I'm not too fond of it. It kind of reminds me of 2 different plaids of the same colors, know what I mean? My first thought was a dark gray, to bring out the gray in the stone. You could also go with a color close to the dark brown in the stone. I think it will be quite a challenge to get a multi color tile to blend with the stone, since the stone has so many colors in it. I think I'd want people to notice the stone and have the tile be the silent accent. Good luck!

Oh dogpaddle, I so feel your pain. I have an anxiety attack about once a day since we began this never ending journey.

I think maybe part of it is that it might be a bit too busy with all of the other stone work (beautiful!) that you have. You've got a lot going on....stone work, coping, boulders (all of which are fabulous!!) but IMHO you don't want your tile to stand out, just blend in.

My advice would be to go with a tile that would blend right in with your water color. You want to notice the stone, not the tile.

Now, don't get too worked up. Finding a darker blue tile should be a lot easier than trying to 'match' the stone, which you aren't going to be able to do to your liking.

That being said, I have second guessed my tile soooooooo many times (and I still am) that my daughter has almost disowned me. True.

You were so smart to stop them. You would regret it for a long time to come.....like I am afraid I am going to. Keep me posted, and good luck, I am sure you'll find the perfect tile.

There was a post a while back about someone who didn't like her blue waterline tile because it didn't really match the blue shade of her water color. Maybe something to consider. I agree with Skinnydipper's suggestion about picking one color that compliments your stone work because any shade of blue in your "Tahoe Blue" water will work well with the color of the stones. Also, in regards to calcium ring, just be sure to use tile that are not too porous in texture. There are many tiles are glazed but does not have that glossy look to it. Moreover, if you keep your water balanced and brush your pool walls and waterline tiles at least once a week, I don't think you will have problems with calcium rings. Good luck.

I think a darker water line tile will accentuate the tile instead of the beautiful stonework. There aren't a lot of dark pieces in the stonework to pull a darker color down to the waterline. Agree with the post above that a 6" tile will look less busy. Consider picking just 1 of the lighter color stones to match your tile to. That would just kind of seamlessly bring the stonework down to the waterline without drawing a lot of attention to the tile. That would also minimize the risk of the blues in a tile vs. water not really blending. It looks like you'll have a beautiful pool when it's finished. Good luck with your decision.

I too can feel your pain, I agonized over every detail of a remodel and its slowly coming to gether with no regrets. But the worry that went into it.... I dont think your tile looks awful. Remember the grout will make it look different too. Also, you will never see that much tile, what is below the waterline will not matter. Right now you are looking at 3 rows of tile next to the stone, you wont see that much of it when the pool is filled...and the whole pool doesnt have stone around it. What are your deck plans, what color will that be? I bet if you keep it, in the end it will look beautiful. We picked a Luv tile, they have many neutral beige tiles, like the capri, I used Piriti black.

Once it's grouted, it won't look so checkerboard. I wish I had the program that would take your photo and photoshop blue or black tile in there. Maybe someone here has that capability??

Unless your camera is deceiving my eye, it looks like your coping stone has peach tones in it, too. Honestly, I think once it's grouted and the water is in you'll have a natural looking pool with a touch of sophistication due to the 2" tiles.

Is it only the color you're not liking? Or are you rethinking the 2" tiles in general?

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the link to the gal that demo'd her tile. Scroll down to lisa san diego post

The design is fine. What is off is the color. I would look for a slightly darker color. I would also look at a smaller Mosaic tile. Just be careful not to get too dramatic, or it will take away from your lovely stone work.

THANK YOU ALL for the VERY HELPFUL comments and suggestions!! You are wonderful!

I will be heading out to spend some quality time at NPT...now that I am better focused...looking for a 6" one color tile to blend in/compliment the stone. That was my intention in the first place but obviously the small sample the PB gave me was not enough to get a good feel for how "busy" the 2" multi color would look next to the stone.

I do LOVE the stone work and want it and the water color to be the focal point and have the rest of the pool/hardscape blend seamlessly.

gk5040: Our deck plans are not completely nailed down but our PB is suggesting a tan concrete, acid washed with a bit of darker brown stain for a two tone look. Since he didn't catch the poor choice of tile I'm a little skeptical on this suggestion... it may again be too busy.

Thanks again to you all...VERY HELPFUL!!

Good luck, let us know what and if you change tiles:)

dogpaddle - some thoughts from the expensive school of hard knocks I went thru re: concrete color. Be sure to see some actual poured samples of the concrete colors, as opposed to swatches in a brochure. I started to redo my backyard last November before I decided to do a pool. When they poured the color I picked from the brochure (newbie to this process), I was almost horrified at how much red it had in it when it was poured. I was actually relieved when I could use the pool as an excuse to rip out the 450 sq ft I had just poured 4 mo earlier. When I went to pick my decking, PB had a box of poured concretet samples. It was much easier to see the underlying color tones of the different concrete as soon as I held those up to my tile.

I know there have been earlier posts awhile back re: tan concrete colors. You might want to search for those, too. Sounds like you have a good plan :-)

Looks like you already made your decision but here's my .02 anyway ;-). I think once you had it grouted and the water is up to the bottom of the top tile I think it would look fine. I do think you might like it slightly better if it were a solid(ish) color. We went with Blue Sparkle with our natural stone and I think it turned out great. Best of luck!

I don't hate the tile at all, very pretty. But it does not work (imo) at with your stone. Looks as if you are already on your way to find something new. Hey, at least you figured it out before they were done. :)

The color is very peach. I don't mind the pattern but the color is all wrong.

cant you continue the stone work all the way to the water line? then have a blue water line tile around the rest of the pool . Have a look at "vanvmoms" post under "our new pool is complete" they have something similar to yours. good luck

dogpaddle
I love your stone work...don't compete with it and blend the tile with the water color...midnight blue would be beautiful...black with some flecks to reflect light at night would look great too.
What type of stone did you use for your coping? LOVE IT! Is it rough? I'm looking at doing something similar...and was worried about people getting scraped on it. ( not just kids...)
good luck and post when you change it. Jenn

I'm glad someone liked what we did with our rock/tile. Also, one thing we do to help with the dreaded calcium ring at the water line issue is that we keep our water level even with the grout line on the tile. It look some adjusting with the autofill, but does not seem like it will be a problem. BTW... the blue tile we have is 3 inch (2 rows of it- water line right inbetween the two rows).

geminijenn:
We were originally going to do concrete cantiliver coping because with two small kids (ages 6 & 3)I wanted a nice smooth edge. However, I was having a really hard time trying to decide on color and shape of edge. Our PB recommended just going with the same stone we were using on the RBB (which was quite a bit less expensive than cantiliver). The stone is random Cameron Brown flagstone from KRC Rock in San Diego. It is classified as a sandstone which is a softer stone and which I've seen some people on this site recommend against (PB says it will hold up fine on coping and RBB but recommends against using it below water level.) We are also using it to cap all of our garden and retaining walls and on our firepit. I absolutely love it! It looks and feels really nice and I can't wait until this build is complete so I can sit on it and run my hands over it... that will be the true test... when we actually put it to use.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cameron Brown Flagstone

dogpaddle - We have also chosen the Cameron flagstone for our coping, wall caps and to frame the patio. They'll probably start installing it in about a week. I can't wait to see it in place. Please post pictures of yours if you have any, I'd love to see what it looks like installed!

charlie123:
You are going to love your Cameron! Here are some photos of ours. I think they are all taken before the stone was grouted. It looks much better after grouting.

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I love the stone covers for the skimmer and auto fill.

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dogpaddle, thanks for posting the beautiful pics. The stone looks great! What waterline tile did you end up picking? We were thinking of going with a 6 inch square that is in the lighter beige family to blend in with the stone. Also, we are trying to match one of the manufactured stone veneers to use on our retaining walls, BBQ face, and fireplace. Are you doing a concrete patio/deck? If so, what color concrete? Coordinating all the materials has been so difficult for us and we just finished a major kitchen remodel where we had many, many decisions. These decisions stress me out!

charlie123:
We are going to do some serious work this weekend to choose waterline tile. We are doing a concrete deck but haven't picked a color yet. I will keep you posted. I hear you regarding the stress... haven't had a good nights sleep in weeks. Can't wait until this is all done and we are sipping cold drinks by the pool... come to think of it I could use a good strong drink right now!

dogpaddle - your pool and yard are going to be beautiful when finished! Good luck on your tile decision. Looking forward to seeing you post finished pics.

Thanks beachdiva! And many thanks for the tile and concrete advice. We will be making sure we choose concrete based on poured samples... another task to complete this weekend.

Hi dogpaddle,

I know what you mean about agonizing about choosing a tile. We ended up choosing pietra tile from NPT and love the way it compliments the colors in the flagstone. Below are some pictures - hope this helps!

Hi coolkat97
Thanks for the pictures! The Pietra looks fantastic with your flagstone! I may have to make another trip to NPT.

I brought home about 15 samples yesterday and, of them, slapped up 3 on the pool along with a sample the PB put up. The two samples on the right (two tiles each) are again a little too peach for my liking. The two tiles to the left of the black are the ones my PB put up. I like them but I think I am strongly leaning towards the grey/black 3x3s. They are Mediterranian-Coral Black from NPT. There are a lot of black viens in the stone and we will be putting about six black natural gas tiki torches around the pool so I'm thinking it might accent nicely plus flow into the medium grey plaster/3M pool finish.

Would love to hear what others think.

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dogpaddle, I agree with you. I think the grey/black 3x3's will be a perfect compliment to your stonework and tiki torches. I'm really glad that it wasn't too late or too costly for you to change it.

Hi Dogpaddle

I really like the darker tile - it provides a nice contrast. The lighter tiles seem to blend in too much while the darker tile really makes the darker pieces in your flagstone pop. Good luck with whatever tile you choose :)

It's really weird logging on after a few weeks and seeing your name with a link to your pool pics on a post.
Boy did I feel your pain 2 years ago. I'm sure I cried.
Here's my .02. I like both the tile that your PB put up (on the left) and the black/grey 3 x 3's. I am leaning more towards the PB choice only because it makes for a nice transition from your stunning stonework to the water. But if you are going for a definite border between the stone and the water, go with the black/grey.
Looking forward to the finished project, Lisa

i vote for the contrast and like the darker tile, but i'd prefer a 6 inch tile to a 3x3. JMHO.

O.k., since you're taking votes ;-) . . . like the dark tile or the PB tile on the left, but still think the 6" tile would make your stonework stand out more. Can't wait to see it finished. It's really going to be beautiful.

Since you originally wanted a darker tile, I say go for it. I think it will be stunning (but not so much to take away from the beautiful stone). I would also suggest a 6" vs 3x3. The 6" matches the scale of the stone work. I'm sure that if your heart is set on the dark tile in the 6" size, it's probably not available! LOL (easy for me - it's not my pool). If that's the case, then tile the PB selected looks like your stone & would be another beautiful choice.

As KristenFL has said before, the "framing" of the pool is what is noticed the most. And you did a great job there!

Even though the selection process has been aggravating, you're doing the right thing. If you don't love it, change it, because you may regret it and find yourself saying, "I should have....."

Good luck & let us know what you select.

Thank you ALL for the feedback! It has been so helpful. I really appreciate so many people taking the time to add their $0.02

Good points on the 3x3s vs 6". I was hoping if we used a dark grey grout the smaller size tiles wouldn't be as obvious. As you guessed lobstertail the grey/black tile is not available in 6"... just my luck! LOL Maybe I'll do a little more searching to see if I can find a similar 6" tile. At least I have the PB selected tile to fall back on if need be.

Thanks for all your help everyone! Much appreciated!

dogpaddle,
Love the Cameron flagstone, anyway you could post pics with the finished grout??

Thanks.

cobs:
The first and the last pictures in this feed show the stone grouted. However, on the RBB, we have a mix of flag and ledger; the ledger parts are not grouted.

Here are a few more close up pictures of the grout on the coping. Hope this helps.

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Very helpful, thanks.

Does Anyone have pictures of a finished pool with Cameron Brown Flagstone they could share?

Wow! I was quoted! I'm so honored.

It's true. Your stone is the beautiful frame, your water is the picture, and your tile is the mat. It shouldn't take away from the other two, unless it is a feature. At first I thought, definitely the gray, but as I looked at it, it could also be the color of one of the lighter gray rocks in your stone (I see two of the stones in the second set of pictures under the pvc pipe). That might be more of a gradual transition between the rock and the gray finish and blue water.

I LOVE your stone. Our tile would probably be too dark for you, but we used Daltile Continental Slate in Asian Black. Lots of grays and brown it it too.
http://www.daltileproducts.com/series.cfm?series=38#608

The tile is great. The only trouble that we had in the beginning (and now again, see below) is that the grout put out calcium. Our pool builder didn't know how to get rid of it, and poured chems. right on the grout and it ate it up. After a while, I tried spraying vinegar on it and scrubbing a little and it came right off. This was on our 360 degree spa that has water running on it everyday. The waterline has had no problems since. We had them come back to regrout the spa, and we do have a couple of areas that show calcium again. I guess it's time to get out the vinegar again. It should stop soon.

Now others might want to chime in on this one, but you might want to seal the grout. We didn't, and I don't know if that would have helped. Here's some pictures of our spa and the tile.

Good luck with your choices! I think it will look beautiful no matter what. That stone is great! I especially love the slide. I'd love to try it!

kristenfl: WOW!! Thanks for the pictures! Your spa is gorgious!! It is SO cool; I haven't seen one like that before. Love it and love your tile too. I'm going to try some more shades of greys. I like the way you describe the pool as a frame, mat and picture. Very helpful to think of what we are doing in those terms. Also reminds me of the many times I have spent hours agonizing at the framing store trying to choose the perfect mat for a $100 print. Now I'm trying to choose the perfect mat for a $100,000+ pool!! LOL

If you are ever in San Diego you are welcome to come by and try out the slide ;-) We wanted it BIG so our kids wouldn't be tired of it after one or two seasons. On the other hand it may be one or two seasons before they are brave enough to try it!

Thanks so much for your advice!

Thanks and you're welcome. I'll tell you, if we lived out your way I'd be there for the slide! I'm truly the biggest kid. I'm 46 and I'm the first one in the ocean or gulf with the boogie board. I love to play, and that looks like it's going to be one fun pool.

Enjoy and good luck with your choices.
Kristen

dogpaddle
i am picking my coping on a new pool. i love the look of cameron brown but i have heard its pretty soft and wont hold up well in a saltwater pool. do you have any feedback? thanks