Rooftop Terrace Design Ideas

Image: Trav Sand Matte Porcelain 12×24 Outdoor Rooftop Wall Tile & Borgo Caldo 2cm 24×24 Porcelain Paver Floor Tile with R11 Anti-Slip Finish from Arizona Tile

Breathing new life and purpose into your outdoor spaces can be rewarding and satisfying. If you don’t have a lot of yard space or simply have a rooftop that can accommodate it, designing a rooftop terrace may provide the perfect amount of space, privacy, and ability to soak up the sun’s rays.

This can hold true in both commercial and residential settings. With many rooftop terrace designs to enhance your space, we have tile and stone products that can handle direct sun and weather fluctuations, all while being durable, easy to maintain, and aesthetically delightful.

Outdoor Living

For dining, general gatherings, an evening with friends, or a place to peacefully relax, a rooftop terrace is a wonderful space to be fully exposed to the great outdoors. However, not all products are suitable for such a project, but that doesn’t mean you have to skimp on style.

Image: Konkrete Grigio 24×48 Porcelain Rooftop Floor Tile with R11 Anti-Slip Finish from Arizona Tile

Our Outer Limits® brand was created to enhance outdoor living in both commercial and residential settings. Be it an outdoor kitchen, the renovation of a rundown space, or design of a new gathering area, there is a wide range of materials to choose from to create the rooftop terrace of your dreams.

• Natural stone slabs are a great addition because they are a piece of nature themselves.
  • Granite has long been cherished for its timeless beauty and remarkable durability. While popular for interiors, some granite is better suited for outdoor applications, and with its innate resistance to stains, the stone will remain impressive for years to come.
    • Azul Platino would be fitting as part of your rooftop terrace design ideas, especially if there’s an oversized gathering surface, as these large slabs reduce the likelihood of needing seams. With its sand-looking appearance, Azul Platino’s tight grain structure of black, white, grey, and brown offers an appealing, earthly aesthetic.
• Porcelain Pavers are a 2cm R11 Anti-Slip Finish product. This means they have a special finish added to the tile surface to reduce the risk of slipping in a wet environment.
  • The Borgo Series is a rectified color body porcelain that mimics French limestone and comes in four colors. Given that it is porcelain, maintenance is minimal, and this product can handle freeze/thaw conditions.

Special Order Pavers are additional to the stocked pavers and cater to a specific look or size needed for your project.

Image: Anthea Dark Stack Porcelain Rooftop Bar & Azul Platino Granite Bar top from Arizona Tile

• The Anthea Series is designed using a calibrated fusion of numerous natural stone products, giving it depth and a beautiful color range. With its color options of Dark, Earth, Gray, and White, this series offers a stunning ethereal appearance.
  • The Konkrete Series provides an organic appearance of concrete but is far more durable and slip-resistant than poured concrete! Its practical properties of porcelain tile and stunning modern appeal make this tile a worthy consideration for a rooftop terrace.

Large Format Tile

Large format tile refers to tile with a length greater than 15”. Including large format tile in your rooftop terrace design may be about preferred aesthetic, or for its properties. Large format tile offers a streamlined appearance that creates an expansive look, which is especially beneficial for a small rooftop terrace design.

Image: Invictus White Vein Cut 24×48 Porcelain Rooftop Floor Tile with R11 Anti-Slip Finish from Arizona Tile

Many of the Outer Limits tile fall into this category, and most are appropriate for commercial and residential settings, both inside and out. It is quite common, too, that large format tile are offered with R11 Anti-Slip Finish, thus making them great for a rooftop terrace design. For example, Invictus Vein Cut is available in both large format and R11 Anti-Slip Finish (but only on 24” x 48”). This product is porcelain but emulates the appearance of vein-cut travertine. Natural stone does have a certain appeal, but also comes with added care, unlike porcelain that resembles natural stone and requires minimal care.Unica is another product that checks off many of the above boxes, and it does look like natural stone, but a natural stone that doesn’t exist, thus making this porcelain product really unique. Its aesthetic is that of a sedimentary stone, like limestone, but veining of traditional marble has been added. The outcome is an easy-to-care-for, unique tile to enhance any space.

Image: Unica Desert 24×48 Large Format Outdoor Rooftop Porcelain Tile with R11 Anti-Slip Finish from Arizona Tile

Porcelain and Ceramic

Porcelain and Ceramic tile is popular for its durability and versatility. These products are dense, non-porous, and highly resistant to stains, scratches, and water damage. Because of this, porcelain is a good option for high-traffic areas.

While porcelain tile is extremely durable, not all porcelain tile is appropriate for exterior flooring, like Trav, but it is recommended for exterior cladding. A rooftop terrace may not have walls in the same sense as a patio, but there are likely vertical spaces to enhance, like a backdrop of a bar or a feature wall that may provide some shade. Trav is made to look like travertine but is very easy to care for. Always make sure to look at the recommended uses for each product. While Trav is not suggested for exterior flooring, Canyon is also a porcelain tile, but it is available in our R11 Anti-Slip Finish which is recommended for such use. If you ever have a question about what should and should not be used for a particular project, don’t hesitate to stop into your local Arizona Tile showroom or slab yard for clarification.

Image: Canyon Grey Porcelain 24 x 24 & 24 x 48 Outdoor Rooftop Floor and Wall Tile from Arizona Tile

To explore some design ideas further, check out our Just Imagine Tile and Slab Visualizer. If you have questions along the way, please send us a message, and our exceptional staff of tile and stone professionals will be happy to help.