msrose: the Taj majal is gorgeous and right in line with everything I am drawn to for my countertops (I am also remodeling my powder room which also has the travertine floors). So, I think my travertine is the same as the one you are considering. We installed it about a year ago. I absolutely loved it until I started planning my kitchen and powder room remodel. I, too, considered wood as my alternative, but ended up with travertine because of 1) cost and 2) pool. The kids are constantly running in the house dripping wet. Regardless, at this point, I honestly wish I had chosen wood. It is sooo much easier to coordinate countertops, paint, and backsplash tiles with. In addition, I have read on numerous design blogs that the travertine is associated with the tuscany look which is trending out. I am not a trendy person, but we will likely only be in our house for another 8 or so years and need to be considering resale value. With all this said, I love the warmth of travertine and still think mine is beautiful. I will post a link for you in a mintue from a color expert regarding travertine that you might find helpful. Best of luck!

deedee99, thanks for the photos. I can definitely visualize those colors. I think it will give more depth to the room. While I would like to paint the woodwork (really don't think I will since all of my house has the stained trim). I love the dark photo frames, takes everything in a new direction. This will all coordinate well. It may be quite a while, but I'll post new photos once I finish.

Martinca, if you like the look and understand the problems of tile, go for it! For me three years of living with tile in Europe was enough! I had ceramic/stone tiles on every surface in every room that had water. Nine feet of tiling on 10' bathroom walls, as well as tile on kitchen, bathrooms, and maid's room floors. Since we rented I scrubbed every grout line (they *really* needed it initially) and regularly cleaned them so have more than done my share of cleaning tile grout lines. I realize there are sealers but I still think that grout lines may be a good place for bacteria to grow and IMO the majority of people likely don't clean them well enough or often enough from what I read on the net. Teacats has the best cleaning solution altho I dislike using bleach regularly. I love the look of art tiles (Moroccan, Spanish, Mexican) altho it's such a unique look it would be a resale challenge.

Rhome - I didn't spot this thread earlier, but will add my two cents. I'm a few years older (58) and also live in the PNW. We have tile floors in the bathrooms (heated) and tile at the front entry and mud room that is unheated. I'm thankful every day that we don't have unheated tile floors in the kitchen. Too hard and too cold. And it's the kind of cold that goes through a thick pair of socks unless they are wool. I tend not to wear shoes in the house, and those tile floors are a chilling surprise every time I stand on them for more than 15 seconds. We did pre-finished hardwood which is a bit more forgiving in a lot of ways. This is a beach house and we have a large dog who refuses to let anyone (including the vet techs) near her with nail clippers, plus wet and sand. We have oak that's kind of a busy grain in sort of a honey color. It hides just enough, and I don't sweat the patina it will get over the years. When it gets bad, we'll have it refinished.