You know, sometimes it just comes down to people choosing what is familiar and what they can easily view in person. Plus, depending on your part of the country, different colors are in "style." For example, I live in metro Atlanta, where the overwhelming majority of pools are either Tahoe Blue, one of the blacks, or Caribbean Blue. We just had our Majestic Plum PebbleTec installed last week, and it was a hard decision because this color is not at all in vogue in my area...so there was only 1 pool for me to view in person. Every other view of that color came from photos I found on websites in the Southwest (where Maj. Plum is not such an "out there" choice).

When it comes down to a several thousand dollar decision, a lot of people want to choose tried and true and that's OK, but if you love the Emerald Bay, don't waste any time wondering why no one else has it. As my husband reminded me when we were deciding, "They're ALL beautiful...if we were buying a house that already had a pool, we would be happy with ANY of these colors!" So go with your gut and choose the color you love, regardless of whether anyone else has already figured out what a beautiful color it is.

One of the things I also did before deciding was spend A LOT of time on google, searching on "Majestic Plum PebbleTec" and going through pages and pages and pages of entries...finding a few big pool plastering companies, and then going through their photo galleries...some of them label the colors, some of them don't, you obviously are interested in the ones that do. Here's one I found for you:

http://www.jeffkerber.com/gallery/categories2.asp?nameID=62

I would also put out a message here, and in the title say you are looking for Emerald bay photos...someone will probably post back with photos for you. The only reason in the end I had the guts to go with our choice was because a board member here from Southern Calif was kind enough to share her photos, and a PB from Arizona (natural_one on these boards) was also kind enough to share photos and tell me from a professional standpoint that this really was a good, natual color choice. And now, I have the coolest looking pool, with the colors and cool undertones of stonewashed denim. Love it.

Also, keep in mind, different colors are in different price categories. We originally thought we wanted Midnight Blue, but we were quoted on three price levels (Standard, Level 1 added $350 to Standard price, Level 2 added $1600 to Standard price!!!) and Midnight Blue was in the highest price level. We are getting ready to do a HUGE renovation on our entire home, so I thought this would be a good time to flex my budget muscle and find something in the Standard price category that we could be happy with. Majestic Plum was Standard price for my PB. I could justify Level 1 (Tahoe was there), but could not justify an extra $1600 for a color. So price might be part of the reason others haven't used Emerald Bay as much, too.

Good luck, I know it is a hard decision. Be brave, go for it, start a color trend. They're all beautiful.

Thank you Gina! I am in Atlanta too and yes everyone has tahoe or one of the blacks! Thanks for your encouragement and even on google it's hard to find a picture of Emerald Bay!

When I saw the HUGE sample chips on the wall in the pool store, and said I wanted to consider Majestic Plum, the manager's eyes popped out a bit, and she told me they have NEVER had anyone do one of those...that scared me. But when I saw the chip in the water at home later that night, I was very interested. I called the next morning and asked them to do some detective work for me to find a friendly pool company/competitor who HAD done this color, and so they called PebbleTec corporate, and PebbleTec corporate found me a pool to see. So maybe they could do the same and help you find another Emerald one to see as well? Maybe in a different setting (woods, no woods, landscaping, stones, even tile make a HUGE difference to the perceived water color).

I am in East Cobb, how about you? Who's your pool company? Is this a renovation? If so, I would call around and get a few bids from different companies, because there's only ONE PebbleTec crew that ALL the pool companies can use...so you might as well get the best price you can, since the workmanship on the PebbleTec will be the same regardless of who your PB is (AWESOME terrific company that does the PebbleTec, you will love them!).

Also, we got the Shimmering Sea (abalone shells) and we love them...definitely see a pool with them, they are super pretty, and still elegant.

Gina- We think alike! My pool builder is Bruce Todd with Atlantis pools and so far so good(great actually)! My PB called Pebble Tec and the pool we went to see was actually the OWNER of Neptune pools- one of my PB's competitors! He was nice enough to let us see it this morning. I knew I wanted the shells and the Emerald Bay I saw this morning had the shells and it was beautiful! Is your Plum a deeper color or light water? You have me interestd in yours but I do want something on the darker side.

Gina, how odd . . .my earlier post was deleted... I was mentioning what a wonderful person you seem to be, for posting such a detailed message for the OP and finding her the link. I don't know if we're allowed to compliment fellow community members now :)

And your plum pool is a peach!

Monica, right now on the second page of these posts (but it could have moved down by the time you ready this) is my post with photos; the post is titled "Here Are the Majestic Plum PebbleTec Photos! Finally!" and it has 10 photos, from chip to finished pool. The photos are pretty good, but they are all just a shade or two lighter than real life, go figure; so just know that all the tones in the stone and pool are actually a bit deeper. Ours was a renovation of a 30-year old pool, so different than your process. I can't wait to see your photos...do you have a PebbleTec date yet. Get your video camera out, these guys are like synchronized swimmers during application, very cool!

anthemguy...so nice of you! Your compliment made my day! I just want to help folks who are nervous about out-of-the-ordinary colors, because that was my experience, and if not for the assistance of folks here, I probably would have destroyed the budget and gone for Midnight Blue. Which would have been beautiful, but would have really singed my wallet unnecessarily.

It seems reading these threads that people are always trying to get away from "aqua" as a color which is what Emerald Bay is to me. I really like all the colors...haven't found any that I don't totally like....depending on the particular lighting situation. For us, it was budget, didn't want to spend $$$ for upgraded colors.

oakrunfarm- where did you see the Emerald Bay? Why would you say "it wasn't for you"? It seems very similar to the Midnight Blue to me just a little more vibrant.

I saw it on a pool here in N.C. that is similar in style (formal) to ours and in much the same setting (largely wooded) as is our pool. It was absolutely stunning, but it was just a tad too dark for me. Our Tropical Breeze ended up being just what we were looking for, but the richness and depth of the Emerald Bay was very tempting.

oakrunfarm- I want a dark color so I'm still leaning toward the Emerald over Midnight Blue. I didn't think it looked "green" did you?

Well, the pool I saw it on did look like a very dark green, but it may have been because that pool was totally in the shade and on a very wooded lot when I saw it (in late afternoon).

I got on google and typed in the colors I wanted to see and did an image search before I made my final decision. That gave me lots more pics to view.

Good luck! :)

monicamomof3......what did you decide??? Can't wait to see pics!

Monica did you go with the emerald bay? If so, do you love it or regret it? I think the on-line pics are pretty, but the decision would be much easier if I could see one in person.