The Perfect Pool House Plan For Backyard Entertaining

Turn your backyard into a year-round retreat with a laid-back tiny home. The beauty of this plan is its flexibility. You can easily turn this this cottage into a pool house, but guest quarters, home office, and other options beg to be explored.

"We took the Lowcountry style of our main home and developed a structure that looked like its little sister," says Southern Living Custom Builder Randy Schiltz of t-Olive Properties. His collaboration with residential designer Al Causey of The Village Studio resulted in this little retreat. "It's a place where you can live, play, and entertain," says Causey.

The potential includes possible mother-in-law quarters, or even a space that can be rented out for hospitality purposes. At the same time, it's easy to imagine a homeowner wanting to be selfish with this approachable tiny home. All the necessities are here, along with quaint style and charm in spades.

An Open Invitation For Relaxation

Plan Designer: The Village Studio
Name: Backyard Retreat
Plan Number: SL-2061

There's a come-one, come-all attitude for this space. Tall sliding glass doors facilitate indoor-outdoor living, helping to draw people onto the front porch for poolside hangouts. This multipurpose space can function as guest quarters, a hangout spot for kids, or an alfresco dining room.

Ten-foot-tall ceilings keep the great room feeling light and airy on hot summer days, and makes this small space feel more generous. The large open space in the living area could accommodate a ping pong table, with enough room for a sectional to host a movie night.

Causey added a fireplace to make the living room an inviting spot to relax year-round. "Our main house is on a crawl space, so the pool house serves as our 'basement' when my kids have friends over. My daughter even keeps cookie and cake mix out there so she and her friends can cook while watching movies," says Schiltz, who built the plan in his own backyard.

More Impressive Details To Consider

With a full kitchen and private bath, this practical 891-square-foot plan can also serve as an independent dwelling for aging parents or adult children returning home. Keep both bedrooms ready for company, or turn one into a secluded study. The possibilities for this backyard escape are endless.

This little dwelling could change the method in which you entertain, and if you embrace that approach, your guests will never be bored. Imagine the large living space as both dining area and post-dinner relaxation zone. It goes without saying that you will always win the dinner club night.

Should you elect to turn the side "exercise room" into guest quarters, you will have to flip a coin on which of your guests merit the treat of staying the night. And should you keep it to yourself and make it your own retreat, just imagine waking to peaceful surroundings in gentle morning light. You will be thanking yourself on the porch with the day's first cup of coffee.