When it came time to choose the flooring for my new kitchen, I didn’t hesitate. Travertine. 100% My mum has it running from her front door, through the entryway and into the kitchen. It was installed 20 years ago and it looks as good today as it did then. Sure, it’s darkened over time, but it works. When I bought my house and realized the entire kitchen and front entry would need to be redone, I knew immediately that I wanted to do the same thing.
As far as I’m concerned, Travertine tile is classic, but when I started to look for inspiration pics, all I could find were dated, 90s looks. Cherry cabinets, speckled granite, that type of thing. Nothing wrong with it if that’s what you like, but it’s not my jam. But it begs the question, are Travertine floors outdated?
After searching long and hard I finally found some examples I really liked. So here’s why my answer is no, even though others may disagree.
Travertine Floors for Today’s Interiors
Travertine is a natural stone, and in my mind that can’t be beat. While it certainly can look outdated when paired with certain materials (think red toned cabinets, old-world materials) it can also add aged character when paired with more current, or even classic looks. We’re in the process of designing our kitchen, and it looks like we’ll be pairing it with white shaker cabinets, Quartz counters and a backsplash yet to be determined. My husband is a carpenter who specializes in reclaimed wood, so you can bet there will be some rustic elements in there too. It’s slightly hard to visualize, but I’m confident it will all come together. It won’t be farmhouse per se, but we’ll have some of those Chip and Joanna elements I’m sure (I hate myself for saying that, TBH).
We’ll also have white, custom built-ins in the hallway, and in the connecting living room (which has walnut floors) so in theory, everything should flow quite nicely (in theory…).
Some of the other reasons I want to go with Travertine floors is because they’re incredibly durable, easy to repair should there be a problem, and they’re great conductors of heat. They retain cold as well, which is a bummer in some cases, but we’ve decided to install radiant heat, so it will really help heat up the space quickly and efficiently.
We’re ordering our floors next week, with install expected to happen within the month. So stay tuned for the final results!
**Edited Summer 2021 – Ok, a few of you have been asking to see photos of the finished product. As you can see we ended up going with blue lowers, and we still need to put some finishing touches on the rest of the kitchen (crown moulding, a few corner pieces, etc.) but here’s a quick look. Once it’s completely done I’ll do a proper photoshoot with decent lighting. These are just a few iPhone snaps taken in midday that don’t really do it justice.
**Edited August 7th, 2021 – So after having these floors for a year or so they got very dirty – especially the grout. I was concerned until I discovered a great homemade solution. Check out my post on how to clean tile grout if you want a cheap and unbelievably easy solution!
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I like the travertine floors
Travertine is out and it’s been out of style for over 10 years. On HGTV they rip it out.
I have travertine floors in my bath room and laundry! Love them!!!
Glad to hear it!!
I was concerned that it would look dated but I just love this flooring. We just remodeled our condo and put light beige travertine floors in the French pattern with chiseled edge throughout . It’s almost completed and looks beautiful. It’s open concept with white shaker cabinets and walnut wood beams on the vaulted ceiling’s. We have a mix of traditional furniture blending into a soft transition style along with a soaring stacked split face stone fireplace. All the walls are sherwin Williams alabaster. I’m excited to see it with all the furniture back in place. It’s light and bright not washed out looking and has a clean fresh feel the furniture really will anchor the rooms.
so can you share how the kitchen turned out?
Also….i have read so much about the difficulty iwth maintenance and accidental staining….wine, citrus, etc, that i have some concern about that stain damage.
Does the sealant prevent any of these items from penetrating if addressed immediately, or wihtin a few hours??
It turned out great! So far no issues with stains, although I will admit that the grout got dark pretty fast. We love it though.
I’ve had travertine flooring for 15 years. From my front door, through hallway, a huge kitchen/diner and utility room. Also upstairs in my main bathroom. It’s so practical with a family and two cats. It’s hard wearing and easy to clean. We’ve. Had no issues with staining at all.
That’s great. We love it too.
Thank you so much for this post! We just bought a new home that is ALL travertine floors, which really isn’t my jam, (I love hardwood). But we don’t have the money to rip them out and they are still beautiful, but I thought dated. i am updating the kitchen cabinets (painting them white) and deciding on what quartz countertops and backsplash. I would LOVE to see more pictures if you have any. Also would love to see how your kitchen turned out. i’m struggling to get inspiration myself as it’s hard finding an updated kitchen with travertine floor tiles.
Same here. Our home has travertine floors which we are keeping, but in our kitchen remodel we need to find a backsplash tile that will update and modernize the feel along with white cabinets and a white quartz or marble style countertop I have been looking at Calacatta Gold subway tiles, or various forms / shapes of Calcutta gold for the backsplash to add some shine and just enough touch of gold colors and veining to tie in with the heavy golden influence of the travertine floor tiles. (16″ squares, so not the old world looking offset pattern lay, i’m glad about that!) Would love to see any photos of finished projects that make travertine floors look more modern!
Curious if you completed your kitchen update? I have a similar situation where our kitchen has travertine floors with the cherryish wood cabinets, and dark speckly marble counter tops. We thought about repainting the cabinets white and replacing the counters with quartz. Would love to see how your kitchen turned out. Thanks!
We haven’t begun the kitchen project quite yet – just finished painting the whole house Balanced Beige to lighten things up, and it works well with travertine floor colors. I’ll post the kitchen remodel in the fall when we complete it!
Thinking of putting travertine in now. Would love to see how your space turned out
Hey there, a few people have asked to see pictures of the finished room. I’m going to post some shortly – when COVID hit it threw off our plans a little bit, so while the kitchen is almost done, there are still a few finishing pieces missing. I didn’t want to post photos till it was 100% but at this rate it could be a while! So I’ll get it cleaned up this week and post some pics to give you an idea 🙂
Hello! I’m so glad to have stumbled upon this article. I’m entertaining of putting lvp on top of my travertine as mine is darker shade of brown. But I don’t want to regret it.. I’ve been looking for resources to see how to update the look and make it look intentional. I agree it adds character glad to see the grout cleaning article you provided! My kitchen cabinets are maple and in good condition. Can I share a pic here and get your honest opinion? Thanks!
I think it is timeless. as stated in this post if it is paired with outdated cabinets and other outdated elements yes it just adds to the outdated feel. but the tile itself is not the problem.I have been seeing people put cheesy vinyl “wood planks” on top of beautiful Travartine lately and it really is a shame. update the ugly, dark, heavy looking cabinets ,leave the beautiful flooring alone!