We have "light walnut" travertine tiles in our downstairs entryway, and in the adjacent laundry room and closets off that "foyer" (got a great deal on price so bought enough extra at that time to use in an upcoming bathroom reno, too!). We love it. I think it's neutral, without being boring in the least. We chose it because we felt it complemented our read oak stairs leading down to that flooring, as well as the golden oak stained oak doors and moldings in that space.

If the undertones in the tiles don't fight or clash with the undertones in your cabs, I think they'll look great together (there's plenty of variation amongst travertine tiles within the same lot, so I think you should be fine overall).

Good luck with your decision making!

Oooh, tough one! I do love the warmth and softness of materials like cork and marmoleum (had marmoleum in my last house and just loved it so much). With this tile, I think I would go with the pattern. I'm usually a very, very plain and simple type. But the tile itself is neutral, and the kitchen sounds somewhat neutral too. The patern might give it the right amount of oomph.

Bottom line: it will look lovely. But I know what you mean about having something speak to you. If time allows, I personally like to wait until I find the item that sings to me. For me, this meant 2 years with plywood counters (until I found soapstone).

How much do you love it? Can you live with it long term? Will ordering the pattern make you feel more relieved? Would canceling the order make you feel more relieved? Imagine this tile installed. How do you feel? Imagine cancelling the order. Do you feel relieved? Or frustrated and/or foolish? Listen to your gut. The truthiness is in your gut! Or so says Stephen Colbert.

:-)

Francy

I think you have enough going on, and walnut travertine is lovely enough and with enough variation and character so the pattern isn't necessary. I am amazed at how much I like walnut travertine. Usually I'd think something of that description would be beige, blah, and boring. But I saw it in a house as backsplash and it just had me mesmerized. So lovely in its own right, kind of a unique color of brown, and yet didn't fight with or take the focus from other elements...Just what I think a flooring should do.

But THE stone for you? Maybe if you're that unsure, you could keep looking...even if only to convince yourself the travertine is right?

Do you have samples of all of your materials at home? It really helps me to gaze at mine and remind myself that they are truly as good as I thought they were when I chose them. I find I'm more pleased every time... Maybe it's just the chance to feel at home with them. Your choice is just recent and you acted on it right away. I'd say it'd be normal to wonder if it's right, especially after the stress of it all and you're tired.

I did that pattern in my house. I used 20x20's and 12x12"s. I had a very hard time deciding on a tile, but I definitely knew that I wanted a pattern.

I'll post a picture for you.

So, turns out I don't really have a picture to show you. I'll post a picture of my staircase -- you can see a bit of the tile in that picture.

I have a darker travertine in my powder room area. I needed something that would go with the white marble that was already in the foyer. It goes with everything. So does the marble :) The white paint. The off white paint. The dark mud brown paint. The greige paint. The cocoa stained vanity (came with house) and medium oak trim (came with). The verde bahia sink top (I added).

I don't think you can go wrong with a neutral stone. It might not be the star, but I've had a floor that was the star and that's really hard to live with. But it should go well with all your other choices.

If you want to give it more interest have it set on the diagonal. (I did that with mine to make the transition more pronounced, and it's much more interesting looking than the straight.) Also, sort through the tiles when they come and choose out all your favorites to put in the most prominent locations, and let the more boring ones go against the cabinets and under the furniture.

It looks very attractive, and you do have a lot going on, and I'm also a fan of what setting diagonal usually adds. I was wondering, though, if adding a black detail, a border or something else not too spotty to tie it in with the counter, might possibly add that little whatever it's lacking to you. ??

My master bath has a limestone floor that looks similar to the picture. We opted to put it on the diagonal. There is also a little square of Black galaxy every 4th set of squares or so. I have natural cherry cabinets with a brownish glaze and black galaxy granite on the counter and as accents in the shower. We painted the walls a blue/purple, but debated other colors such as sage and mustard. All looked great. The stone is cool because you can see critters and such in it, but it is solid feeling too. Good luck.

Well, holligator, while its not a flooring I would choose for our remodel, I think it looks great and will compliment the natural cherry cabs.

I would second (or third) the idea to lay it on a diagonal if only using one size. It'll give the area some additional interest as well as make is seem larger.

1 empathize with the difficulty of choosing among tile, wood, cork, etc. went through this myself and eventually landed on tile because it had feweer "cons" than the others. maybe that is why it is difficult for a particular tile to speak to you? because you didn't have a "that's it!" moment with tile?good luck with your choice.

I am the opposite cabinets were my hardest decision so far. We found the tile right away. We picked porcelain tile in a limestone like color and look in 18 x 18. I am going to ask them to hold enough back in case I decide to set it on the diagonal or step pattern. I need to talk to the tile layer and contractor, as well as see it in the space.

I think walnuit travertine is a lovely color and choice. But I am partial to travertine anyway. If you prefer the varied look I would change it I really like how the varied look sets off the stones. But I don't think it is necessary.

We just put travertine 18x18 tiles in the kitchen. The only thing in there right now besides new paint. They look fantastic!! We laid ours in a running bond pattern. We didn't want just the regular grid pattern or the diagonal so this was a little different. It looks wonderful. Just hope we continue to like it as much when we get all the other stuff in there.

Holligator, there are so many different tones of terra cotta, that if that's what you really want you can find a tile that compliments your cabinets. There are also porcelain versions in all different natural colors that look like the real thing. I would prefer that to the travertine. If the soapstone has a lot of veining I feel it might compete with the veining in the floor, and the effect might be too busy. I think either the floor or the soapstone should be the star of the kitchen, not both. Also the golden tones of the floor might fight the red of the cabinets, and I'm not sure about that stone with a black counter.

Take a look at the site below. Look at the Antica Umbria under the Rustic collections. Many other terra cotta type tile there in that Rustic group. You need something that also will work with a black counter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tagina Tiles

Would you consider using a Versailles pattern? We did tumbled travertine w/ Versailles pattern in our mud room and I really love it. It has a rustic quality. It isn't too expensive either. We paid 3.25/sqft for material and installed it ourselves.

They also come in honed & filled which is better for the kitchen. My friend has it in her kitchen w/ dark chocolate/walnut cabinet, dark granite and it's really beautiful. The light floor set off the dark cabinet really well.

Here is a link that might be useful: versailles pattern travertine

Hey, vwhippiechick, do you have a picture of your square travertine tiles in the running bond pattern? The only pics I've been able to find with that pattern have been with rectangular tiles, which was unfortunately not an option for me. I am leaning toward that over the diagonal pattern, but I'd love to see a pic if you have one.

UPDATE

Well, after much consternation, I finally decided to go ahead with this choice of flooring. I wavered, I tossed and turned, I annoyed everyone I know with my whining. Then it got down to the wire. The tile I had ordered had come in and I had to decide whether to go get it or pay a restocking fee to return it. However, so much else would be delayed if I decided to wait that it became a much bigger issue than just the tile.

Then, I talked to my friend who just had to have all the tile in her house ripped up and replaced because of problems caused by poor installation. As horrible as this sounded, she said it was really no big deal.

Soooo, I decided that if it turned out that I really did hate it, I would make myself live with it for a year or two and then tear it up and replace it. That would give me plenty of time to pick out something I really loved. I would chalk it up to an expensive lesson.

Well, yesterday, they laid the tile (grout comes tomorrow), and . . .

I LOVE IT!

It's even prettier than what I remembered from the store. It's much warmer and I think it will look great with my cabs and counters. It blends in beautifully with the wood floors and paneling everywhere else. I had it done in a running bond pattern, which looks perfect. I'm still a little concerned that this stone wasn't the best choice for a kitchen (honed and unfilled), but at least I love the way it looks. And, I still have the option of tearing it out down the road if upkeep becomes too much of a hassle.

I can't tell you how relieved I am. Thank you all for your reassurance during my little crisis!

Pics to come after the grout is in.... :)

Yay!! I'll bet it looks terrific and that you will decide to stick with it. Honed, unfilled stone will probably be pretty forgiving as far as wear goes (because who will be able to tell if a spot is worn or just meant to be that way! lol).

Can't wait to see pics--it sounds nice!

Yay!!! Isn't that a relief?

That is my dream floor, so I can't wait to see pictures! I need all the pictures I can get to convince DH that's what we need to do :)

Laurie