Thanks for the suggestions. As a follow-up here are some more details on this area... -This area gets pretty good sunshine during the day and especially the afternoon. -The approximate total length of the area is about 30 feet -The depth of the area varies as it conforms to the edge of the pool but is between 3-6 feet all the way around.

Thanks everyone! I'm still waiting to hear back regarding my request today for a sample that shows his "enhancing" technique. Oldryder - could you tell me what you use to enhance stones such as ours? Is it common to apply an enhancer and then buff it off? Is it perhaps the same as wiping away the excess? Assuming that's all it is - it should be fine - and then I just need to make sure any sealer he uses isn't a gloss finish. I'm still going to insist on a sample but I wanted to make sure his wasn't some unorthodox method that wasn't an industry norm. And Mags438, the stone (when enhanced) is jet black and the streaks/veins are cream, brown and rust. You can see in this photo (the area where we've wiped it down with a wet paper towel) what it will look like after it's been enhanced. I liked this granite the first time I saw it (polished) but I LOVED it when I saw the leathered version.

Looks great. Our pool is 25 years old so when we decided to resurface and tile the pool we considered all sorts of options for changing the shape and design. But in the end it would have run $$$$ instead of $$ so PebbleSheen and tile it is. Here's a couple pictures of the Aqua Blue after a day of chemicals (please excuse the dead grass from the pool company!), though the camera just can't do the true color justice. Different angle/time of day, different water color. The water probably needs a few more days of circulation for the end color to come through but I think it's probably pretty close. We really struggled with the Aqua Blue / Blue Granite decision.

Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions. I love both the grey and cream colour schemes. Provincial regulations require a fence around the pool which cannot be chain-link (which is climbable), however this unfenced pool dates to the 1960s, before those laws were in effect, and is therefore grandfathered. Needless to say, grandfathering doesn't prevent a child or pet from drowning, so one of our first priorities upon closing will be to erect a fence. To answer questions, and for clarification, the large entry door is not the main entrance to the house, unfortunately. The small door to the left is. The larger door leads to a room with a bar, which is directly under the master bedroom and connected to it with a staircase. We plan to remove the bar and make this area our home gym. The roof is not Spanish clay tile, but rather asphalt shingles in a mottled terra cotta, brownish colour. (The house - a second home for us - in the Laurentian mountains, an hour north of Montreal, so no terra cotta tiles around here!) It is indeed a very awkward layout that will be challenging. There are even weirder features inside, however the location (proximity to our home in Montreal) and large non-motorboat lake are spectacular, so those factors sold us!