Custom Design

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Custom Aquatic Theming at Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast, Australia

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Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast in Australia chose Life Floor for their H2Oasis splash pad. This unique 8-color design was created by Burling Brown Architects located in Queensland.

This installation features a unique custom-cut design highlighted with Porcelain Life Floor tiles weaving through the main colors. These Porcelain lines create organic shapes with contrasting color blocks and allow for subtle paths of engagement through spray fixtures.

Guest experience is important for an aquatic amenity such as H2Oasis. Choosing colors for the surface that complement the surrounding environment allows for immersive theming and lends to a guest’s overall impression of their visit.

Thank you to Grant Burgess, Managing Director for Life Floor Australia and New Zealand, for his creative collaboration with Burling Brown Architects and his strategic partnership with Grassports Australia installers. Their vision for executing this project successfully with excellence resulted in innovative new installation tactics that can be applied to future projects in Australia.

Life Floor in the Caribbean

Tired of the snowy Minnesota winter, the Life Floor team kicked off annual planning meetings in the Caribbean at the start of the year. We were excited to celebrate a successful 2022 as we sailed to two islands in the Bahamas featuring award-winning Life Floor installations. As an added bonus, our team was able to observe Life Floor onboard the ship.

We invite you to escape to the tropics as you explore our team's adventures on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas as well as our excursions to Perfect Day at CocoCay and Baha Bay at Baha Mar on Nassau!

One of the reasons why we chose this ship for our planning meetings is because it features Life Floor in the Adventure Ocean kids area. Several cruise lines have chosen our Slate tiles as their preferred surfacing for indoor kids play spaces given its cushioning, cleanability, and IMO certification.

Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas also features a FlowRider that uses Life Floor for slip-resistance along the ramps. Our first day on board the ship was the best opportunity to see this area in action since the following days were filled with meetings, excursions, and fun with team members at sea.

On our second day, the ship docked at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island. Immediately after the team got onto the island, we were greeted by our themed installation at Captain Jill's Galleon. 

We met with the operators of the island who gave us a tour that eventually led to another installation of ours, Splashaway Bay. This particular splash pad has won Aquatics International's Dream Design award. This project was designed in collaboration with Martin Aquatic. 

For our day at sea, most of the team's time was spent in annual planning meetings. Afterwards and over the course of the sailing, the group thoroughly enjoyed the amenities on board the ship as well as the ability to spend quality time together. 

Our final day was spent at Nassau, where the team was able to visit and tour Baha Bay at Baha Mar. This waterpark has won Aquatics International's Dream Design award as well as a Leading Edge award from WWA. Life Floor is installed in four different areas around the property.

At Stingray Cove, Aqua and Aviator swirls surface a splash pad featuring a giant play structure. 

At Turtle Beach, Life Floor surfaces the walls, steps, floor, and landing pads of the main pool as well as an adjacent splash pad and zero depth entry pool. 

Hexagon Life Floor tiles can also be found along the ramps of the waterpark's FlowCurl. 

The most unexpected application of Life Floor we got to see was in the flamingo pool! Concrete is too abrasive for flamingo feet and can cause a condition called Bumblefoot. Thankfully, Life Floor's soft tiles provide the perfect solution. 

Overall, Life Floor’s time spent in the Caribbean provided us with a productive planning week filled with team bonding, opportunities to see award-winning projects, and time spent with operators at all of these beautiful tropical locations.

Inspired by the Life Floor applications above? Our team would love to learn more about your project and walk you through our complimentary design process. Contact our team today to start the conversation.

TOP 10 Life Floor Installations from 2022

2022 was filled with a variety of design projects ranging in complexity, size, and theming. As we look back at the year in review, there are certainly some installations that stand out. The following highlight our top 10 unique Life Floor projects that were installed in 2022.

most TROPICAL FACILITY THEME

Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa

Location: Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
Install Date: April 2022
Area: 4,500 ft² (418 m²)
Main Colors: Sandstone, Sandbar, Gobi, and Porcelain
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Designer: WhiteWater
Engineering Consultant: Martin Aquatic Design and Engineering
Installer: Elegance Interior Solutions
Photography Credit: Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa

FIRST PROJECT TO FEATURE AUSTRALIA + NEW ZEALAND INLAYS

Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre

Location: 90 Taylors Rd, Keilor Downs, Victoria, Australia
Install Date: July 2022
Area: 4,630 ft² (430 m²)
Colors: Terra Cotta, Pomegranate, Goldfish, Sunshine, Sandbar, Sandstone, Ivory, Seafoam, Turquoise, Iceberg, Aviator, and Ocean
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8” (7/8” at slide runout)
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Architect: Williams Ross Architects
Installer: Mauer Construction Tiling

OUR SECOND ANNUAL MAKE A SPLASH! GRANT CONTEST WINNER

Wells Park Splash Pad

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Install Date: July 2022
Area: 1,360 ft² (126 m²)
Colors: Turquoise, Seafoam, Goldfish, and Sunshine
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

MOST REMOTELY LOCATED PROJECT

Dimond Park Aquatic Center

Location: Juneau, Alaska, USA
Install Date: May 2022
Area: 6,000 ft² (557 m²)
Colors: Bluebird, Iceberg, Boulevard, River Rock, and Foghorn
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

BEST ATHLETIC THEMING

Manor Park

Location: Huntington, New York, USA
Install Date: June 2022
Area: 2,520 ft² (234 m²)
Colors: Evergreen, Limelight, and Ivory
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

MOST CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT

Kununurra Splash Park

Location: Kununurra, Australia
Install Date: May 2022
Area: 5,380 ft² (500 m²)
Colors: Olive, Sunshine, Kestrel, Ivory, Terra Cotta, Sepia
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Installer: Grassports Australia (QLD)

MOST UNIQUE APPLICATION OF LIFE FLOOR

Ka'ana Pop-Up Surf Park

Location: British Columbia, Canada
Install Date: Summer 2022
Area: 350 ft² (33 m²)
Colors: Porcelain, Tiki, Evergreen, Olive, and Goldfish
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces
Partner: Daldorado

FIRST INSTALLATION IN SWITZERLAND

Red Whale Swim School

Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Install Date: September 2022
Area: 1,600 ft² (150 m²)
Colors: Ocean and Aviator
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: CreateScape Ltd.

MOST COLOR VARIETY

Madison Community Center

Location: Madison, South Dakota, USA
Install Date: January 2022
Area: 6,624 ft² (615 m²)
Colors: Limelight, Seafoam, Turquoise, Aviator, Bluebird, Ocean, Kestrel, Heron, Foghorn, River Rock, and Boulevard
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Designer: Life Floor Studio
Installer: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

BEST OVERLOOK

Hervey Bay Waterpark

Location: 267 Esplanade Pialba, Queensland, 4655, Australia
Install Date: August 2022
Area: 11,000 ft² (1,022 m²)
Colors: Ocean, Aviator, Bluebird, Boulevard, Sandbar, and Porcelain
Texture: Ripple 2.0
Thickness: 3/8”
Designer: WhiteWater

Thank you to all of our partners and customers who trusted us to make aquatic facilities safer, more beautiful, and more accessible in 2022.

BEACHSIDE FUN AT MOREY’S PIERS

Morey’s Piers overlooks the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Wildwood, New Jersey and is perfectly located for guests who are looking for an elevated beach experience. Our partner, WhiteWater, designed these two oceanside attractions with over 10,000 square feet of Life Floor at Morey’s Piers’ Bonsai Beach and Camp KidTastrophe splash pads.

Bonsai Beach

Bonsai Beach features a beach inspired Life Floor design complete with Marine Inlays, custom surfboards and a custom logo. The outer edges of the splash pad replicate the sandy beaches just beyond the pier and the brilliant turquoise colors leading towards the center of the play area resemble crashing waves.

Bonsai Beach is a fully submerged splash pad located on Surfside Pier as part of Ocean Oasis Water Park.

Did you know Life Floor can be installed both above and below water?

Installing Life Floor on the bottom of fully submerged splash pads, pools, zero-depth entries, and waterparks is an easy way to add more visual interest to a space or signal to guests that the depth of water is changing by including gradients that get darker as the depth increases. Including visual signals for guests is an important aspect of accessible design.

Camp KidTastrophe

Camp KidTastrophe showcases a unique pattern centered around the main elevated play structure. Marine Inlays complement the space and add play value as kids run and splash around the structures. This energetic splash pad is located on Mariner’s Pier as part of Raging Waters Water Park.

“Life Floor requires way less annual maintenance than other surfaces we’ve had in the past. We would definitely recommend Life Floor to other facilities.”
— Will Morey, Director of Waterpark Operations

Thank you to WhiteWater for the collaboration on this project and to Inside Edge Safety Surfaces for installation services. If you want to learn more about Life Floor, contact us today.

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HOW TO SPECIFY CUSTOM LIFE FLOOR DESIGN PROJECTS

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The versatility of Life Floor’s design options provides an opportunity to create truly iconic aquatic spaces. While some clients opt for simpler designs using our preconfigured Patterns, many Life Floor projects are custom. Our team has spent over a decade building a process to accommodate these unique installations and we recommend initiating project-specific discussions as early as possible.

GETTING STARTED ON UNIQUE DESIGNS

Some clients and design partners create their own designs entirely in-house while others utilize our Studio Team’s complimentary design services. To visualize possibilities for specific projects, our team generates 2-3 concepts after receiving scaled plans and general design guidelines. Our team can also facilitate a hybrid approach to optimize pre-existing designs using our established best practices. For custom projects, contact us as soon as possible to streamline the design and quote processes.

OPTING FOR PRE-ESTABLISHED THEMES + PATTERNS

For rough budgetary estimates on non-custom projects, we recommend contacting us for a copy of the Life Floor Budgetary Guide, which features pricing for our Themes and Patterns. These designs have been curated to represent the most popular color and shape combinations requested by customers and designers.

TYPICAL PROJECT TIMELINE

It takes around 12 weeks from the start of the design process to the shipment of tiles from our U.S. manufacturing facility. While times vary by project, the following phases can be referenced for planning estimates:

Design Phase

2 weeks after scaled site plans are received by our Studio Team

Material + Labor Quote

1-2 weeks following design approval

Manufacturing Production

6-8 weeks following quote approval

CONTACT US

To initiate a new project or to discuss an existing project where Life Floor has been specified, please contact us. For additional design resources, please visit the Studio Section of our website.

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New Life Floor Tile Colors!

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We’re excited to announce that we’ve expanded our color palette with two new offerings: Seafoam and Submariner. We’ve carefully chosen these colors to expand our popular blue and turquoise color families. With these new additions, we’re broadening the creative possibilities for our design partners and customers.

SEAFOAM AND SUBMARINER

SEAFOAM AND SUBMARINER

SEAFOAM

Seafoam features a medium teal tone that complements Turquoise and Aqua. Together, the three colors form our new Theme: Surf. On its own, Seafoam is the perfect hue to create designs inspired by beautiful tropical getaways. Paired with Turquoise, Aqua, and our lighter tan tones, this new color can be used to create gradients representative of island seashores. 

SURF THEME: TURQUOISE, SEAFOAM, AQUA

SURF THEME: TURQUOISE, SEAFOAM, AQUA

NATURAL BRIDGE, VA Featuring: Surf Theme Photo Credit: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

NATURAL BRIDGE, VA
Featuring: Surf Theme
Photo Credit: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

SUBMARINER

Submariner is a deep navy that is now the darkest blue featured in our palette. With this new color, we’ve expanded our most popular Theme, High Tide, which also features Ocean, Bluebird, and Aviator. Submariner’s rich tone adds depth to gradients and patterns. We recommend using it with our blue and tan colors to create aquatic-inspired designs. It also works well as a more neutral option to pair with greys or to contrast bright color selections. 

HIGH TIDE THEME: SUBMARINER, OCEAN, BLUEBIRD, AVIATOR

HIGH TIDE THEME: SUBMARINER, OCEAN, BLUEBIRD, AVIATOR

REDFORD CHARTER TWP, MI Featuring: High Tide Theme Photo Credit: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

REDFORD CHARTER TWP, MI
Featuring: High Tide Theme
Photo Credit: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

Through a limited release, these new colors have already made their debut on some installations across the country. We look forward to seeing how our expanded color palette inspires even more projects this year. 

DOTHAN, AL Featuring: Submariner & Seafoam Photo Credit: Dothan Leisure Services

DOTHAN, AL
Featuring: Submariner & Seafoam
Photo Credit: Dothan Leisure Services

FAYETTEVILLE, GA Featuring: Seafoam Photo Credit: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

FAYETTEVILLE, GA
Featuring: Seafoam
Photo Credit: Inside Edge Safety Surfaces

COMPLIMENTARY DESIGN SERVICES

Interested to know what a design using these colors would look like at your facility? Contact us today to have our Studio Team create a complimentary rendering of your project! 

IMG_7777.JPG
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SETTING A SAFER PRECEDENT FOR CANADA: YMCA OF GREATER MONCTON

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Recently, NSF International expanded Standard 50 to extend across Canada, which includes recommendations for surfacing in aquatic play areas under NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 (formerly NSF/ANSI 50:26).

YMCA OF GREATER MONCTON

With its recent Life Floor installation, the YMCA of Greater Moncton, NB is one of the first aquatic facilities in Canada to recognize the importance of having NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 certified safety surfacing. The facility is a combination of an indoor splash pad with a zero-depth entry and a playground. Because of this unique configuration, the staff sought out a product that was able to transition seamlessly from wet to dry applications while maintaining their commitment to safety. To accomplish this, they selected Life Floor to be installed.

“Having seen Life Floor at a major trade show, we knew it was the product we wanted to install in our new facility.”
— Scott Munro, Vice President of Facilities
YMCA OF GREATER MONCTON

A custom beach-inspired design was chosen to complement the existing tropical theming. Life Floor’s foam-rubber tiles were able to create the perfect transition the YMCA needed between the wet and dry play areas, especially since splash pads are essentially wet playgrounds. The cushioned and impact-absorbing surfacing allows children to run, jump, and play without limits - never needing to stop and put on shoes or change the way they play from one area to the next. As a result, the fully immersive experience enhances imaginative play. 

The YMCA of Greater Moncton is skipping ahead of their competition by creating a facility full of imagination, play, and fun. They have created a holistic experience to provide their members with the perfect beach day right in their community’s backyard.

We thank the YMCA of Greater Moncton for their commitment to safety and for being one of the first in Canada to adopt NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 safety surfacing standards for the benefit of their members. We look forward to the future as more Canadian facilities follow their example and recognize the importance of this safety standard as an integral part of their business.



To learn more about the official code in your region or state, check out this free resource.

If you’d like to specify or install NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26 surfacing for an aquatic play area in Canada, please contact our Canadian Partner, Paul-Émile Beaudry at pebeaudry@polyvalens.ca to assist you in both English and French.

For U.S. clients and all other inquiries, please contact us directly via our online contact form or send us an email at solutions@lifefloor.com. 

French Translation

Le YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB crée un précédent sécuritaire en milieu aquatique au Canada.

Récemment, NSF International a étendu la norme Standard 50 partout au Canada, incluant des recommandations pour les surfaces de jeu aquatiques sous l’appellation NSF/ANSI/CAN 50,26 (précédemment nommée NSF/ANSI 50:26).

Avec ses récentes installations de Life Floor, le YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB est l’un des premiers centres d’installation aquatique à reconnaître l’importance d’avoir une surface sécuritaire certifiée NSF/ANSI/CAN 50:26. En effet, l’établissement se compose d’un mix de  deux (2) aires de jeux, l’une étant une surface mouillée (indoor splash pad) plane et l’autre étant une aire de jeux sèche. À cause de cette configuration spéciale, les employés ont recherché un produit qui permettrait la transition en toute transparence, de la surface mouillée à la surface sèche pour leurs activités tout en gardant un engagement de sécurité irréprochable. Un seul choix leur permettait de tout rallier : Life Floor.

Après avoir vu Life Floor lors d'un grand salon, nous avons sû que c’était le produit que nous voulions pour nos installations !  —Scott Munro, Vice Président du YMCA du Grand Moncton, NB

Au niveau du design,  le thème tropical dans l’aire de jeu d’eau et le thème plage dans l’aire de jeu sèche sont en parfaite harmonie pour s’adapter au thème pré-existant. Et maintenant, les enfants peuvent donc courir, sauter, culbuter et jouer sans limites sur une surface conforme aux nouveaux standards. Les surfaces coussinées  et absorbant tout impact permettent aux enfants de jouer sans s’arrêter pour mettre leurs chaussures ou changer leur façon de jouer d’un endroit à l’autre. Comme résultat, l’expérience devient totalement immersive et renforce leur jeu imaginatif.

Le YMCA du Grand Moncton devient donc un chef de file en adoptant des installations pleines d’imagination, de jeu et de plaisir ! Ils ont créé une expérience holistique en offrant à leurs membres une journée de plage parfaite en plein dans leur cour !

Nous remercions le YMCA du Grand Moncton de leur engagement pour la sécurité de leurs membres et d’être les premiers au Canada à appliquer la norme NSF/ANSI/CAN 50.26. Nous espérons que plusieurs autres organismes, centres aquatiques  et municipalités suivront l’exemple du YMCA et reconnaîtront l’importance de l’application de cette recommandation comme faisant partie de leur politique d’opération .

Si vous désirez de plus amples informations sur les tuiles Life Floor, communiquez avec Polyvalens Inc, notre distributeur au Canada.

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Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

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Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

Splashaway Bay at CocoCay. Photo credit: Royal Caribbean

Did you know that despite being manufactured primarily as geometric tiles, Life Floor can be custom cut into any shape imaginable? From curvy designs to themed imagery and from games to giant logos, we’ve done it! Read more to learn about some of these popular design options that stray from our standard offerings to offer a more customized experience. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

For theming opportunities, we’ve cut anything from life-sized surfboards to giant paw prints and sandy islands into our floors. 

Captain Jill’s Galleon at CocoCay. Photo credit: Royal Caribbean

Captain Jill’s Galleon at CocoCay.
Photo credit: Royal Caribbean

ULTIQA Beach Haven Resort, Australia

Beach Haven, Australia

Curvy or circular designs are a popular choice for customers looking for a more organic look. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

For added play value at the surface level, we’ve created games to add to the guest experience for our customers as well. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

One of our most popular requests is to add elements of branding to surfaces - from giant logos to inlays that represent the facilities where they’re installed. 

As you can see, the opportunities and options are truly endless!

So how do we do it? 

The process varies by project. In some cases, like in the instance of giant circles, organic shapes can be hand cut on site by a skilled installation team. Large swooping curves can often be achieved this way as well.

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles
Westfield Diagram

In other cases, projects come factory cut with labeled parts and diagrams to streamline the install process on site and to ensure design accuracy. 

Why don’t all customers take this approach? 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

These designs are all amazing and we love that we’re able to create them! Unfortunately, some of these examples are out of budget for some customers. When dealing with curvy or custom designs, more material is needed to account for the amount of scrap created when trimming our square tiles to create these shapes. Installation costs are a bit higher as well due to the attention to detail needed to get the designs installed properly. 

Is there a more budget-friendly way to custom cut designs? 

Of course! In some cases, customers have opted for a repeatable inlay that can be cut from a single tile to help brand or theme their space. A great example of this is the maple leaf inlay we created for the Maple Grove Community Center. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

In other cases, a custom design only covers a small portion of a project while the rest of the design sticks with some of our more budget-friendly design options like our preferred colors or standard tile shapes. At the Courtyard by Marriott Anaheim, a few custom inlays and activities were interspersed throughout our simple pattern of square tiles in our High Tide theme. 

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

Another great way to incorporate a curved design is to limit the amount of tiles that need to be trimmed into a custom shape. At the splash pad at the Australia Zoo, only the perimeter of the “pond” needed to be cut while all other tiles could be installed as full square pieces.

Creating Custom Shapes, Logos, and Designs with Life Floor Tiles

While these projects all take a little extra effort during the design, manufacturing, and installation processes, we always love the results! Have an idea in mind that you’d like to explore with our team? Reach out to us and we’ll do our best to make it a reality!

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Our Top 5 Life Floor Design Tips

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While our Studio Team is happy to create design renderings for our clients, many customers and partnering designers have expressed interest in creating their own flooring designs. For anyone looking to get started with their own Life Floor projects, we’ve put together five of our top design tips to help guide the process! 

Include Three or More Colors in Designs 

We’ve found that designs containing three or more colors look best after installation. As an added benefit, they minimize visibility of debris or regular wear over time. This concept is similar to how complex carpet designs are applied in high traffic areas like casinos. An intricate or varied pattern will hide most imperfections. In contrast, any debris or marking on a solid field of color will be very apparent. We know it’s impossible to keep pool decks and splash pads absolutely spotless all day so this technique helps aquatic facilities continue to look their best. Multi-color designs also enhance spaces where they’re installed by creating vibrant and interesting patterns at the surface level. These designs are vast improvements to drab fields of grey concrete! They lend themselves to great theming opportunities as well.

Design within Project Budgets

While the sky's the limit for some customers, most are looking to stick within a specific budget. With a wide range of design and pricing needs in mind, we’ve created a variety of shape and color options to accommodate an array of project types.  

Our tiles are available in four shapes - squares, triangles, rectangles, and hexagons. Our square tiles are the most cost-effective option both in terms of material and installation costs. Triangles and rectangles have very similar material costs (since they’re just half squares). It’s important to note that they are slightly more expensive to install since more pieces are involved and the designs are typically a bit more complex. Of all of our shapes, hexagons are the most expensive.

Beyond these standard tile shapes, we can also custom cut our tiles into just about anything - curves, logos, games, images, you name it! These unique designs look great but use more material, require more factory preparation, and take more time to install so they’re generally the most expensive. 

Choosing an area as an accent piece can also enhance facilities within budget. This focal point can add visual interest to an entire project while also keeping the overall cost lower by using a simpler design throughout.

There are many ways to mix and match our tile shapes and colors to achieve a great project look. Hopefully these basics help inform some of the best opportunities to create some stellar designs that are also affordable at any price point!

Use a Staggered Grid for Tile Layouts

Staggered Grid

Standard (Checkerboard) Grid

While most people generally assume that our square tiles are best arranged in a standard (or checkerboard) grid, we actually recommend designing with our tiles on a staggered grid. We’ve found that this layout is ideal for ease of installation and maximum durability over time. Layouts that use standard grids are still a beautiful option; however, we generally recommend designing with them only for smaller applications or for designs that really rely on the checkerboard tile layout for a distinct pattern or look. 

Accent Designs with Theming and Play Options 

Are you looking to add some sea creatures to your splash pad design? No problem! We have several pre-designed thematic inlays, like fish and crabs, that fit within single square tiles. We can also cut larger creatures, whales or dolphins for instance, across several tiles. 

Want to add a game into the surface? We can custom cut nearly anything into Life Floor. Some popular choices have included hopscotch and checkerboards.

For branding opportunities or to include a facility’s logo within a design, we can precision cut all of the parts in advance at our factory. They arrive ready to install to ensure brand accuracy and a smooth installation process on site. A great example of a large-scale logo we’ve created recently was one that we produced for the Fun Spot splash pad in Orlando, FL. The finished product and a diagram showing all of the precut parts are pictured above. 

Take Advantage of Our Online Resources

Did you know that there are helpful resources on the Design Studio page of our website related to creating designs with Life Floor tiles?

For design inspiration, our Portfolio and past Lookbooks are great places to start!

One of the most popular resources we have posted is a chart that shows color equivalents for all of our tile colors. If you design in Adobe Illustrator (like we do), the Hex codes are very helpful to get the colors in your layouts as accurate as possible. 

Our pre-established color palettes and tile patterns have been popular options for our customers. Head to the Themes and Patterns pages to explore these designs. We even have downloadable templates that can be used in Adobe Illustrator for anyone looking to cut and paste these options into their projects. Use one of these as designed or vary it slightly to cater it to your project!

To get started with a scaled tile grid to represent Life Floor in AutoCAD, we have templates that include hatches for both Metric and Imperial designs. 

Looking for technical details to better understand how our tiles integrate during installation? Those are available on our Specs + Resources page as well! 

While the tips above cover our major suggestions, these are only some of the best practices we’ve established over the years! Want to learn more or have questions for our Studio Team? Feel free to email us at design@lifefloor.com. We love partnering with designers and take great joy in seeing what other great projects are dreamed up by other companies around the world!

Interested in our upcoming Designing with Life Floor Guide?

Sign up below to receive access in advance of it going live! 

Shaping Up Design at Grapevine: Our Answer to a Burning Question

Pleasant Glade Pool Deck in Grapevine, TX

The City of Grapevine, Texas is home to an aquatics program carefully curated to engage the community throughout the hot summer season. Between the waterpark, indoor recreation center, outdoor family pool, and splash pads, the award-winning facilities keep 54,000 citizens cool and active. The city’s morning and evening swim lessons, lap pool, and obstacle course are especially well known and loved by community members. However, with the Texas sun heating up the concrete deck to dangerous temperatures, the city knew it had to resurface the entryway.  

“In our entryway, we had no shade protection, so by 4 pm that concrete was 130-140 degrees at least.”
— Hunter Hardeman, Aquatic Supervisor of the Pleasant Glade Pool

Grapevine chose Life Floor because of the tile’s unique ability to dissipate heat underfoot. Unlike concrete, Life Floor tiles do not absorb heat, which is why the tiles feel comfortable to walk on in the summer sun.

Choosing a modern design in rectangles, the entryway now simulates a river flowing into the pool entrance, without the added cost of cutting curves into the tiles. With this affordable design solution, the floor is now a feature instead of a hot problem.

Pleasant Glade Pool Deck in Grapevine, TX
“We have really enjoyed Life Floor. It has definitely made our deck that used to be so hot much better to walk on. It’s great.”
— Hardeman

Parr Park Sprayground has experienced similar heat issues on its concrete splash pad. Using Cool Deck, the City of Grapevine tried to mitigate the hot surface, which ultimately lead to a slippery surface. The city approached Life Floor to solve the slippery, hot surfacing problems in combination with creating a completely new and unique design. It was the perfect timing. The Life Floor Studio had just finalized our newest Hexagon shape. 

Parr Park in Grapevine, TX
Parr Park in Grapevine, TX
Parr Park in Grapevine, TX
“We’ve been really excited about adding hexagon tiles to our product line-up because they offer a completely different visual effect than what we’ve been getting from our square, rectangle, and triangle patterns. The hexagon can be seen as more modern or even more visually interesting to a lot of people. It also interlocks in a more radial way than our other shapes have. When arranged with enough variety of color, hexagons can create a really interesting mottled effect across a surface. For this reason, we think this shape has the potential to really enhance municipal splash pads without adding additional cost for custom-cut designs. Parr Park had a pre-existing splash pad with a swooping shape so I thought it would be fun to create a design that followed those curves. I really liked that the mix of cool tones could create a vibrant, futuristic feel that departs from so many of our other designs that often have nature-based or beach themes.”
— Kelsi Goss, Studio Director for Life Floor

A big thank you to the City of Grapevine for being our Hexagon pioneer! 

Installation by Preferred Installation Partner, Inside Edge.


Kids Discover More at Australia Zoo

“The floor added some bright, attractive colours which have certainly added to the fun and excitement. It allowed us to be flexible and creative in our design and planning which created a wonderful finished product. Life Floor has given us a soft, non-slip surface which has received fantastic feedback from our guests. The installation has made it far more enjoyable for children, rather than the more common, abrasive surfaces that are used,” said Darren Gertler, Director of Marketing for the Australia Zoo about why they chose Life Floor for this world-class feature. 

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How Design, Play, and Safety Came Together at Westfield

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“We saw the octopus design and it was perfect. That’s it! That’s the one! It still had the river feel to it with tentacles mimicking a river…  Even the city admin, who is a much harder sell because he likes things very branded, looked at me and says it’s not even a question, it’s that one. The design was just so fun, it was everything we wanted.” 

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Designing A Memorable Family Vacation: Lake George RV Park

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Up in the Adirondack Mountains, Lake George RV Park creates a vacation experience for the entire family, with 120-acres for campers to enjoy. Last summer, the park expanded their offerings with Cascade Cove: an outdoor pool complex designed by Aquatic Design & Engineering. Cascade Cove features a resort pool, spa pool, and a unique lily pad splash park and play structure.

The Rotary Splash Pad

Life Floor was chosen for this splash pad for safety, design, and durability. While Great Southern Recreation encouraged the customers to consider a safety surface from the start, Rotary also wanted to include their logo in the splash pad, and they knew that paint applied to any surface was likely to wear away. With Life Floor, not only will this attraction be much safer than conventional splash pads, the design will also last for years.

Westfield Splash Pad

In the early months of 2014, the Town of Westfield asked MRC Rec and Life Floor to help them with an exciting challenge. They wanted to upgrade the splash pad at their Memorial Pool Complex, but they also wanted to preserve the existing floor design, which had been designed and chosen by members of the community.