It’s a Spa; It’s a Pool - It's a SPOOL!

Five Reasons Spools Are the Hot Home Trend 

Home trends come and go. But thanks to its simplicity, versatility, and budget-friendliness, the "spool" may be here to stay!

What is a Spool Pool?

The term "spool" is a portmanteau, a combination of two existing words into a new word. Part "spa," part "pool," a spool spa pool offers today’s homeowner the best of both worlds, the fun and exercise options of a pool and the hydrotherapy benefits of a spa, in one compact package.

A spool pool allows homeowners to enjoy the benefits of a private aquatic oasis even when space and budget are limited. These compact spool pools are often equipped with powerful jets for hydrotherapy and are the ideal solution for those who want to enhance their outdoor living experience or create an all-season indoor pool room.

Is a Spool Pool Right For You?

If you want to enjoy all the fun, fitness, and relaxation a pool and hot tub can offer, a versatile spool pool can check all the boxes, without breaking the bank!

Here are five reasons a spool might be the perfect option for you:

1.   Spools are Ideal For Small Spaces (and larger ones).

Spools are the perfect solution for homeowners with limited outdoor space, offering all the functionality of a spa and a pool in spaces a traditional pool can’t go.With their smaller size, spools can easily fit into smaller urban and suburban backyards, basements, and pool rooms.Even if you have ample room, a spool can help you make the most of a view or underutilized space, while still allowing room for additional landscaping options.

2.   Versatile Features Offer More Options.

Spools, including many Original and Swim Spa models offered by Endless Pools, feature options like swim currents, hydrotherapy jets, and aquatic fitness equipment that allow homeowners to customize a design that suits their lifestyle.Whether you want to relax in warm, bubbling water, take a cool dip, get some low-impact exercise from the convenience of home, or all three, your spool can be tailored to provide the functionality you’re looking for.

3.   Smaller Pools Require Less Maintenance and Fewer Chemicals.

It takes less water to fill a small pool, which translates to reduced maintenance requirements and lower chemical usage, saving you time and money. And with fewer chemicals to balance and a more manageable size to clean, owning a spool means fewer chores and more fun!

4.   Compact Pools Can Be Installed Inside and Outdoors

Because of their small size, spool pools can be installed both indoors and outdoors. Modular pools are delivered in pieces that easily fit through doorways, alleys, and small spaces and assembled in-ground, above-ground or in-between. You can even use your own stone, tile, and decking material to complement your home and landscaping.

5.   All-Season Pools Maximize Your Investment

Spools require less water, making them easier and more cost effective to keep warm and comfortable. Whether your spool is inside or outdoors, you can extend your pool season and exercise, relax, and entertain all year round, so you get the most value possible out of your aquatic retreat.

Endless Pools®: Decades Ahead of the Spool Trend

Many Endless Pools models are, essentially, spools that launched 30 years before the trend! Endless Pools offers compact pools that combine the features of both a spa and a pool, and boast easy maintenance and low-chlorine water purification.

Most notably, Endless Pools models have a fully adjustable current that allows you to swim in place – that's a useful, out-of-the-ordinary feature that gives you the versatility for training, fitness and fun, all of which are lacking in your typical spool.

For a more robust spa experience, Endless Pools models can be outfitted with hydrotherapy jets or underwater lights. You can even add an Underwater Treadmill to turn your Endless Pools spool into a total-body home gym – imagine running, cross-training, or rehabbing in your compact backyard spool!

Spool Pool Ideas:

Whether you're inspired by the Tiny House movement, your concern for the environment, a need to save space, or a desire for a simpler, low-maintenance pool, a spool from Endless Pools may be exactly what you're looking for.

Check out our gallery to see how homeowners have taken the spool trend to new heights, and transformed their indoor and outdoor spaces with Endless Pools products:

This rooftop spool comes courtesy of the Endless Pools Original Series; all components fit easily through standard doorways and up stairs. A peaceful urban escape – complete with its own cabana! – this installation's warm earth tones and rich wood planks create a refuge from the concrete and brick surroundings.

To transform a postage-stamp backyard, you need a little creativity and, ideally, a spool from Endless Pools! The homeowners enjoy a lawn, a mulched garden, a container garden, as well as seating and dining areas. With the Endless Pools current, they can also simulate an uninterrupted, open-water swim with warm water and no flip turns.

The indoor spool in this renovated Cape Cod home gets flooded with natural light. Inside the spool, perimeter benches let you just sit and relax in warm water; they also serve as steps in and out of your spool. (Technologically, the benches function as return channels when the Endless Pools swim current is on, keeping the water outside the current surprisingly calm!)

Everybody in the spool! This Endless Pools installation clearly isn't too compact to host a daytime kids' party. After dark, adults can enjoy a warm-water, moonlight swim with the Endless Pools swim current. Or just turn the current on for a zen-like, babbling-brook backdrop as you enjoy the peaceful sound of sleeping children!

A modern log cabin demands a modern spool. On this deck, it's the Endless Pools Fitness System E2000 swim spa. Long before the spool, the Endless Pools line of swim spas combined the pool and spa, and they remain a stylish, easy choice for jetted hydromassage and aquatic fitness.

If you feel most alive when swimming, then a "living room" may be the ideal place for your Endless Pools spool! Surrounded by plants and keepsakes, this spool serves up a friendly, suburban vibe. The Endless Pools swim current (and other fitness-friendly options) makes it fun and easy to combine family time with healthy, playful activity.

Stately and classical, a stone mantel and vine-covered wall bring an air of timeless grandeur to this on-trend spool. The self-contained Endless Pools design only requires one-side access for maintenance, which permits space-saving corner installations. A model of versatility, this spool can serve for anything from triathlon training to a formal wedding-photo location.

Spools, plunge pools, and cocktail pools are all terms that describe scaled-down pools, and are sometimes used synonymously. While all three options share the benefits of size, affordability, and practicality, they each have their own unique attributes.

Spools combine the function of a spa and a pool, while plunge pools are small, relatively shallow, and ideal for cooling off, lounging, family fun, and low-impact aquatic exercise. To see if a plunge pool is right for you, go here to learn more. Cocktail pools, another popular sub-category, are specifically, spools designed for entertaining. For more on cocktail pools, don't miss these 6 buzz-worthy cocktail pools.