Swimming Pool Mosaic Tile Ideas

Inground pool owners across America are upgrading plaster and pebble surfaces with hand laid glass pool tiles or adding color and whimsy with sea life mosaics.

Pool mosaics have infinite design possibilities. Small tile accents, or large underwater tile murals with intricate floral or scroll designs. The color palette is also – unlimited!

Pool tile ideas is a big topic for this little blog, so let’s dive right in with some small uses of pool mosaic tiles, and then look at what becomes possible with larger budgets.

Pool Mosaic Inlays

A quick way to accessorize your pool is with decorative tile accents that are put in place when the pool is replastered.

Here we have a family of turtles swimming off toward the deep end, note the shadow tile used underneath. Inlays are set in place before plaster, and can be placed anywhere. ceramic-mosaic-art-4
Not just turtles, there are dozens of other sea life creatures, and tons of floral and coral designs to choose from. Mermaids are popular, as are sharks and dolphins.

bluehaven-pools-2They are usually made of ceramic tile, in large pieces, as you can see in the dolphins chasing around a beach ball pic above.

joeglowglasstile-2
Part of the Peanuts® collection, Surfing Snoopy actually glows in the dark, as it’s made with Joe Glow Glass Tile.

You can order pool mosaic accents through your plasterer or order yourself online and have it available. Prices range from as low as $25 for small pieces, and go up as high as $2000, for larger more intricate designs.

Pool Mosaic Murals

Outdoor Tile Impressions
Tile Photo image on by OutdoorTileimpressions.com

A tile mural is a painting or picture superimposed onto ceramic tiles. They are often used on walls or floors, and can also be underwater. Any image, design or logo can be printed onto pool tiles.

Beautiful Monarch butterfly pool mosaic. Photo by Backsplashtogo.com
Photo by BackSplashToGo.com

Of course pool tile murals can go beyond printed images, and be custom crafted designs that use the pool interior as one giant canvas!

Pool Mosaic Designs

With pool mosaics like these, the entire pool is tiled, as opposed to small pool mosaics that are stuck on and filled in with pool plaster. For these jobs you need a pool mosaic tile specialist.

robert-vogland-tile-job-4Above and below is some of the work done by Robert Vogland of Vogland.com. He makes his own mosaic tiles from start to finish, and places them in the pool with cool shadows.

robert-vogland-tile-3

Here is a good example of a medallion, from Frank Bowman Designs in Raleigh, NC, the kind you may see in a fancy hotel lobby, but underwater! This all tile infinity edge pool has a lot of appeal!

frank-bowman-design-mosaic-pool
If you like the classical and orderly design above, you’ll love the Grecian inspired look of this pool below with floor, bench and spillway tile.

cipriano-pool-mosaics-2
Experienced installers like Cipriano install unique abstract underwater art to create your own backyard masterpiece. The two are gunite pools with inlaid tiles set into traditional pool plaster.

cipriano-pool-mosaics
And our last pool mosaic, is an all-over tile abstract design that looks simply beautiful, in a more affordable 2×2 tile – a simple job for many pool tile installers.

simple-tile-mosaics

The World’s Most Beautiful Tiled Swimming Pools

Craig Bragdy Design, North Wales
Craig Bragdy Design, North Wales

Maybe it’s just me, but I love a tiled pool. I love the way you can add so much color to a pool, including mosaic designs of fish, flowers or underwater scenes. I love any tiled surface, I don’t care if you want to put a Texaco logo on the bottom of your pool – I’d still appreciate the work and the artistic value.

Tile is also so smooth. Nothing is softer on your feet, and smoother to the touch. It’s the premiere luxury pool surface.

Easy to clean as well. Since pool tile is not porous and is extremely smooth, dirt has no place to hide, and algae has a hard time finding a suitably rough and hidden place to attach.

Craig Bragdy Tile Design
Craig Bragdy Tile Design
Greco-Roman tile design, builder unknown
Greco-Roman tile design, builder unknown
indoor pool all tile design by Aqualand Group
indoor pool all tile design by Aqualand Group
Graycliff Hotel pool, Bahamas
Graycliff Hotel pool, Bahamas
Melanie-Hall-Design-Pool at the Luna2 Hotel, Singapore
Melanie-Hall-Design-Pool at the Luna2 Hotel, Singapore
Colorful Reef mosaic by Custom Mosaics Inc
Colorful Reef mosaic by Custom Mosaics Inc
Beautiful Glass Tile by LightStreams Glass Tile
Beautiful Glass Tile by LightStreams Glass Tile

It can’t be just me – apparently a lot of other people love tiled swimming pools too, and I’ve got the pictures to prove it!

I love tiled pools, as I’ve said many times on this blog. For many reasons, a pool mosaic adds value to a pool, and is sure to make your neighbors green with envy!

3 thoughts on “Swimming Pool Mosaic Tile Ideas

  1. We just paid $83k for an I ground pebbletech Pool. It was so important to me to have turtles on the steps and one on the floor of the pool with a shadow. When we came down from Michigan to Florida I rushed to see our Pool only to find out the mosaic turtles (in the contract) looked like stickers they were not mosaic at all. They said I approved them which I thought I was approving the shape and style of turtle. Our contract specifically states mosaic. These turtles are like stickers plus the main turtle has no shadow which they admitted the forgot I’m heartbroken what can I do?

    • Davy Merino

      Hi Elaibe, I’m heartbroken too, such a shame. There are stickers/decals that can be used, and yes they are nothing like mosaic tiles, and decals are NOT confused with mosaic – mosaic means TILE… so I think you could press them into repairing/replacing the stickers with actual tile mosaic turtles, as your contract states (?). They would drain the pool, chip out the pebbletech around the area, affix tile mosaic turtles and reapply the pebbletech surface around the turtles. Not a huge job for them, so stand your ground, threaten legal action if necessary. Good luck.

  2. […] or nautical and decorate accordingly. Hues are pale and muted to match water and sand tones. Ocean mosaic tile inlays can be added to any concrete […]

Comments are closed.