We're using a glazed porcelain tile that has travertine deco accents. It's Edimax Materia Forte in the Bronzea color. These photos were taken a few days ago when we were deciding to use 18 x 18's with a 4" deco accent on the floor:

What doesn't show well in these pictures is that there is also a little gray mixed into the coloration. Our tile showroom had this on floor so we were able to see a large section of it.

It also comes in a few other colors including a lighter color called Oxida.

I WISH this was $1.59/sq ft!

treasuretheday, thanks for your post! Beautiful! Love the accent tile too! What will your grout space width be? Hope you will post finished pics!

I found this useful article that discusses real travertine vs travertine look porcelain.

After reading that article, I looked closely at my Lucerne Alpi tile sample. Now that I know what to look for I can see the pixels and some parts actually look "dotty" and some parts a little blurry. But I'm not sure how noticeable that would be to others...unless they were REALLY looking with their face close to the tile. Guess that could be the case in the shower. In the end it definitely looks like faux travertine, especially since the smallest grout space would be 3/16 (per installer).

If I get a rectified tile (all uniform in size) I can go with a smaller space (perhaps 1/8 space) which would give a nicer look.

Ideally I'm looking for porcelain tile that REALLY looks like travertine (nice CLEAR surface pattern, variation between tiles, small grout space). But I think I will pay a price for that. Is it worth it? I'm thinking yes...

I have several bathrooms to do, so I will check out some flooring sales/remnants at the different tile stores in the area.

I'd still love to see your pics and hear your suggestions! I love this forum, you are ALL so helpful! Thank you!

Here is a link that might be useful: real travertine vs faux travertine porcelain article

I'm linking the tile we used. Made by Monocibec, style Graas. The color we used was Arras. We did the versaille style pattern, but they only have 3 sizes available.

Someone else on the forum used this tile too. If you search the model/name you should be able to see some photos. That poster didn't do the versaille pattern.

Here is a link that might be useful: Monocibec Graal

I used fake travertine in my master. The main complaint I had is that the tile wasn't laid out as randomly as I'd hoped, so you can see the repeat on some areas of the wall.

chispa & annkathryn, thank you for taking the time to respond. annkathryn, I LOVE your bathroom, it is gorgeous!! The tile looks great! Which tile and accents did you use?

janealexa I used a 12x12 porcelain tile called Portinari Roma from The Tile Shop. Unfortunately it seems to be discountinued. The accent tiles are quartzite from Casa Dolce Casa.

I have posted this before and still really like this company and tile. Great quality and beautiful movement in the the porcelain. I have used it in 4 bathrooms now. Open up the PDF to see the LEA company brochure. For a mid color I recommend the Saturnia Beige and for lighter the Chiarro. They have quite a bit of different sizes and accessory pieces.

Here is a link that might be useful: LEA

Thank you annkathryn and golfschnell for your comments!

I went to AZ Tile today and I think I found THE ONE!
AZ Tile Legacy Series. It is rectified, comes in 4 shades, comes in 13x13, 20x20, and has bullnose trim in 20" length. AND IT IS ONLY AROUND $2 SF! We put it next to real travertine and it looks amazing. Then I put it next to the Lucerne Alpi sample and I realized how bad the Lucerne Alpi is - almost looks like someone took a picture of travertine with a bad digital camera and glued it on to the tile.

Anyway, now I just have to pick out the shade, grout, and accent pieces. I plan to use real travertine mosaic as an accent.

When I talked to our local flooring company (not AZ Tile), they said they'd charge extra to do a 1/16 grout line and doubt they'll be able to do it anyway. They said the floor has to be perfectly flat. I said how about 1/8 and they said that may not even be possible :( What's the point of getting rectified tile then?

Here is a link that might be useful: AZ Tile Legacy Series

We put in a porceline travertine look-a-like back in 2006. Replaced wood flooring in kitchen/tv room and baths (what was I thinking putting wood in kids baths)anyhoo, it took me a while to find a real look-a-like, as I have real tumbled marble on the backsplash, so it had to look good.
It is rectified edges (which I think is popular today) so we could lay it with the 1/8th grout line. Mine is 19 1/2 x 19 1/5. It was not cheap but not out of line, though I don't recall exactly. I'll have to go to the attic to get the name. I did not find it at large tile centers but a small independent one here in town.

I will also search for a post I did either in kitchens or baths a while back where I included the name and may have more photos.

We have loved, loved, loved this floor. I have one chip where a big dish fell from over the fridge but it is hardly noticable.

Zookeeper, your tile is gorgeous! If you do come across the name, it would be great to know. I love your chandelier and your paint color... do you mind sharing those names? Thanks!

I didn't know what rectified tile was until recently and I would definitely prefer to have the smallest reasonable grout lines. Unfortunately only a few sizes of my tile are rectified and none of them are sizes that I am using(!)

I'm putting 18 x 18's on the floor, 12 x 18's on the shower walls and 4 x 4's on the shower floor, ceiling and inset. What size grout lines should I expect?

Janealexa, I hope you'll post pictures of the tile that you choose when you're done. I'm sure your room will be beautiful.

zookeeper93, thanks for posting pics, I absolutely LOVE your floor! I saw the thread you are talking about and I believe you said it was around $8 or $9 SF which is out of our price range. But it looks wonderful...hard to believe that is not real travertine! I can barely see any grout lines!

treasuretheday, I saw your thread with your layout and it looks beautiful! I love your choices! Looking forward to seeing it when you are done!

The house won't be done until around January, but I will definitely post pics:)

3/16 will most likely be your smallest grout line if your tile is not rectified. Ask your tilesetter beforehand to make sure. I did not check and just asked for the smallest grout line. Without further discussion they just did a 1/4 grout line in my current house which is too wide IMO.

Also make sure he doesn't put any tiles with the same pattern right next to each other and if he does he should at least rotate one so they don't look exactly the same. In my current house we have faux travertine and they set 5 tiles in a row with the same pattern. But honestly I didn't notice it until this year (8 years later!) after researching tile for the new house.

Thanks! I appreciate the encouragement and the great info. I'm afraid that, at the rate this reno is progressing, we won't be done until January either! ;-)

Thanks! I appreciate the encouragement and the great info. I'm afraid that, at the rate this reno is progressing, we won't be done until January either! ;-)

Well, I guess those error messages that I got didn't keep my posts from going through. (An edit/delete feature on GW sure would come in handy now!) Sorry about the triplicate posting! lol

Janealexa,

The tile store we bought it from is called Roma Tile. Their price was pretty high, selling direct to the end user. At their price, plus finding an installer, it would have priced me out of it.
However, I was getting carpet in the bedrooms and the flooring company (independent, not chain) I use also carries tile, but not this tile. But, they have an account with Roma and can order it from them, and in doing so, using their installer, the price installed ($8.25 sf) was less than what Roma was quoting me for tile alone!
Here is a photo of the floor and the real tumbled travertine backsplash.

Here is a photo of the box of the tile. Roma tile might be able to give you a searchable name and who can get it in your area. 817-801-6714.

Treasure,

Thank you for the compliments on the floor. We really have no regreats and it has been so durable these last 7 years. Our kids are teens now, and we have a pool and two dogs, and there is nothing this floor cannot handle. The best thing is it hides a lot.

Our paint color is Sherwin Williams Sand Dune # 6086. We got the Duration Home and boy is it ever scrubbable! Fun wall decals won't stick on it though :(

The light fixture over the table is no longer with us. It was an original to the house when we built in 1998 and was a Lowe's find.

treasuretheday LOL:)

zookeeper93, thanks for the info! Love your backsplash! I'm planning on using Torreon tumbled travertine for our kitchen backsplash, what travertine did you use?

For the bathrooms, I decided to go with AZ Legacy Series Sand. Also considering this backsplash for the master which is a mix of stone and glass. The backsplash will be lined with a real travertine pencil liner.

My flooring company said they'll be able to do the 1/16 or 1/8 grout line, yay! But it will cost extra, just waiting to hear back on how much extra it will be.

Here is a link that might be useful: bathroom backsplash

Forgot to mention, the color I'm using for the bathroom backsplash is SL-Cafe Melange, you have to scroll down and click on the color to view it. The link initially shows a glossy black mosaic which is NOT what I'm choosing:)

Here is a link that might be useful: SL-Cafe Melange backsplash (click on color to see)

annkathryn, would you mind sharing your wall color? :)

Hi janealexa - it's Benjamin Moore Adobe Beige. I think they might have mixed it with the wrong base because it has a pink undertone. I've read here on the Home Decoration forum that other people had this problem with Adobe Beige as well, and using a neutral base makes it less pink (if that's what you prefer).

Thanks for the info annkathryn!

Here are some pics:

We went w/a vein-cut look for our porcelain "nu-travertine" tile in our small bath remodel:

If we had it to do over, we'd probably use bigger tiles, 12 x 24 or 18 x 18, instead of 12 x 12. But the price was great and they look just like the real (much more expensive) thing.

patti1954-very nice! thanks for sharing!

Here are some follow-up/progress pics. Thanks everyone for your help!

Hi Janealexa!

Your room is looking gorgeous! My goodness, how pretty the colors and materials look together! I see that you did manage to get the small grout lines you wanted. From the view on my monitor, I don't see any grout lines on the face of the tub deck at all.

Reading back through this thread, I had posted that at the rate our reno was progressing, it would be January before we were finished. Wellllll, I'd be thrilled if we were done in the next five days!! Our upper cabinets are going in right this minute...

Hi treauretheday! Always so nice to hear from you, thanks for your kind words!

I know, renovations/builds always take longer than expected! We probably won't be in the house until the end of Feb/early Mar now!

I'm sure your bathroom is looking gorgeous! What are you doing for window treatments? From what I remember I think you have window(s) by the tub? Not sure what type of window coverings to go with. I'm considering woven wood shades (bamboo type)...can't decide!

Woven wooden shades would add a really nice texture to your room.

You're right, I have a pair of double hung windows behind my tub. I've just ordered cordless cellular shades that will be 2 on 1 headrail and have the top down/bottom up feature for privacy and a view of the trees outside. I literally have to climb in my tub to adjust the windows or shades so they probably won't be moved very often.

I'm planning to accent with purple so I'm hoping to find fabric for a valance to tie it all together and bring a softer texture into the room.

You must be so anxious to be in your new home. I've never built a house before but I'm sure it would be both exciting and overwhelming.

Hi treasuretheday, I am considering cellulars too...I'm torn between the cellulars and woven shades. I will have to climb in my tub too to adjust the shades. I may consider motorized blinds.

The purple accent sounds pretty. I know it will look beautiful, you have great taste! You posted a pic of your powder room on my other thread, I love the way you decorated it!

Building is definitely exciting AND overwhelming. There are SOOOO many decisions to be made! So thankful for GW :)

Zookeeper93 — I bought a house with your flooring posted here. I am trying to match it to other rooms in my house. The box is the same box you posted but it is ripped. Is their a sku or item number on the box?? I dont Know how to contact you on houzz. I hope you get this.