One of the great things we love about mosaic tile in luxury swimming pools is the artistic versatility of the material. It’s a notoriously difficult medium to work with, but artisans are able to design incredibly sophisticated optical illusions in the pool with tile mosaics.
Designing an artistic mosaic that utilizes the entire canvas of the swimming pool takes real skill. The elites of the industry are adept at using tile as their preferred medium to paint a portrait that tells a story. An industry-recognized tile artisan who has mastered the ability to do just that is Ray Corral of Mosaicist, Inc. The Miami-based firm has built a reputation for designing stunning mosaic tile pool interiors.
Using Tile To Create Optical Illusion Mosaics
Collaborating with high-end builders and designers like Brian Van Bower and Ryan Hughes, Corral is used to working on luxury custom pools that require his particular skillset. His ability to create transcendent designs that draw you into the pool interior is undeniable.
Creating optical illusions in the pool is something that’s second nature for Corral. “I’ve come to realize that a lot of the simple things we do grab attention and people are just taken back by it. We take it for granted because we’ve done so many designs. Sometimes what we think is amazing because of the complexity, people don’t always understand and appreciate,” said Corral.
Mosaic seascape interior. Photo Credit: Mosaicist
While most of the mosaic tile interiors Corral designs these days are for modern geometric-shaped pools, he still does a fair amount of freeform pool interiors. In South Florida, mosaic seascapes are popular and corral caters to that clientele looking to turn their pool interior into a tropical lagoon.
Designing Realistic Seascapes
This particular project showcases Corral’s abilities at creating optical illusions with mosaic tile. From the intricate waves in the sand to the ocean scene inside the pool, creating those types of visual effects is definitely something that not every tile firm can easily master.
“When we look at the sand it looks real,” said Corral, “These clients wanted a realistic environment. They have tropical landscaping, bridges, landscaping inside the pool that just creates this type of oasis. They want to look outside their window and see coral reefs, fish, and aquatic animals,” he explained.
“There are folks that are close to the ocean, or the ocean is in their hearts, or they’re into diving, whatever the case may be. A lot of these people want scenery in their pool and we just to try to create them something realistic,” said Corral.
“When we put a design together we take into account that the reality of that fact is that most of the time the homeowner will be looking at the pool and not necessarily swimming in it. We take into consideration how the design looks from the second floor, first floor and when you enter the pool,” Corral explained.
“We also take into account the depth of the pool and the transition from the shallow end to the deep end,” said Corral. It’s in the planning and design of the elements that will comprise the entire scene, that he spends an inordinate amount of time going over with customers who want a pool interior of this nature.
“Many times homeowners are looking through our Instagram or our website or the books we have in our office to help them pick out elements to add to their swimming pool,” said Corral.
Creating a Tropical Paradise in Mosaic Tile
Designing the client’s ideal tropical fantasy in mosaic tile can be difficult on freeform style pools. Corral indicated that the shape of these pools is extremely difficult to work with and requires a certain level of planning and dexterity to properly execute. It seems to be old hat for him though. Planning an all-mosaic tile beach entry pool that transforms into a tropical lagoon in this fashion is something his firm Mosacist, Inc. does at least several times a year.
“What’s difficult is on these designs is that the closer that you get to the walls, the more attention to detail you need to have. It’s very easy for a designer to do a circle and have that manufactured somewhere else, but it’s difficult to design a concept that hugs the walls this way and have it come out well.”
3D Rendering of Aquarium – Photo Credit: Mosaicist, Inc.
Aquatic Mosaic Art
Designing gorgeous seascape mosaics for the pool isn’t Corral’s only wheelhouse. He showed us other breathtaking examples including a mosaic tile aquarium he installed for one of his customers From the 3D rendering to the real-world product, it’s incredible the amount of detail that’s involved to achieve these types of optical illusions.
Aquatic Glass Mosaic Tile Art – Photo Credit: Mosaicist, Inc.
To plan, design, and install all of the unique elements that will comprise a total scene, you can easily see how many individual mosaics are required to create effects of this nature. It’s an old world artisan skill and one that Corral has honed over his years in the tile industry.
“We’re always looking for that one client that wants us to do something we’ve never tried before,” said Corral, “We get excited when clients allow us to do something different. It gives our portfolio diversity and keeps us at the top of the industry.”
Listen to our entire conversation with Ray Corral of Mosaicist, Inc.
Photo credits: Mosaicist, Inc.
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