Plenty of people here have used travertine. But here are a few reasons why I did not go that route and instead had a ceramic crackle subway tile installed. The brown colors can turn gray or pink under certain lighting, not something I wanted with my granite. A friend told me that there was staining around the sink area because of the water splashing there. But, I ultimately decided against it because it is a trend that is soon ending. Many of the kitchen here look great with the travertine (Or the tumbled marble) but you will not be shopping at the same place they did nor will you be getting the same thing they got. There are so many variations in the stone. You can get a few samples, and then when you get the box, there will be even more variation. Is this the look that you want? I also ripped out one backsplash because the white tile had a gray cast when installed! I lived with the sample tile for weeks and no one noticed a bit of gray in it!These tiles can be trickly.

We have travertine in our master bathroom (floor, countertop and shower walls) and are considering it for the kitchen as well. It is very neutral and works with everything. In the kitchen, the place the backsplash really gets tested is behind the stove and the sink. For us, our sink is by the window, so no problem there. For the stove, we do plan to seal the stone and grout and do so every 6 months with a high quality sealer. I think it will be fine. Good luck!

I just picked tumbled beige travertine for mine.. With bronze accents.. I saw it somewhere right in this forum and went for it..

I could have had 6x6 marble for couple hundred more..but opted for this..hoping the cream would work with giallo ornamental granite...don't know.. I hope end product would be as I expect it to be..

We used tumbled marble and I love it. I didn't do a lot looking at finished kitchens before choosing it, and was a little surprised at how "old" it looks. That probably sounds stupid, but when you are just looking at a couple 4x4s, you don't get the full effect. It matches our granite perfectly--I knew the minute I put them side-by-side that it would look great. No problems at all with staining (it is sealed).

The tiler who installed it said it is still a very popular choice for backsplashes--so not sure if I believe (or care!) that the "trend" is coming to an end...

I don't have a better photo than this (and there is a lot of junk on the counters), but you get the idea:

Here is a link that might be useful: tumbled marble and travertine

Thank you, everyone. Lovely kitchen, chipongo. Your granite is gorgeous. I got three sample pieces of the travertine; one is slightly pink, one slightly yellow, and one slightly brown. I actually want the variation; it picks up the colors in the oak cabs and the floor. Not going to do anything fancy, just diamond shapes with no listello or trim. I too don't care whether it's "in" or "out", but thanks for the warning, ellendi. I called Emser too and was told that with a high-quality sealer all should be okay. I plan to get the best one, whatever that is. I had a yard sale this week for the nonprofit I'm the prez of and my camera got lost, otherwise I'd take a pic to show you all. Thanks again.