Water line tile...where to shop?

[Plops]

So my pool builder gave me a choice of like 5 or 6 tiles for the water. There is one that I like, but there is one section of the pool that has a "fun cascade", which is basically a 24 inch raised step in the decking around the pool, so the water line tile will be visible with several rows of tile above. And there's a spray of water coming out of it. (Does that make sense? If not I'll try to post a picture).

Anyway, my question is...can I go to my local tile supplier (who has about a million tile selections to choose from) and just pick out my own tile? Or is pool tile different than regular interior tile?

Any advice appreciated...thanks!

 

[Plops]

Here are some photos of what I mean. This is someone else's pool, but the idea is the same. You'll see more of the tiles on this end...

This is the water line tile we originally picked out...but won't it look weird stacked in several layers? Not sure I'm liking it...

 

[bigdav160]

Taste is such a personal thing. And pool styles go in and out of fashion. That being said, I like your first choice. It's bold.

We bought our tile from Noble Tile. They had a small showroom near our house. We copied this look for our pool/overflow. It goes with the mexican hacienda style of the house

 

[36racin]

Install the waterline tile you originally wanted. Then above the waterline you can use the same tile but remove the dark blue stripes on the top and bottom of the tile. Match the light blue triangles together. Might look great and it will keep close to the waterline tiles.

 

[JNS101879]

Our builder used national pool tile. I'm in the process of my build and have a raised wall. We used the tile we wanted mixed with a matching deco piece. I have pictures in my build thread to see.