THIS SHORT HILLS NEW JERSEY POOL GIVES ESCAPISM A GOOD NAME. The homeowners use it for daily exercise, family entertaining, and stress relief. The couple opted for an indoor pool so they could swim during cold weather; they spent many a summer days at a second home so an outdoor pool in North Jersey would have been idle. In setting parameters for the 2,800-square-foot pool house addition, the owners insisted that it harmonize with the existing home, an 1887 stone Victorian. In the planning phase, they also balanced their wishes with lot-covered limitations and historic-committee approval of the facade.

Using a “fabulous team” of designers and contractors, the wife said that the project was a dream. “I had a definite idea of what I wanted outside and half an idea of what I wanted inside. I wanted something totally compatible on the exterior and wanted the interior-- we travel to Italy alot-- to be classic Roman. [Architect] Al Bol and his people had an idea, and then we talked to [Interior designer] Karen Topjian. They worked together, and what they presented was extraordinary... especially the details and mouldings.” (Topjian’s contributions to the project won a 2004 Gold Award for interior design from the New Jersey chapter of the American Society of Interior Designs, in which she holds a professional membership.)

Bol, an American Institute of Architects member whose firm is Al Bol Architecture in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, explained however, that architecturally, the addition has its own identity. “The exterior was done to deliberately compliment- but still keep a distinction between-the new and the historic house. The addition, connected to the main house by a tiered staircase, welcomes the outdoors, Topjian said. Landscape architect Lawrence J. Tencza of East Orange New Jersey built up the property and added patios and plantings. French doors from the addition lead to lower and upper patios and a pergola. During the summertime, with the doors open, it seams like an outdoor pool, the wife said.

The 14 by 46 foot double lap pool has coping of three-inch-thick travertine as well as a travertine deck. Both these elements as well as the pilasters enhance the classic Roman atmosphere. “The stone was chosen because we wanted the lightness of color and strength of stone, ” Topjian said. To get the right effect, “I spent one full week dry-laying the stones [with the tile-setter] because there were several shade variations.” Overhead, the complex ceiling with beams and tray vaulting houses a dimmable cove lighting system that gives a sunny-day effect regardless of the actual weather. A dressing room, bathroom, seating, kitchenette, and dining area allow the homeowners to entertain their large extended family-including dozens of nieces and nephews-with ease. “The kids have races, and they [their family members] like to cheer them on,” Topjian said. “Someone can stand near the bench at the end of the pool and be saying ‘Come on, come on, come on.”

There are laundry appliances in the dressing room for towels and suits. The homeowner admitted that she had initially balked at adding the appliances. “Al Bol had suggested a laundry room in the beginning, and I resisted. When we put the stacking washer and dryer in the dressing room, it made it a bit smaller. I wish I had listened to him sooner” so the dressing area could have been slightly larger.

When the owners use the pool, they head from the bedroom early in the day “in our p.j.’s” the wife said. “we walk in, and everything is there” for morning swims. “It’s the easiest and most pleasurable exercise in the world.” Because the pool is separated from the Victorian-era part of the house, “you step into a different environment, like you’re going to a separate, special place,” the wife said. “I use it for complete quietude and stress-relief. I go out for just 20 minutes sometimes to de-stress with the waterfalls and fountains and stereo system... It’s like your own spa at the Four Seasons... After two years, we still go in and say we can’t believe this is ours.”