Hearst Castle Inspiration pt.2

Bottom of pool
Bottom of pool

There was so much inspiration at Hearst Castle that one post wouldn’t do. The previous post was mostly about the outside of the castle. One of the most beautiful parts of the estate was the indoor pool. It didn’t have the feel of indoors or outdoors.

The bottom of the pool is gorgeous. The colors are rich and strong even through the water. Yes, turquoise is a favorite color, but that blue is hard not to like. Coupled with the green, it is a very special color combination It is definitely worth trying to replicate in a quilt. A very different two color quilt?

Wall tile in indoor pool
Wall tile in indoor pool

While the bottom of the pool is awesome, the walls are fantastic, too. In fact the entire inside of the building is covered in mosaic tile.

Wouldn’t the rectangular design to the right make a fantastic quilt with no additional designing? Start saving your 1″ squares!

The outer borders, however, would also make fantastic borders. See the squares spaced at regular intervals? I think tile artisans have the same problem we do with spacing and the math around borders. The squares on the sides as well as the L shaped corners look great, but also help deal with the math. I am sure the tile people Mr. Hearst employed were perfect and this was the design, but for mere mortals like me and my quilts, the ideas would be really helpful.

The colors are really great, too. Blue and green, of course, since it is an indoor pool, but the yellow doesn’t overpower the rest. Perhaps it is more gold?? I also see a few different colors of yellow tiles. That probably helps, too. Scrap tiling/quilting?

Floor tile designs - indoor pool
Floor tile designs – indoor pool

My favorite part of the indoor pool area was right when I walked in. The photo (right) is flooring! Yes, I walked on it. Look at that gold! Look at those circles! Amazing.

I think what caught my attention first was the blue and gold. They are the colors of my alma mater, so they always grab me. On second look, I saw the design and was even more enchanted. Don’t the figures look like animals?

I also see some pinwheels and nine patches. I just love tile.