Thanks all - our belongings arrive this week so I will have a go at transforming the space with what we have then search for new things to add. We have quite a bit of art with strong yellow colors and also a Tibetian Chest with yellows and greens. Thanks again!

Love blue tiles. Depending on how much sun and how hot your pool gets in the summer should dictate what color it is. We live in Arizona, so cool blues work best. Our neighbor has brown tile and a dark pebble tech pool. Looks like a swimming hole and gets really hot - 94% water in the summer. They obviously didn't think it through.

For this look, I think you'd need 1/3 plain tiles but I love this look! I've never seen it before and it's very intriguing.

Will you be keeping the cork tiles on the floor? If so, make the countertop/bench top a similar color. They are both horizontal surfaces. Choose a color you like that has a bit of yellow in the base (ex: tomato red instead of crimson, or lime green rather than mint green).