Hello! We are plodding along with our pool construction (held up by masons with no sense of urgency for the last 2 weeks). A few weeks ago I took notes on who some of you TFP grout design experts are but do not have them in front of me. The mason finally did 4 grout samples for me, after waiting a week since I've bought them, but now he needs the answer ASAP.
The look I am going for in our pool is a tropical/ Caribbean white bottom finish (likely Pebble Sheen Arctic White) with glass tile which I am hoping catches light from the water and looks pretty but also somewhat blends into the water. I should have trusted my gut and gone with a white or neutral glass tile, but I chose an iridescent glass tile with mostly light turquoises/ greens, plus intermittent tiles of many colors. It looked very light and airy and blue- green in the samples I fell in love with, but I can not get it to photograph decently in person, and it has more brown tiles in real life than in the samples they provided. The tile has many colors, and many variations of them, and it looks different in every "patch" you look at it and from every angle. If I had a choice, I would theoretically use clear grout, as I want the tile to look as clear, airy, and light as possible when it is finished (like it did in my tile samples). You will see the photos and think I am crazy, as it does not appear that way at all in them, but this tile IS 100% clear and is not the opaque, iridescent glass tile like so many I viewed (and perhaps appears here). Also, with the way the sun comes into our yard and then partially shades from the house, it will look different from all sides of the pool. AND the spa is inset into the pool with 2 sides of exposed tile that will be partially covered with H2O, so that part will really stand out as it's in the middle of our yard...
The colors I bought for grout samples are: Bright White- top left (mason wants me to use it, but that's just because he doesn't have to mix anything); Silver Shadow (bottom left- the lightest silvery gray there is); Light Pewter (top right- I think it is darker than I want, but it was the 2nd lightest gray); Sauterne (bottom right- it's the 2nd lightest white- has a touch of cream in it to soften it). Builder says Silver Shadow, bottom left, will be best for what I'm trying to do. I do not want to darken anything about the tile, though- that is my only concern there. I do think the Bright White may make it more about the grout (which I don't want) than the tile. Also of note: coping is White Shell Travertine, so it's really white and may grab the Bright White grout (I am just guessing as this is my first pool build). I will say that while I do NOT want this to be about the grout, my priority is that the tiles look as light in color as possible and closest to water color, no matter which grout is used.
These samples are not a true representation because he used such a tiny swatch of tiles in each of them, so it is only a very small amount of what is a very large pattern (larger than any other tiles I have in my sample box- normally they would begin to repeat after this sample size, but this pattern really encompasses the entire 12 inch square).
If you are still here and are willing to help a newbie in a pinch, I am attaching photos. I will have to look back at my notes, but I feel like the resident TFP may be a woman named Kim? Are there any smoke signals we can send her way?
Thank you so very much.
The look I am going for in our pool is a tropical/ Caribbean white bottom finish (likely Pebble Sheen Arctic White) with glass tile which I am hoping catches light from the water and looks pretty but also somewhat blends into the water. I should have trusted my gut and gone with a white or neutral glass tile, but I chose an iridescent glass tile with mostly light turquoises/ greens, plus intermittent tiles of many colors. It looked very light and airy and blue- green in the samples I fell in love with, but I can not get it to photograph decently in person, and it has more brown tiles in real life than in the samples they provided. The tile has many colors, and many variations of them, and it looks different in every "patch" you look at it and from every angle. If I had a choice, I would theoretically use clear grout, as I want the tile to look as clear, airy, and light as possible when it is finished (like it did in my tile samples). You will see the photos and think I am crazy, as it does not appear that way at all in them, but this tile IS 100% clear and is not the opaque, iridescent glass tile like so many I viewed (and perhaps appears here). Also, with the way the sun comes into our yard and then partially shades from the house, it will look different from all sides of the pool. AND the spa is inset into the pool with 2 sides of exposed tile that will be partially covered with H2O, so that part will really stand out as it's in the middle of our yard...
The colors I bought for grout samples are: Bright White- top left (mason wants me to use it, but that's just because he doesn't have to mix anything); Silver Shadow (bottom left- the lightest silvery gray there is); Light Pewter (top right- I think it is darker than I want, but it was the 2nd lightest gray); Sauterne (bottom right- it's the 2nd lightest white- has a touch of cream in it to soften it). Builder says Silver Shadow, bottom left, will be best for what I'm trying to do. I do not want to darken anything about the tile, though- that is my only concern there. I do think the Bright White may make it more about the grout (which I don't want) than the tile. Also of note: coping is White Shell Travertine, so it's really white and may grab the Bright White grout (I am just guessing as this is my first pool build). I will say that while I do NOT want this to be about the grout, my priority is that the tiles look as light in color as possible and closest to water color, no matter which grout is used.
These samples are not a true representation because he used such a tiny swatch of tiles in each of them, so it is only a very small amount of what is a very large pattern (larger than any other tiles I have in my sample box- normally they would begin to repeat after this sample size, but this pattern really encompasses the entire 12 inch square).
If you are still here and are willing to help a newbie in a pinch, I am attaching photos. I will have to look back at my notes, but I feel like the resident TFP may be a woman named Kim? Are there any smoke signals we can send her way?
Thank you so very much.
