Are you not sure what to do with a pool house if you don’t have a pool?  If you have a pool… are you still not sure if you’ll get enough use out of it?  Well, I’m here to tell you a pool house does NOT need a pool to be fabulous, and it can be used for plenty of activities!

1. Party Central- If you want the best backyard for get-togethers, parties, and barbeques… a pool house will definitely send you to the top of the list.  Pool houses include a concession window and bar that’s great for putting out drinks, snacks, pizzas, and goodies!  Plus, you can install a mini-fridge or microwave behind the window for quick prep and easy serving.  Imagine not having to constantly run between the kitchen and your party to get all the necessary supplies! Your guests will have a convenient and stylish place to grab some refreshments and you’ll be free to enjoy their company.  You can even design your pool house with an attached screened in porch and decorate it with a deep seating patio group, Adirondack chairs, and a porch swing.  That way everyone can come in and enjoy the evening bug-free once the sun goes down.
2. A Guest House- Neither you nor your house guests enjoy   the sofa-bed.  They feel like they’re intruding as they take up one of the family’s most used rooms; there’s no sense of relaxation with the constant and nagging feeling that they’re not only intruding, but lack a sense of privacy as well.  You hate quietly stumbling over the coffee maker or tip toeing around the room in fear that your morning commotion will wake your house guests.  The solution? A pool house.  Imagine having your own separate guest house with a screened in porch, windows, insulation, and electricity for your guests to retire to.  They’ll feel at ease knowing they’re not in your way, but won’t have to pay big for a hotel room that leaves them removed from your home.  And you won’t have to stay up wondering if your hundred pound dog is going to decide to jump up and lovingly (though they might consider it annoyingly) cuddle with them.  Your guests won’t feel like they “made it work” in your living room, they’ll feel like they escaped to a peaceful retreat!
3. Dressing Room- If you do have a pool, a pool house is incredibly helpful with the logistics that go into having such a great backyard watering hole.  Gone will be the days of dripping bathing suits hung from towel racks in your bathroom to allow puddles of water to sit on the tile.  No longer will your carpets suffer from little wet and dripping bodies scurrying through the house.  The days of wet towels starting to stink of mildew as they are buried at the bottom of the family hamper are over.  With a pool house, you can make sure all of the post-pool clean up happens before anyone leaves a watermark in your home.  Try setting up a pool shower with a privacy screen just outside the structure for people to rinse off and maybe even wash the chlorine from their hair.  Then, you can set up plenty of drying racks or clothes lines for wet towels and bathing on your porch.  Inside, throw in a Red Cedar Towel Valet and Hamper to keep clean dry towels in and a Modular Red Cedar Shelving Group for clean undergarments, shorts, and tee shirts.   Now, your family can go for a nice long swim, then shower, dry off, hang wet garments to dry, and put on clean, dry clothes before coming back into your home.  Sounds great, huh?
4. Good, Old Fashioned, Storage- If you have all kinds of outdoor furniture and décor, or even a heap of gardening and landscaping tools and equipment, you’ll need storage.  Most patio furniture needs to be stored throughout the winter to prevent damage, and garden equipment needs a safe and dry place to wait for you to use them!  A storage shed is great, but if you’re looking for a structure with a bit more aesthetic appeal, a pool house is a fantastic place to store out-of-season furniture or tools.  Plus, the optional attached porch will create a wonderful sitting area to enjoy as a bonus to your organized storage!  The other upside to using a pool house for a storeroom is versatility.  A shed can really only be used for one thing, but investing in a pool house now will free you up to use the structure as a guest house in a few years or to use as a party-station if an engagement or birthday calls for a big celebration.
5. A Fifth Room- A fifth room can literally be anything you want it to be.  An extension of your living space brought out into nature, you can create a home office, a personal hot tub spa, a meditation and exercise area, or an outdoor dining room.  A pool house will allow you to create another valued area of your home, with the solitude and convenience of being detached from the rest of the house.  There’s no reason your fifth room can’t be used for all of the above; a place to host parties, a spot for guests to stay, a private dressing area, a storeroom, plus a few more options!  Though a pool house may seem dependent on having a pool, it’s actually an incredibly versatile structure!