When you begin exploring ways to elevate your outdoor living space, winter might not be the first season that comes to mind. But for many affluent homeowners across Long Island, it has quietly become the most strategic time of year to plan a custom pool design. With our expert pool service and the reputation of one of the top pool companies in Farmingdale, NY, winter is no longer the off-season—it’s the opportunity season.
Winter is when your ideas breathe, take shape, and become fully conceptualized, while our professionals prepare every detail for a seamless transformation the moment spring arrives.
And as you’ll see, winter isn’t just a convenient planning window—it’s the secret advantage behind spring-ready luxury pools that feel as though they appeared overnight.
Related: How Pool Service and Pool Care Keep East Hampton, NY, Pools Perfect
Why Winter Is the Best Time to Plan a High-End Pool Project
In Farmingdale and the greater Long Island region, the winter months create a rare pause in the rhythm of outdoor construction. Instead of slowing down, our experts step into an intensely creative and strategic mode.
With fewer active job sites and the freedom that comes with longer lead times, your project receives the kind of undivided attention that truly exceptional outdoor environments deserve.
Design meetings become more collaborative. Materials such as gunite, tile, coping, and high-end decking options can be evaluated without rushing. And because custom pool design requires detailed planning—engineering, permitting, layout development, product selections—winter gives you the breathing space to explore every possibility.
This approach is at the heart of our pool service philosophy at Platinum Pools & Spas. When the snow falls, we design. When the ground thaws, we build. And by summer, you’re swimming.
What Options Are Available to Customize a Pool?
When you're working with our design/build specialists, your options for customization expand far beyond pool shape and size. Winter makes this process even more immersive because you have time to evaluate every experience you want your outdoor living space to offer.
Here are some of the most popular (and exciting) custom features available:
Luxury Materials That Define the Space
Gunite remains the gold standard for high-end pools in Farmingdale because it allows for fully customized forms and finishes, giving you the freedom to create something truly tailored to your property.
During winter design planning, you’ll explore a wide range of options, from smooth or exposed aggregate interior finishes to premium tile selections, including striking glass mosaics that elevate the entire pool environment.
Natural stone or porcelain coping can be selected to frame the water with elegance, while decking materials such as travertine, bluestone, or porcelain pavers help define the surrounding space.
Winter is also the ideal time to make these decisions because suppliers are restocking and preparing for the spring season, which allows your preferred materials—including special-order premium products—to be secured early and staged well before construction begins. Because winter allows suppliers to restock and special-order premium products, your selections can arrive and be staged well before construction begins.
Architectural Enhancements
Winter also provides the perfect opportunity to shape the architectural features that will set your pool apart. This is when you can consider whether an infinity or knife-edge detail will best complement your landscape, or whether sun shelves and multi-level steps would add the level of comfort and visual interest you’re aiming for.
Tanning ledges can be integrated for in-water relaxation, and raised spas with spillways can introduce movement and sound. Sculptural water features and dramatic fire bowls—or even artistic fire-and-water combinations—can transform the atmosphere entirely.
These enhancements require thoughtful engineering and design precision, which is why winter becomes the season when the true creative magic happens.
Integrated Outdoor Living
Since your pool is often just one part of a complete landscape design, winter also offers the ideal moment to plan your outdoor living environment as a whole. This is the time to consider whether covered lounges or pavilions will extend the way you use the space, or if a full outdoor kitchen will support the way you entertain.
Seating walls and defined gathering areas can help anchor social zones, while luxury lighting design can add ambiance and nighttime usability. Integrated landscape plantings bring seasonal color and softness to the setting, and strategically planned patios and walkways ensure that every outdoor destination is connected in a natural, intuitive flow.
With winter as your planning season, you’re able to make decisions with clarity, creativity, and a broader vision for what your property can become.
Which Pool Type Is Good for New York Weather?
New York weather doesn’t play around. Farmingdale experiences all four seasons with enthusiasm—humid summers, crisp falls, nor’easters, and freeze-thaw cycles that demand durability from any outdoor structure.
Our pool service experts overwhelmingly recommend custom gunite pools for several reasons:
Strength and Longevity
Gunite pools withstand New York’s temperature shifts far better than fiberglass or vinyl options. The reinforcing steel structure provides a foundation capable of handling movement caused by frost and thaw.
Design Flexibility
Because winter design meetings are when creativity runs wild, gunite’s flexibility ensures that your ideas aren't constrained by the limitations of manufactured shells or prefab forms.
Material Compatibility
Gunite pairs beautifully with natural stone, porcelain, and premium finishes—materials that thrive in the Northeast climate when installed correctly by seasoned professionals.
Heating and Efficiency Options
Chilly spring mornings? Cool late-summer nights? No problem. Winter planning allows all heating systems, auto-covers, and plumbing enhancements to be evaluated for both efficiency and comfort.
In short, gunite isn’t just good for New York weather—it’s ideal. We also offer high-quality pool maintenance services to keep your pool in swim-ready condition.
How Soon Can Excavation Start for an Inground Pool?
Here’s where planning ahead pays off in a big way.
In Farmingdale, the ground typically becomes workable for excavation between late March and mid-April, depending on winter severity. By this time, we’ve already completed:
Design approvals
Permit submission and (in many cases) approval
Engineering
Material selections
Layout planning
Pool equipment specification
This means that when construction season begins, your pool build goes straight to the front of the line.
Homeowners who begin design in spring or early summer often face scheduling delays, material lead-time challenges, and missed opportunities for early-season construction. Winter clients—on the other hand—experience expedited starts and more predictable timelines.
Your spring excavation date becomes a defined target, not a moving goalpost. This ensures an on-time start to the upcoming swim season.
Related: Enjoy a Relaxing Morning Breakfast by Your Inground Pool With Expert Pool Service in Southampton, NY
How Our Pool Care Experts Prepare a Pool for Swim Season
Once your pool is built and your outdoor living space is ready to enjoy, luxury pool care ensures that everything operates at peak performance.
A pool care expert (not the homeowner—never the homeowner) handles all of the technical details that shape your experience:
Opening the Pool the Right Way
Opening the pool the right way is essential, especially in Farmingdale’s climate, where seasonal transitions can take a toll on finishes, equipment, and overall water quality.
When spring arrives, our professional pool service team steps in to manage the entire process with precision. They begin by removing and thoroughly cleaning the winter cover before moving on to a detailed inspection of all plumbing and mechanical systems. Fittings and accessories are reinstalled, water levels are restored to the proper height, and circulation systems are carefully restarted to bring movement and clarity back to the pool.
From there, our team tests and balances the water chemistry, ensuring a safe and comfortable swim environment, while heaters, automation systems, and lighting are activated and confirmed to be operating correctly. A final inspection addresses any winter-related damage that may have occurred.
None of this is a quick chore—it’s a carefully orchestrated series of professional steps designed to transition your pool from winter dormancy to full-season vibrancy with absolute confidence and reliability.
Getting the Equipment Ready
From pumps to automation systems, every system is thoroughly checked. Luxury pools often include advanced equipment—variable-speed pumps, automated sanitization, smart controls—which is why professional oversight is essential.
Preparing for Amenities
If your pool includes integrated spas, water features, or complex lighting systems, our team ensures each component is fully functional before your first gathering of the season.
What Does It Mean to Winterize a Pool?
Winterizing is more than closing a pool—it’s safeguarding a luxury investment.
In Farmingdale’s freezing climate, winterization ensures water doesn’t expand and damage critical systems. A professional winterization includes:
Protecting Plumbing & Equipment
Our experts:
Lower water levels appropriately
Blow out all lines to remove residual water
Plug and seal returns and skimmers
Add winter chemicals designed for long-term stability
Prepare heaters, pumps, and filters for cold weather
Securing the Structure
A properly installed winter cover—mesh or solid—protects against debris and winter storms while preserving the aesthetics of your outdoor living space.
Preparing for Spring
Proper winterization makes spring opening smoother, faster, and more predictable. With the right seasonal steps, your pool transitions from winter rest to summer vibrancy without surprises. Our pool service experts ensure all components are ready for swim season.
4 Reasons Why A Winter Design/Build Creates a Better Spring Experience
When you use winter to design your pool, everything becomes more efficient. You gain:
1. Priority Construction Scheduling
Your project begins as soon as the weather allows.
2. Better Material Availability
Premium finishes, tile, stone, and equipment are secured early—before spring shortages hit.
3. More Time for Creative Exploration
You have space to review multiple concepts, elevations, and material palettes without pressure.
4. A More Refined, Elevated Result
Winter allows our designers to give you intensely focused creative energy. Spring brings the execution of that vision.
This is why our clients consistently see winter as the ideal time to collaborate with our pool service professionals and design/build experts.
Turning Winter Vision Into Spring Reality
At Platinum Pools & Spas, we believe luxury outdoor living begins long before the first shovel touches the ground. Winter is when possibility expands and when your dream pool begins to take shape on paper, in renderings, and in meticulously planned construction stages.
By the time spring arrives in Farmingdale, every detail of your custom pool design has already been thought through. Your project is ready to move. Your materials are secured. Your timeline is in motion. And before the heat of summer arrives, your outdoor living space becomes the centerpiece of your lifestyle.
That’s the power of winter design/build—and the reason more Long Island homeowners are choosing this path each year.
Project Spotlight: “Refined Elegance” — A Glen Cove, NY, Backyard Transformed
When our team at The Platinum Group set out to create “Refined Elegance” in Glen Cove, NY, we envisioned more than just a backyard — they set out to craft a luxury escape that blends refined design, functionality, and timeless appeal.
At the heart of the property lies a rectangular gunite pool — the foundation for a sophisticated outdoor living space designed to last. Surrounding the pool, classic brick and traditional bluestone form the patio and gathering areas, carefully laid to create subtle visual interest.
One of the defining touches: a raised gunite spa with intricate tile work, harmoniously integrated beside the pool itself. That spa adds both aesthetic elegance and functional versatility — an invitation for quiet relaxation or lively social evenings.
But the transformation didn’t stop at water and stone. The Platinum Group enriched this backyard with layered landscape plantings, ambient outdoor lighting, and even a fully equipped outdoor kitchen — making the space not just a pool area, but a complete outdoor retreat.
Every detail was considered: from layout and materials to lighting and hospitality — all managed in-house by their team under a cohesive design/build approach. The result is a backyard that feels polished, welcoming, and utterly complete — perfect for summer entertaining, quiet evenings by the spa, or simply enjoying a private escape.
If you’re imagining how your own Glen Cove property could be transformed — a seamless blend of pool, spa, landscape, and lifestyle — this “Refined Elegance” project stands as a blueprint for what’s possible.
Ready to bring your vision for an upgraded outdoor living space to life? Schedule a consultation to discuss what’s trending in custom pool designs.
Related: Creating the Ultimate Backyard Oasis: Pool Companies and Landscape Design in the Hamptons, NY