors minimal.” Kurth centered the pavilion around the open-concept family room 18-foot-high vaulted ceilings. At one end, a dining area with an eight-seat table offers direct views of the lake through walls of windows. Matt hung pendant lights encased in basket weaving to add charm. At the rooms opposite end, ample sofas and seating are perfect for family movie nights. A mini kitchen is set in-between, along the wall.

Matt outfitted the four bedrooms for a variety of sleeping arrangements. In the primary suite, soft fabrics and softer tones complement the view through sliding glass doors. A tiled walk-in shower and minimalist fixtures provide stark contrast to the structure’s lively shared bathroom, which Matt finished with blue jewel tiling and wallpaper festooned with a swimming motif. Two additional bedrooms match the suite’s serene styling.

Right: three of the pool house bedrooms emphasize serenity and maximize the lakeside setting. (The fourth serves as an oversized bunk room for kids.) In one room Matt paired a hanging Articolo hanging pendant with a natural wood side table by Leann Ford. The CB2 bed features Cravat Lee Jofa pillows and RH Italian linens.

Kurth designed a large bunk room for the younger set with two sets of double bunks accommodating maximum kid overflow. Matt added monkey bars along the wall and ceiling for light roughhousing and tucked a reading nook in the far corner. Matt also incorporated climbing walls into the design of the adjacent staging area. “Both the monkey bars and climbing wall are unexpected and fun, something a pool house can pull off that a regular house might not,” says Matt. “Also I know from experience how much use they both get with kids around.”

Slome is happy with the results and continues to add to the property’s flex spaces. Next is an outdoor kitchen project for everyone to use. “We love how the property has grown and evolved with the family,” she says. “I hope my kids eventually bring their kids too.”

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