Consider these common shapes when building a swimming pool in the Twin Cities.
Choosing the perfect pool shape represents one of the most exciting and personal decisions in your backyard transformation journey. At Plan Pools, we've designed and installed hundreds of custom pools across the Twin Cities, and we've learned that the right shape balances aesthetic appeal, functional requirements, yard constraints, and long-term enjoyment. Let's explore the most popular pool shapes, their advantages and considerations, and how to select the design that will serve your Minnesota family for decades.
Your pool's shape influences far more than just appearance. The geometry you select affects swimming experience and water circulation, construction costs and complexity, maintenance requirements, integration with landscaping and hardscape, resale value and broad appeal, and available space for features like steps, benches, and tanning ledges.
Minnesota's relatively short swimming season makes maximizing pool enjoyment critical. The right shape creates spaces for different activities—lap swimming, children's play areas, adult conversation zones, and diving or jumping areas—ensuring your pool serves every family member's needs.
At Plan Pools, our ICF concrete construction provides complete design freedom. Unlike steel wall pools that rely on pre-manufactured kits with limited shape options, our insulated concrete form system allows us to create any shape you can imagine. This customization capability means your pool perfectly fits your yard, matches your home's architecture, and accommodates your family's specific desires.
Rectangular pools represent the most traditional and widely recognized pool shape, offering compelling advantages that explain their enduring popularity.
Design Characteristics
Classic rectangles feature clean, straight lines on all four sides, typically measuring 14-20 feet wide by 28-40 feet long for residential applications. The simple geometry creates a formal, elegant appearance that complements traditional, contemporary, and modern architectural styles.
Functional Advantages
Rectangular pools excel for serious swimming and exercise. The uninterrupted length allows proper lap swimming without constant turning, making rectangles ideal for fitness-focused families. Competitive swimmers and triathletes training in Minnesota's short outdoor season particularly appreciate rectangular designs.
The straight sides also maximize usable swimming space within your available yard area. Every square foot of pool surface area provides functional swimming volume, unlike curved designs where some areas may be less usable.
Construction and Cost Considerations
Rectangular pools generally represent the most cost-effective shape for a given surface area. The straight walls simplify formwork, excavation, and construction, potentially reducing installation costs by 10-15% compared to complex curved designs.
For Minnesota installations, rectangles facilitate efficient water circulation and heating. The straightforward geometry allows optimal placement of return jets and skimmers, creating circulation patterns that evenly distribute heated water and chemicals.
Pool Cover Integration
Rectangular pools work perfectly with automatic safety covers—a critical consideration for Minnesota pool owners. At Plan Pools, we include premium automatic safety covers as standard equipment, and rectangles allow the simplest, most reliable cover operation.
The straight edges mean cover tracks mount cleanly along the pool sides with no special accommodations needed. The cover deploys and retracts smoothly without binding or bunching that can occur with irregular shapes.
When Rectangles Make Perfect Sense
Consider rectangular pools when prioritizing lap swimming and fitness activities, working with limited yard space requiring maximum efficiency, seeking the most cost-effective construction for a given size, wanting seamless automatic cover operation, preferring clean, formal aesthetic, or matching traditional or contemporary architecture.
Customizing Rectangle Pools
Even within the rectangular category, customization options abound. Vary the length-to-width ratio (from nearly square to elongated lap pools), add corner radius treatment for softer appearance, incorporate step configurations (corner steps, full-width steps, swim-outs), integrate tanning ledges or benches along sides, and vary depth configurations from single-depth to graduated or diving depths.
At Plan Pools, we work with clients to optimize rectangular designs for their specific needs. A family focusing on children's play might prefer a shorter, wider rectangle with large shallow area and gradual depth transition. Serious swimmers might choose a longer, narrower configuration with consistent depth ideal for lap swimming.
Geometric pools incorporate angles, straight lines, and defined shapes beyond simple rectangles. Popular geometric variations include L-shapes, T-shapes, lazy L configurations, and grecian (rectangular with curved corners).
Design Characteristics
Geometric shapes create visual interest while maintaining clean, contemporary lines. An L-shaped pool might feature a long swimming corridor with perpendicular spa or shallow play area. T-shapes often incorporate a lap swimming section with cross-wise shallow area perfect for gathering.
These configurations allow functional separation of pool zones. The deeper swimming section can be physically separated from shallow areas, allowing simultaneous activities that don't interfere with each other.
Functional Advantages for Minnesota Families
Geometric shapes excel at accommodating multiple activities simultaneously. Parents supervising children in a shallow L-section can easily watch while teens use the deeper swimming area. This separation becomes particularly valuable when hosting gatherings where different age groups desire different pool experiences.
The defined angles also create natural spaces for built-in features. Corner areas accommodate steps, benches, or tanning ledges without impacting the primary swimming area.
Yard Integration
Geometric pools often fit challenging yard layouts more effectively than pure rectangles. An L-shape might wrap around existing landscaping features, accommodate utility easements, or work with irregular property lines. For Twin Cities homes with mature trees or established gardens you want to preserve, geometric configurations provide flexibility.
Construction Considerations
Geometric pools with all straight edges remain relatively cost-effective to build, typically adding 5-10% to construction costs compared to simple rectangles. The additional formwork and rebar placement requires more labor but doesn't dramatically impact overall project cost.
More complex geometries with multiple angles may increase cost by 10-20%, but the functional advantages and unique appearance often justify the premium.
When Geometric Shapes Make Sense
Consider geometric configurations when accommodating challenging yard layouts or existing features, seeking defined spaces for different activities, hosting gatherings with multiple age groups, wanting contemporary aesthetic with visual interest, or needing flexibility to work around easements or setback requirements.
Kidney-shaped and free-form pools embrace curves and organic shapes that create naturalistic, relaxed aesthetics perfect for resort-style backyards.
Design Characteristics
Kidney pools feature the characteristic curved indentation on one side, creating the distinctive kidney bean shape that dominated pool design from the 1950s through 1980s. While sometimes considered dated, modern interpretations with contemporary sizing and features remain popular.
Free-form pools abandon geometric constraints entirely, incorporating gentle curves, beach entries, rock formations, and irregular perimeters that mimic natural swimming holes or resort lagoons.
Aesthetic Appeal
Curved pools create softer, more inviting appearances than angular designs. The flowing lines blend naturally with landscaping, complementing gardens, naturalistic hardscaping, and organic outdoor living spaces.
For Minnesota homeowners creating comprehensive backyard retreats incorporating pools, patios, gardens, and outdoor kitchens, free-form pools integrate seamlessly into the overall landscape design. Working with premier landscape professionals like Minnesota Landscapes and Country Creek Builders, we create cohesive outdoor environments where pool, hardscape, and plantings flow together naturally.
Functional Considerations
Curved pools sacrifice some swimming efficiency compared to rectangles. The irregular shape means less straightforward lap swimming, though recreational swimming remains excellent. For Minnesota families prioritizing play, relaxation, and entertainment over exercise, this trade-off is acceptable.
The curved design does create varied depths and spaces naturally. Shallow areas for children, deeper sections for adults, and graduated slopes feel organic rather than engineered.
Construction Complexity and Cost
Free-form pools represent the most labor-intensive shape category to construct. The curved walls require extensive forming, careful excavation to match design curves, and more complex rebar placement. Expect free-form pools to cost 15-25% more than comparable rectangular designs.
However, Plan Pools' ICF construction method accommodates curves more easily than traditional methods. Our insulated concrete forms flex to create smooth curves without the extensive custom forming that conventional concrete construction requires. This flexibility allows us to deliver stunning free-form designs at more accessible price points than competitors using traditional methods.
Pool Cover Challenges
Free-form and kidney pools present challenges for automatic safety cover installation. The curved edges require custom cover fabrication, specialized track systems that follow curves, and more complex mechanical systems to manage cover deployment.
While certainly possible, automatic covers for curved pools add $2,000-5,000 to installation costs compared to rectangular applications. Some Minnesota pool owners with free-form pools opt for manual covers or mesh safety covers instead, accepting the trade-off for their preferred aesthetic.
When Curved Pools Make Sense
Consider kidney or free-form designs when creating resort-style backyard retreats, integrating pools into naturalistic landscaping, prioritizing aesthetics over lap swimming functionality, working with landscape designers on comprehensive outdoor living spaces, wanting unique, custom appearance, or accommodating irregular yard shapes with organic curves.
Roman and Grecian pools incorporate classical design elements including rounded ends, columned corners, and symmetrical proportions inspired by ancient Mediterranean architecture.
Design Characteristics
Roman pools feature rounded ends (full semicircles) with straight sides, creating a distinctive racetrack-like appearance. Grecian pools are essentially rectangles with cut corners or rounded corner sections, softening the pure rectangular form while maintaining predominantly straight sides.
Aesthetic Appeal
These classical shapes evoke Mediterranean elegance and timeless style. They work beautifully with traditional, Mediterranean, Italian, and classical architectural styles common in upscale Twin Cities neighborhoods like Wayzata, Orono, and Medina.
The symmetry and proportions of classical pools create formal, balanced appearances that complement structured landscapes with formal plantings, statuary, and architectural hardscaping.
Functional Balance
Classical shapes balance swimming functionality with aesthetic appeal. The predominantly straight sides allow reasonable lap swimming, while the rounded or angled sections add visual interest and create natural spaces for steps or benches.
For Minnesota families wanting pools that serve both exercise and entertainment purposes while maintaining elegant appearance, classical shapes offer compelling compromise.
Construction and Cost
Roman and Grecian pools typically cost 10-15% more than pure rectangles due to the curved sections or angled corners requiring additional forming. However, they remain more cost-effective than fully free-form designs while delivering distinctive appearance.
Pool Cover Compatibility
Grecian pools with angled but straight corners work well with standard automatic covers, requiring only minor customization at the corners. Roman pools with fully rounded ends require more specialized cover systems similar to free-form applications.
When Classical Shapes Make Sense
Consider Roman or Grecian pools when matching Mediterranean or classical architecture, creating formal, symmetrical landscapes, wanting distinctive appearance without full free-form complexity, balancing swimming functionality with aesthetic appeal, or seeking elegant design with historical architectural references.
Beach entry pools incorporate gradually sloping entries that mimic natural beaches, allowing walk-in access without steps or ladders.
Design Characteristics
Beach entries feature gentle slopes (typically 1:12 to 1:7 ratios) that extend 6-12 feet into the pool before reaching standard swimming depth. The sloped entry can span the pool's full width or occupy a section along one side.
Functional Advantages for Minnesota Families
Beach entries excel for families with young children, elderly family members, or anyone with mobility challenges. The gradual entry eliminates barriers and provides safe, comfortable pool access for users of all ages and abilities.
Young children can play in shallow water just inches deep, gradually gaining confidence before venturing into deeper areas. Parents appreciate the visibility and accessibility, allowing easy supervision and interaction.
For Minnesota families hosting multi-generational gatherings, beach entries ensure grandparents can comfortably enjoy the pool alongside grandchildren, creating inclusive family experiences.
Integration with Tanning Ledges
Beach entries naturally incorporate tanning ledges—shallow areas (6-12 inches deep) perfect for lounge chairs. Minnesota pool owners appreciate these sun-shelf areas for warming up between swims during cooler spring and fall weather when Plan Pools' ICF insulation extends the swimming season.
Construction Considerations
Beach entries add complexity and cost to pool construction. The gradual slope requires additional excavation, more extensive forming and rebar placement, and greater surface area. Expect beach entry features to add $8,000-$15,000 to project costs depending on size and complexity.
The additional surface area also means higher heating costs, though Plan Pools' 60% heating cost reduction through ICF insulation mitigates this concern significantly.
Design Integration
Beach entries work well with free-form, kidney, and lagoon-style pools where natural aesthetics complement the beach concept. They fit less naturally with formal rectangular or geometric designs, though creative design can integrate them successfully.
Working with local landscapers like Minnesota Landscapes, we create beach entries that flow naturally into surrounding decking and landscaping, using materials like decorative pebbles, boulder accents, and plantings to enhance the natural appearance.
When Beach Entries Make Sense
Consider beach entry designs when accommodating young children or elderly family members, prioritizing accessibility for all abilities, creating resort-style, naturalistic aesthetics, wanting tanning ledge and shallow play areas, hosting large gatherings with diverse age groups, or building luxury pools where budget accommodates premium features.
Lap pools represent specialized rectangular designs optimized for swimming exercise in constrained spaces.
Design Characteristics
True lap pools are typically 8-12 feet wide and 40-50+ feet long, creating narrow corridors perfect for lap swimming. The reduced width saves space and construction cost while maintaining adequate length for effective workouts.
When Lap Pools Make Sense
Lap pools excel for properties with limited width but adequate length, serious swimmers prioritizing exercise over recreation, urban or suburban lots where yard space is precious, households without young children needing play areas, and minimalist aesthetic preferences.
For Minnesota triathletes, competitive swimmers, or fitness enthusiasts wanting home training facilities, lap pools deliver maximum swimming value in minimum space.
Construction Efficiency
The narrow width makes lap pools among the most cost-effective pool types per linear foot of swimming length. For a given construction budget, you can achieve greater swimming distance with a lap pool than any other configuration.
Limitations
Lap pools sacrifice versatility. The narrow width limits recreational swimming, children's play, and social gathering compared to wider designs. They serve specific purposes excellently but don't accommodate diverse activities well.
For Minnesota families wanting pools primarily for fitness during our short season, this focus is acceptable. For families seeking comprehensive recreational amenities, wider designs prove more satisfying.
At Plan Pools, our ICF construction excels at creating completely custom pool shapes that don't fit standard categories. We can combine elements from multiple shape categories, incorporate unique architectural features, accommodate challenging site constraints, and integrate with existing landscape elements.
The Design Process
Our design-build approach means you'll see 3D representations of exactly what your pool will look like before construction begins. We collaborate with you and, when appropriate, with professionals like Country Creek Builders and Minnesota Landscapes to create comprehensive designs that optimize your entire outdoor space.
The process typically includes site analysis and constraint identification, family needs assessment, preliminary shape options, 3D visualization development, refinement based on feedback, and final design with complete specifications and pricing.
This collaborative process ensures your pool shape perfectly serves your family's needs while working within site constraints and budget parameters.
Steel Wall Limitations vs. ICF Freedom
Steel wall pools rely on pre-manufactured kits, severely limiting shape options. Manufacturers offer standard rectangles, ovals, and a few basic geometric configurations. Custom shapes are either impossible or prohibitively expensive.
This constraint forces families to compromise, selecting from available options rather than designing pools that perfectly fit their needs and yards.
Plan Pools' ICF construction eliminates these limitations entirely. Our insulated concrete forms adapt to any shape you can imagine. Want a pool that curves around existing trees? Done. Need an irregular perimeter that follows property lines? No problem. Desire a completely unique shape that expresses your personal style? We'll make it happen.
This design freedom represents one of the most significant advantages of choosing Plan Pools over conventional steel wall contractors. You're not settling for available options—you're creating exactly what you envision.
Choosing your ideal pool shape requires balancing multiple factors specific to your situation.
Yard Size and Configuration
Measure available space accurately, accounting for required setbacks from property lines (typically 5-10 feet), easements and underground utilities, existing features you want to preserve (trees, gardens, structures), and desired deck and patio areas around the pool.
For oddly shaped yards, irregular property lines, or properties with significant slope, custom shapes often maximize usable pool area while respecting constraints.
Family Activities and Priorities
Consider how your family will use the pool. Serious swimmers benefit from rectangular or lap pool configurations. Families with young children want ample shallow areas and gradual depth transitions. Social entertainers appreciate designs with defined gathering spaces. Multi-generational families may prioritize accessibility features like beach entries.
At Plan Pools, we ask detailed questions about your planned pool use during the design phase. Understanding whether you'll host frequent pool parties, focus on fitness, supervise young swimmers, or create peaceful retreats helps us recommend shapes that maximize your satisfaction.
Aesthetic Integration
Your pool should complement your home's architecture and existing landscape. Traditional homes often pair well with classic rectangles or Grecian shapes. Contemporary architecture suits geometric or clean-lined rectangular designs. Naturalistic landscapes integrate beautifully with free-form organic shapes. Mediterranean or classical styles complement Roman or Grecian configurations.
Budget Considerations
Construction budgets influence shape selection. Within Plan Pools' typical $90,000-$125,000 range for complete pool installations, simpler shapes maximize size while complex curves or extensive custom features may require larger investment.
However, don't let shape alone drive your decision. The lifetime value of getting exactly the right pool for your family far exceeds any modest premium for achieving your ideal design.
Minnesota-Specific Factors
Our climate creates unique considerations that influence shape selection:
Heating Efficiency: Our short season makes heating costs significant. Plan Pools' ICF construction reduces heating costs by 60% regardless of shape, but larger surface areas still heat more slowly than compact designs. If you're extending your season from April through October, consider how shape affects heating requirements.
Snow Load and Cover Systems: Minnesota's heavy snow loads affect automatic cover selection. Rectangles and simple geometrics work best with covers. Complex curves require more expensive specialized systems.
Ice Formation Patterns: While properly winterized pools handle Minnesota winters regardless of shape, rectangles and geometric pools with straight sides manage ice formation most predictably. Free-form pools can develop ice pressure patterns that vary based on curve locations.
Wind Protection: Minnesota's spring and fall winds can dramatically cool pool water. Strategic pool positioning and shape selection can work with landscaping to provide wind protection. Long, narrow pools oriented to minimize wind exposure retain heat better than wide configurations with maximum surface exposure.
At Plan Pools, we've perfected a design-build process specifically for Minnesota pool construction. Our approach ensures you get exactly the right shape for your yard, family, and long-term enjoyment.
Comprehensive Site Analysis
We begin with thorough evaluation of your property including topography and drainage patterns, soil conditions and composition, existing utilities and easements, mature landscaping to preserve, sun exposure and wind patterns, and views and privacy considerations.
This analysis identifies opportunities and constraints that influence shape selection. Perhaps a slight curve would preserve a mature oak. Maybe an L-shape configuration would maximize southern sun exposure while respecting setback requirements.
3D Visualization Technology
Our design team creates detailed 3D renderings showing exactly how your pool will look in your yard. These visualizations include pool shape and size, surrounding deck and patio areas, integration with landscaping, perspective views from house and yard, and material and finish representations.
This visualization eliminates uncertainty. You'll see your pool before construction begins, allowing refinements and adjustments until the design is perfect.
Integration with Landscape Partners
For comprehensive outdoor transformations, we collaborate with Minnesota's premier landscape professionals. Minnesota Landscapes and Country Creek Builders bring expertise in creating cohesive outdoor environments where pool, hardscape, and plantings work together beautifully.
Davis Contracting and Fredrickson Masonry provide specialized expertise for complex hardscape elements like retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, and custom stonework that complement your pool.
Material and Finish Selection
Your pool's shape is just the beginning. We'll guide you through selections including vinyl liner patterns and colors, pool deck materials and finishes, coping options, tile accents, and integrated features (steps, benches, tanning ledges).
For pool deck materials, Cascade Concrete Coatings offers specialized finishing options that enhance durability and aesthetics.
The Plan Pools Advantage: ICF Construction for Any Shape
Regardless of the shape you select, Plan Pools delivers unmatched construction quality through our Insulated Concrete Form system:
Complete Customization: Create any shape without kit limitationsSuperior Insulation: 60% lower heating costs extend your Minnesota swimming seasonStructural Integrity: Rebar-reinforced concrete stronger than house foundationsLifetime Warranty: Confidence that your pool structure will outlast your homeProper Compaction: Superior backfill means your deck won't shift and crackNo Rust Concerns: Compatible with premium salt water systems without corrosion risk
This construction method costs slightly more initially than steel wall alternatives but delivers dramatically better value through lower operating costs, extended lifespan, better performance, and enhanced property value.
As you consider pool shapes, remember that this decision affects your family's enjoyment for decades. The right shape creates the perfect environment for your children's summer memories, your exercise routine, your social gatherings, and your personal retreat space.
At Plan Pools, we've guided hundreds of Minnesota families through this decision. We understand the unique considerations our climate creates, the site challenges Twin Cities properties present, and the construction techniques that ensure your pool performs beautifully year after year.
Ready to start designing your perfect Minnesota pool? Contact Plan Pools at 952-994-6032 or visit planpools.com for a consultation. We'll help you explore shape options, create 3D visualizations, and develop the ideal design for your backyard oasis.
For financial planning around your pool investment, Performance Financial, Preferred 1 MN, and CBC Twin Cities provide expert guidance. For accounting and tax considerations, Asnani CPA serves Minnesota families making significant property improvements.
Your perfect pool shape is waiting to be discovered. Let Plan Pools' expertise, ICF construction advantages, and design-build process create the backyard transformation you've been dreaming about.
