Mosaic Borders for Pools and Interiors

Most borders in use today descend from a handful of Greek and Roman ornament families. Knowing their names is genuinely useful, because each behaves differently once you ask it to turn a corner or follow a curve.

The meander, or Greek key. A single unbroken line folding at right angles. It is the most recognized border in the world and the most rigidly geometric, which makes it superb on straight runs and demanding everywhere else. Its use in Greek and Roman pool design is covered on our Greek pool design page.

The guilloche. Two or more ribbons interlacing into a row of circles, usually with a rosette or an eye set in each. A Roman favorite. Because it is built from curves, it bends around a radius more gracefully than anything orthogonal.

The wave, or Vitruvian scroll. A repeating curled breaker, sometimes called running dog. It has an obvious affinity with water and reads well at a waterline.

The acanthus scroll. A foliate vine, the border equivalent of the Corinthian capital. The most demanding to cut and the most rewarding at scale, because it is the only one of these that can carry real light and shade.

Bead-and-reel, egg-and-dart, rope, chevron, dentil. Narrow, quiet patterns. These are the workhorses, used to separate two fields, to edge a step, or to sit beneath a heavier border as a secondary line.