Swimming pools have traditionally been lined in aqua blue tiles, to emphasise the cool expanse of water. However if you are looking for a change from blocky blue tiles and don't want a run of the mill pool there are some other great ideas for swimming pool tiles on the market.

Textured blues

Rather than a plain blue tile, some people use a mosaic or textured effects that mimic the flow of light through a pool of water. This has traditionally been more expensive due to the extra work in laying tiles of this sort, but with developments in production and marketing of full scale flexible orientation designs it is now much easier to achieve a texture blue finish. These can also be laid as water line feature, to provide a unique effect where the water meets the surface.

Darker colours

Darker pool tiles came into vogue in the 1980s but fell out of popularity as the building of chemicals and water litter at the pool line quickly made the pool look messy. In modern pools with less aggressive chemical filtration routines, UV filtration or automatic cleaning systems can be much more flexible to pools in a range of dark colours including blacks, browns and deep greens and greys. If you are considering a darker tile it's worth discussing with your tile installers how you will need to clean the tiles to keep them looking clean and shiny.

Natural and stone finishes

A newer trend is to use natural coloured tiles that blend in with the surrounding tiles. Natural finish tiles can be found in a range of textures to mimic rocks, pebbles and natural stone surfaces under the feet. These can often be harder to clean due to the uneven surface, and the matte finishes do not give the same impression of depth as a shiny finish. As a result these kinds of finishes often suit larger pools, where this is enough space to absorb the effect of the matte finish. 

Glass tiles

Glass tiles have tended to get easily scratched making them unsuitable for use in pools. However with special sealants, this risk is reduced and the tiles can also become less slippery underfoot. They are very popular due to the high gloss factor, making small pools appear deeper and more inviting. They can be installed in a range of colours.

If you are looking for an innovative approach to your swimming pool tiles, investigate the options that might suit your new swimming pool project.