What is travertine?
Travertine stone was formed millions of years ago in a similar way to limestone. Although, while it is formed, hot mineral spring water filtered through the stone creating the holes and voids that give it its distinct texture.
Commonly, travertine is popularly identified by its light coloured beige to white texture. However, the colour variations can range from white, grey and brown hues.
Travertine formed the famous Plitvice waterfalls in Croatia.
Pamukkale in Turkey is naturally formed from travertine.
Why is travertine popular?
Travertine has been a popular architectural stone for thousands of years. You can see travertine used at the Colosseum in Rome (the largest travertine building in the world) and at the Basilique Du Sacre Coeur in Paris.
Nowadays, travertine is highly sought after to create a premium tiling look or stone façade. Its subtle warm texture and premium luster make it complementary for a variety of residential and commercial styles. Moreover, the stone colours range from silver, grey to gold and rust hues. As well as its good looks, travertine is an incredibly durable stone. In modern architecture, travertine is one of the most popular stones used.
The Colosseum in Rome is the largest man-made travertine structure.
Why you should use travertine in your home:
- Travertine tiles don’t absorb large amounts of heat. As a result, this makes it an ideal paving solution for pool tiles or anywhere you may have uncovered outdoors.
- No two travertine stone tiles or pavers are the same. Therefore, you can create a truly unique look in your home or backyard area.
Travertine has a distinct texture compromising of sporadic holes and voids. However, you can choose to fill the empty spaces with grout to achieve a smoother surface or get the stone honed and filled for a completely smooth surface. We recommend that this is appropriate for indoor applications such as bathroom or kitchen tiling due to easy sweep cleaning.
Travertine comes in a variety of finishes:
Honed
The surface of the travertine has been ground to a completely flat, smooth surface.
Honed and unfilled
The surface has been ground flat and the imperfections and holes have been left unfilled.
Honed and filled
The surface is ground flat and the imperfections and holes have been filled. This style is ideal for indoor applications such as the kitchen as spillage and dirt can be easily swept on the smooth surface without getting caught up in holes and voids.
Tumbled and unfilled
The travertine stone is in its natural state with rough edges and holes exposed. This look is ideal to create an antiqued look in an outdoor garden area or patio as well as a decorative feature wall.
Some of the many colour variations of travertine:
