How to plan a pool cabana: Design, layout and features

Planning a pool cabana is about so much more than just choosing a design. Before you get started, there are a few important decisions to make. These include where it will sit, how you’ll use it, what needs to go inside, and if and how you’ll connect services. The earlier you work through these details, the easier it is to create a cabana that fits your backyard, works for the way you live, and is ready when you need it.

With spring around the corner, now is the perfect time to start planning your pool cabana so that it’s ready in time for the warmer weather.

This guide walks you through the key decisions you’ll need to make when planning a pool cabana, from the features to include and where it sits, to layout, services, insulation and the finishing touches.

In this article:

What should you consider when planning a pool cabana?

Start with how you want to use the cabana.

A space designed mainly for shade and changing will need very different features from one intended for entertaining, storage or long summer days spent relaxing by the pool. And for some families, the cabana may need to double as extra living space – as a home office, guest accommodation, or somewhere to escape to when the house gets busy.

So, before thinking about size, layout or finishes, decide what you want your cabana to do.

Once that’s clear, the rest of the design will fall into place. Where you position it, its layout, which features you include and what services you’ll need should all be guided by how you plan to use it.

In short, don’t start with the building. Start with its job.

We’ve designed hundreds of pool cabanas, and we can help you turn what you want it to do into a design that works for you.

What features should a pool cabana include?

The features you should include depend on how you plan to use the space. You won’t want or need them all, but some of the most useful to consider in a pool house or cabana:

• Outdoor shade: A verandah, porch or even a retractable awning provides shade and relief through the hottest part of the day, without having to retreat fully inside.
• Seating: Comfortable, water- and weather-resistant seating, both inside and out, gives you somewhere to relax between swims or settle in for longer.
• An indoor bathroom or outdoor shower: Even a compact toilet, vanity and shower can save wet trips back to the house. An outdoor shower is ideal for rinsing off after a swim without stepping foot inside.
• Storage: Built-in cabinets, shelving or dedicated storage keep pool equipment, toys and towels safe, close at hand and out of sight. You can even add an internal wall to create a dedicated storage space with its own external door, so one side of the building works as a cabana and the other as a separate pool storage area.
• A kitchenette or bar: A kitchenette, bar or even a simple drinks station makes poolside entertaining easier, keeping snacks and refreshments close at hand without the trek indoors.
• Lighting and power: Interior lighting makes the cabana practical after dark, while dimmable lighting can create a more relaxed atmosphere for evening entertaining. Exterior lighting adds both safety and ambience around the pool.

Because a Melwood pool cabana is designed around you from the start, you can plan these features into the design from the beginning, rather than trying to work them around a fixed layout later.

Where should a pool cabana be positioned?

Where you position your cabana can make a big difference to how much you use it. Ideally, it should be easy to reach from the house, but close enough to the pool that it becomes the natural place to change, rinse off, dry off and relax.

When choosing the best spot, consider:

• The sun’s path: Think about where the sun falls throughout the day and where you’ll want shade at the times you’re most likely to use the cabana.
• The view: If the cabana will double as a study, retreat or entertaining space, consider what you’ll see from inside.
• Access: Think about the paths between the house, pool and cabana, and how people will move between them.
• Existing landscaping: Established trees, gardens and other features can influence both the position of the building and how well it sits within the backyard.
• Future maintenance: Leave enough room to access the building and maintain the exterior once it’s in place.

Placement can also be affected by boundary setbacks, pool fencing and other local requirements, so check the rules that apply to your property before finalising the location. In NSW, a pool cabana can sometimes be built as exempt development without a DA when it meets the relevant criteria. Because these requirements, as well as pool-fencing obligations, depend on your property, confirm what applies with your local council or the NSW Planning Portal before you build.

Our guide on whether you need council approval is a good place to start, but you can also chat with a Design Solutioneer for some initial advice about your particular property.

How should you lay out a pool cabana?

The layout should be based on the way you plan to use the space. Think about what needs to happen inside and outside of the cabana, and how people will move between it and the pool, garden and house.

For example, you might want to consider:

• Entry: Where will people enter from the pool, garden or house, and how does that shape the rest of the layout?
• Changing: If the cabana will be used for changing, allow enough space for it without compromising the areas used for relaxing or entertaining. Think about privacy too, particularly from the pool, garden, house and neighbouring properties.
• Storage: Decide what pool equipment, towels, toys and other items you want to keep close at hand, and whether they need their own dedicated storage area.
• Bathroom or shower: If you’re including bathroom facilities, consider where they can be positioned for convenient access while still making good use of the available space.
• Seating and entertaining: Work out how much space you need for lounges, dining, a bar or other features based on how you expect to use the cabana.
• Other purposes: If the cabana will double as a home office, guest room or extra living space, think about how you can separate the different areas so damp swimmers and towels don’t end up in the working or sleeping spaces.
• Doors and windows: Think about where you want natural light, views and access, and how these openings will connect the cabana with the pool and garden.

There isn’t one layout that works for every pool cabana. The right arrangement depends on your site, the space available and, most importantly, what you want the cabana to do.

This is where a Melwood offers an advantage. Rather than working around a fixed layout, you can choose the style and size of your doors and windows, as well as where they’re positioned, then configure the interior to suit. It means you can plan the cabana around your priorities, rather than starting with a fixed design and simply finding ways to make it work.

What services does a pool cabana need?

The services you need come down to how you’ll use the cabana. Most owners want power and lighting at a minimum, but if you’re planning to add a bathroom, shower, sink or kitchenette, you’ll also need plumbing.

The key is to decide where these are going at the design stage so it can be incorporated as part of the fit out and finish, rather than retrofitted later.

Depending on your plans, you’ll want to think about:

• Power: How many power points you’ll need and where, with a little allowance for things you might add later.
• Lighting: Layered for the way you’ll use it, task lighting for changing and storage, dimmable lighting for evening entertaining, and exterior lighting for safety around the pool.
• Heating and cooling: A ceiling fan or a split-system if you want the cabana comfortable year-round, and somewhere sensible for the unit to sit.
• Plumbing: Hot and cold water for a bathroom, sink or outdoor shower, and where the waste will run.
• Data, TV or wifi: Easy to overlook and awkward to add later, especially if the cabana doubles as a home office or its use might change later.
• Drainage: Stormwater from the roof, plus drainage for any wet areas.

A Melwood makes it straightforward for you or your trades to complete the services and fit-out. It arrives ready to install to lock-up stage, with timber-framed wall cavities that conceal wiring and plumbing cleanly, and gutters, downpipes and flashings that manage stormwater. The elevated pier floor keeps the building above ground level and allows water to drain beneath it.

Does a pool cabana need insulation?

Insulation is the difference between a space you can only use on temperate summer days and one that extends your pool season or the building’s purpose. If it’s simply somewhere to find brief shade or a quick change after a swim, you may not need the same level of insulation as you would for a space used for evening entertaining, working, sleeping or year-round use.

When planning your pool cabana, think about:

• When you’ll use it: Occasional summer use might need less insulation than a space you’ll use in cooler months or as a work or guest room. Insulating from the outset, however, keeps your options open and can extend your pool season into spring and autumn.
• Whether the building can be insulated: Not every cabana is designed to take insulation. Many are thin-walled, single-layer structures, so check whether insulation can actually be added, and how, before you commit to a product.
• What kind of insulation: Proper insulation batts in the walls and roof help regulate internal temperatures and can reduce the need for heating and cooling.
• Acoustic comfort: Insulation can also help dampen sound, which is worth considering if the cabana is close to the house or neighbours, or will be used for work, sleeping or entertaining.
• Internal lining: Think about how you’ll finish the walls. Common options include plasterboard (often known as Gyprock, and usually best installed by a trade), pre-primed wall panels such as Easycraft, which are more DIY-friendly, or plywood, which is relatively easy to install and repaint.

A Melwood is designed with insulation in mind from the start. Timber framing and cladding provide a naturally well-insulated structure, while every building comes with Anticon® blanket insulation in the roof as standard and a vapour-permeable wall wrap. The timber-framed wall panels create a stud cavity ready for insulation batts, as well as wiring, plumbing and internal lining.

The space to properly insulate and line the interior is built into a Melwood pool cabana from the start so it doesn’t even need to become a question.

How should you finish and furnish a pool cabana?

This is the fun part, where the cabana transforms from a shell to a space with its own character and personality. With the layout, services and lining sorted, the finishing touches are about how it looks and feels, and how well it connects to the pool and garden around it.

A few styling decisions will influence the result:

• A look that suits the setting: Decide on the style you’re after – breezy and coastal, natural and textural, resort-like, or something that echoes your main house – then let it guide your materials and colour palette. Because a Melwood can be clad and finished to suit, the cabana can complement your home or make its own statement.
• Materials that handle poolside life: Poolside means sun, splashes and damp towels, so choose hard-wearing, moisture-tolerant finishes and flooring, and furniture designed for outdoor use, even when it’s under cover.
• Colour and texture: Softer, lighter palettes can keep a poolside space feeling cool and relaxed, while natural timber, greenery and tactile textiles add warmth. Cushions, rugs and planting can make a big difference without requiring major changes.
• Bringing the outside in: Glazing, wide door openings and a deck or verandah can blur the line between cabana and pool, making the two feel like one connected space rather than a building beside the water.
• Making it yours: Whether it doubles as an entertaining space, a private retreat or a work-from-home spot, the finishing touches are where you tailor the cabana to the way you’ll actually use it.

Because a Melwood arrives at lock-up stage without a fixed internal layout, you have a genuine blank canvas to finish and furnish in your own way. The same building can look and feel distinctly different from one backyard to the next – on the inside as well as the outside.

The best way to see what’s possible is to look at what other Melwood owners have done.

Real pool cabanas – from real customers

From shady retreats to multi-purpose poolside spaces, every cabana is different, because every family is different.

Here are five of our favourites.

A poolside investment for today and tomorrow

For Tanya, a pool cabana was never going to be just somewhere to change after a swim. With a large backyard, a pool and a love of travel, she saw an opportunity to create something that could work harder for her family – adding a beautiful poolside retreat now, while also generating income when they travelled and providing valuable extra accommodation for the future.

Her Melwood sits at the far end of the garden, connected to the pool by a timber sundeck and designed as a self-contained retreat with a bedroom, bathroom and air conditioning. When the family is home, it becomes their own private pool house and entertaining space. When they travel and rent out their home, it provides comfortable, private accommodation for extended families and larger groups.

And Tanya has planned beyond today, too. Plumbing is already in place for a future kitchenette, while the flexible space could eventually provide a home for one of her children.

It’s a pool cabana designed not just around how the family lives now, but how they might use the space for years to come.

Staycationing: Bringing Bali to the backyard

When France looked at her backyard, she saw an opportunity to create a little slice of holiday at her Avalon home. With a pool set among lush gardens, a spacious cabana could turn the area into a private retreat – somewhere to relax between swims, entertain, work, study and even accommodate overnight guests.

Her Melwood Mod 23 does all of that. Positioned beside the pool, it combines a shaded relaxation and entertaining area with a minibar, while a separate area with a bed and desk provides space for guests, study or quiet time. The styling was carefully chosen to complement the existing Hamptons-inspired home, with duck egg blue weatherboards, white architraves and additional glazing.

And it’s not just a summer space. Set by a fire pit and with a split-system for heating and cooling, the cabana can be enjoyed through the cooler months too – making it a pool house, teenage retreat, study, guest space and entertaining area all in one.

A true backyard staycation, 365 days a year.

The most versatile room in the house

For Rachael and her family, space was in short supply. With four growing boys, ongoing renovations and just one shared living area, they needed somewhere everyone could spread out – and they needed it quickly. What they didn’t know was just how many different jobs their new Melwood would end up doing.

Their Melwood Mod 13 was initially set up as a home office, but when renovations shifted the family’s home gym out of the garage, it stepped in again, becoming a dedicated space for the treadmill, training bike and weights. Once the renovations are finished, it will transform once more into the second living area the family needed, with room for the boys to hang out, watch TV and play games.

And because it’s positioned beside the pool, it has another role waiting in the wings: a pool cabana, providing shade, convenience and somewhere to relax between swims.

One building, multiple uses, and the flexibility to keep changing as the family’s needs do.

A pop of pool cabana colour

When Peter and Sue began planning their dream pool and Mediterranean-inspired garden, they also needed somewhere for their family to stay when their children and grandchildren came to visit. An extension would have added a bedroom, but the cost – and the impact it would have had on their carefully landscaped garden – made them look for another solution.

Their Melwood Mod 18 became so much more than a guest room. Positioned at the head of the pool, it provides a shady place to relax, read, exercise and enjoy a morning coffee, while the sofa converts into a generous bed when the grandchildren come to stay.

Designed to complement the couple’s Mediterranean-style garden, the white-clad cabana is finished with a cheerful yellow-and-white striped awning that adds a distinctive pop of colour.

And because it sits in an unused corner of the garden rather than extending the house, Peter and Sue gained all that extra space without sacrificing the garden they had worked so hard to create.

A relaxing retreat to rest and recharge

When Serena and Dennis installed a pool in their Sydney backyard, they wanted somewhere to sit quietly and enjoy it – a sheltered retreat where they could escape the noise and busyness of everyday life. The unused space at the end of the pool turned out to be the perfect spot.

Their bright and breezy Melwood Mod 15 was designed to open up to the garden, with additional doors replacing the standard windows and sliding doors added to the side. With the doors thrown open, the cabana becomes one with the immaculate landscaping and sparkling pool.

Today, it’s a place for reading, meditation, listening to music and simply relaxing – as well as a pool cabana for cooling off between swims and entertaining friends and family.

A simple idea, thoughtfully designed, turning an overlooked corner of the backyard into somewhere the couple actually wants to spend time.

A pool cabana that works for you

A pool cabana can be so much more than somewhere to change after a swim. It can be a place to entertain, relax, work, sleep, store the pool gear or simply escape to when you want some space of your own.

The key is to start with how you want to use it, then design the space around that. Get the position, layout, services and features right from the beginning, and your cabana can become a natural extension of your home and garden – one that works for the way you live now and can adapt as that changes.

Because when the building itself doesn’t dictate what happens inside, the possibilities are yours to decide.