Interior design

In summer, this pool house provides a kitchen and entertaining area as well as a spa and changing room. In winter, it creates useful extra accommodation for the main house

Rose Uniake shows us how to create the perfect pool house

Set in the walled garden of a Grade I-listed 17th-century manor house in Gloucestershire, this pool house was designed by Alex Michaelis, one half of the Notting Hill-based architecture practice Michaelis Boyd, whose work includes London’s Soho House, Babington Hotel in Somerset and, more recently, the apartments in Battersea Power Station in SW8. the exterior is clad in a silvery wood and at either end are walls of exposed brick. Vast floor-to-ceiling sliding doors open on both sides, leading in one direction to the pool area and to the tennis courts in the other.

Interior designer Rose Uniacke was commissioned to decorate the interiors. An antique dealer and furniture designer with premises on London’s Pimlico Road, she’s known for her ability to combine the old with the new to create a light, relaxed feel.

the owners commissioned Rose to create a harmonious interior within the context of the contemporary structure. the room offers a family living space and kitchen as well as a changing area, spa and sauna. Reclaimed wood was used extensively to accentuate a seamless blend with the outdoors. It was also important for the space to function independently of the pool and tennis court and that it could be used all year round. Arabella Youens Rose Uniacke (020–7730 7050; http://roseuniacke.com) Alex Michaelis (020–7221 1237; http://michaelisboyd.com)