The pool at dusk, fire bowls lit and the dark floor reflecting

Projects

All-Tile Mosaic Pool — Barrington Hills, Illinois

A 1,300 square foot mosaic pool floor

A private estate pool in Barrington Hills, Illinois, hand-cut in a custom blend of 57% Nocturne and 43% Obsidian glass. Thirteen hundred square feet across the floor, the walls, the steps and the spa — every curve tiled by hand.

Every curve tiled by hand, before the pool was filled.

The filled pool's shallow shelf with loungers in the water

Filled and finished — on the shallow shelf the individual tesserae stay legible.

The blend is two glasses rather than one. A single color at this scale goes flat; mixing at 57/43 keeps variation across the surface so it never reads as a printed sheet. Close up, the iridescence in the glass does the rest.

The pool steps before filling, in a dark 57/43 Nocturne and Obsidian glass blend

The blend close up: 57% Nocturne, 43% Obsidian.

Fabricated in the studio and delivered paper-faced in numbered sections keyed to a setting drawing. The pool builder set it.

Why a dark floor

A pale pool floor shows every leaf and shadow. A dark one turns the surface into a mirror — it takes the reflection of the trees and the sky, and the water reads as depth rather than as tile.

The filled pool reading deep green, a dog resting on the deck

Filled, the same floor reads deep green and turns the surface reflective.

At night, with the pool lit, the same floor disappears entirely and the light does the work.

The pool at dusk, fire bowls lit and the dark floor reflecting

At night the floor disappears and the lighting does the work.

Specification

  • Area — 1,300 sq ft

  • Material — hand-poured opaque glass, custom blend

  • Mounting — paper-faced, numbered sections to a keyed layout

  • Setting — by the pool builder

  • Edge — knife edge, six-line trunk detail

Considering something similar?

Smaller pieces run 3–6 weeks from design approval and larger ones 6–16 weeks. Send the finished dimensions, the substrate and a reference image and we will tell you what it costs.

Specifying for a client? See the designers and architects page, or download the specification sheet.

Begin your commission

Send the details of your project, or call (323) 389-5347. Studio hours are Monday to Saturday, 8am to 3pm Pacific.