Concrete Pool Deck Paint Ideas: 5 Popular Colors and Designs

A fresh coat of paint is a great way to breathe new life and color into your concrete pool deck.

Since concrete easily takes to paint, texturing, and various surface finishes, there’s plenty of possibilities when it comes to designing the perfect pool deck. With so many colors and designs to choose from, how do you know which options are best for your pool deck?

In this post, we’ll run through some of the most popular concrete pool deck paint colors and designs and discuss how each choice can help your pool deck blend into its surroundings. Read on to learn more and discover the right color choice for your pool deck!

Benefits of Concrete Pool Deck Paint

Apart from enhancing the overall beauty of your pool area, many homeowners are surprised to discover some of the time- and cost-saving benefits of concrete deck paint. Here are just a few:

Improves Beauty

Like a blank canvas, unfinished concrete quickly becomes strikingly beautiful with the right coat of paint. The benefit isn’t limited to the concrete itself, however. By selecting a color that coordinates with the surrounding area, a painted pool deck can also improve the overall beauty and appearance of your pool area.

Easy to Apply

Concrete is incredibly easy to paint, thanks in part to its porous surface. With the right team and painting equipment, most concrete pool decks can be painted within an afternoon. Combined with a final coat of deck waterproofing, it only takes a day to secure the beauty and strength of your concrete surfaces for years to come.

Inexpensive

While costs vary depending on paint types and deck sizes, one thing is usually true: Concrete pool deck paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to finish your pool deck. This cost-effectiveness becomes especially apparent when comparing other pool deck materials and finishes. Where wood and masonry decks require expensive finishes and time-consuming application, concrete decks are quick, easy, and inexpensive to paint.

Protects Surfaces

Combined with a top coat of waterproof deck coating, a coat of paint can protect concrete from pool water, rain, and other potential vectors for water damage. Paints, waterproof coatings, and other surface finishes are especially important for preserving the strength and beauty of concrete. While concrete’s porosity makes it easy to apply paint, it also makes it especially susceptible to water infiltration and damage. As a result, deck paints and waterproof coatings aren’t just nice add-ons—they’re essential for preserving your deck!

5 Most Popular Colors for Concrete Pool Deck Paint

Whether you want your concrete deck to blend into its surroundings or completely pop with color, one of these popular colors can help:

1. Whites and Off-Whites

Perhaps the most classic pool deck colors, whites, off-whites, and beiges evoke images of soft, sandy beaches. Whites and other light colors also naturally reflect the sun, keeping the surface refreshingly cool on hot days. Many people also prefer shades of whites for their neutrality, which is useful for those who don’t want the pool deck to draw attention away from surrounding structures.

2. Blues and Grays

As the colors most closely associated with water and the sea, blues and grays are excellent choices for a pool deck color. While unfinished concrete is gray, adding a deeper or lighter gray provides a smoother, cleaner appearance with all the extra benefits of concrete pool deck paint, of course. Blues provide a similar upgrade; however, certain tints may be especially complementary to the brilliant blue of the swimming pool itself.

3. Tans and Browns

Tans and browns are a great way to replicate traditional masonry and other earthy surroundings.

Where reddish-brown and tans can make a concrete slab look like terracotta masonry, light and dark shades of brown can replicate dirt and earth. If you’re looking to make your pool look like a desert oasis or a swimming hole, these are the colors for you.

4. Color Mixtures

Why stick with just one color? With multiple colors, you can create all kinds of pleasing patterns and creative combinations. From free-flowing floral patterns to strong geometric shapes, your concrete pool deck serves as a blank canvas for your ideas. Plus, with an additional layer of deck waterproofing, you can preserve your designs for years to come.

5. Bold Colors

If you really want to make your pool deck “pop,” consider using bright and bold colors. Though your pool deck won’t blend in as well with the surroundings, that could be a benefit if you have a uniquely shaped pool deck. In some cases, it may also make sense to match the pool deck color to surrounding structures.

Concrete Pool Deck Paint Design Ideas

Unlike other pool deck materials, poured concrete offers a solid, flat surface without planks or tiles. As a result, the design and appearance of your concrete pool deck is entirely up to you. Here are just a few popular design ideas to get you started:

Solid Color with Trim

Perhaps the most popular design choice, a solid color with a contrasting trim is timeless, sophisticated, and easy to achieve. While the trim is usually either a lighter or darker shade of the deck color, there’s no reason you can’t use a completely different color. One popular example is a solid white deck with a bright blue trim—a combination popular in coastal Greece.

Faux Tiles

Why fuss with messy grout and expensive tiles when you can just paint them on? Though this idea might sound a bit tacky, it’s surprisingly convincing when using colors that replicate natural stone. By blending and mixing different earthy colors, you can give your solid concrete the look of a hand-laid masonry patio at a fraction of the cost.

Geometric Patterns

While square, tile-like patterns are great choices for pool decks, you can also use paint to create geometric patterns of other shapes. One popular example is a repeating hexagonal pattern, where each hexagon forms an individual tile. Using different shades of paint, you can alternate colors across the deck and even create a color gradient that gradually changes between the edges of your deck. The possibilities are endless!

Floral Patterns

If a repeating geometric pattern seems a little too traditional, a floral pattern is a great alternative. Whether you choose to embellish your concrete deck with an intricate network of budding vines or simply paint a border of flowers, floral patterns are always a dazzling choice. While they may take a bit more work than geometric patterns, they’re worth the effort if you have a particularly “flowery” design in mind.

Pattern Combinations

Solid? Geometric? Floral? Why choose one when you can choose them all! There are many ways to combine popular pool deck patterns. For example, a solid grid of square “tiles” is easily improved by adding floral embellishments along its borders. Similarly, a solid color can be accentuated with a border of either repeating shapes or floral patterns or pretty much anything else you might think of.

How to Apply Concrete Pool Deck Paint to an Existing Deck

No matter what color or design you choose, the pool deck painting process is usually the same.

Like any  surface finishing job, one of the biggest steps of the painting process is surface preparation. Here, your concrete pool deck must be completely cleaned and even stripped of existing finishes before painting can begin.

Once the surface is ready, painting can begin. While solid colors are easily applied with a spray gun or roller, more intricate patterns, including geometric and floral elements, may require a little more work. Thankfully, it’s easy to use a template to quickly apply patterns of the perfect size and shape.

With your concrete pool deck painted to your liking, it’s time to protect your investment with a coat of deck waterproofing. Waterproofing not only protects your paint, however: It also prevents water from seeping into the porous concrete underneath.

The right waterproof coating applied the right way can secure the beauty and strength of your concrete pool deck for years to come. Though you’ll need to apply a new coat at one point, reapplication is just as effective and easy as the first coat.

Protect Your Paint with Pool Deck Waterproofing from Capital Deck & Stair

Though it’s possible to paint your own deck and even apply your own waterproofing, only an expert team can guarantee great results and an attractive finish. For over 30 years, the Capital Deck & Stair team has provided waterproofing services for homes and businesses throughout Southern California. All of our work is backed by a warranty and the same quick, professional service that our customers have come to rely on.

For more information and to receive a free estimate, call Capital Deck & Stair at (866)582-7481 or visit our pool deck waterproofing page.