Builder JB Robbie builds a pool retreat for their whole family.

When Jack and Jennifer Robbie, owners of JB Robbie Builders in Duxbury, decided to make their home in Harwich Port their permanent residence, the consideration of how to accommodate, incorporate, and enjoy the entire family—which now includes the growing future of three adult children—prompted visions of time spent together. 

“When we decided to move to the Cape year-round, we knew the summer home we had loved for so many years would not be able to function properly throughout the year. After building custom homes for so many clients, we finally built our own home,” Jennifer Robbie explains. “Yet even with the new home, our square footage was limited and we wanted to have space for our three children—places where they could relax, entertain or just get some privacy. So, we decided to put in a pool and build a pool house that could provide that overflow space for the whole family.”

The resulting fun-focused space now accommodates a calming pool, embraced by a very natural oasis, and is crowned by a gambrel, shingle-styled structure that also offers a pergola-shaded patio for lounging. The crisp white trim on the exterior columns and pergola, as well as on the six-over-one double-hung windows and a light-enabling transom over the French doors, contrast the white-cedar shingles of the sidewalls and roof that have aged to a spectacular silver-gray. The coping of the pool features re-claimed granite slabs that transition to a lush lawn instead of the traditional hardscape that usually makes up the pool decking. “It isn’t a huge space, so it was important to make it feel lush and inviting,” Robbie...